#charger

Dear MOby,

It’s safe to say you ride – or at least have an interest in – motorcycles, right? Of course. So by extension, the very fact you’re reading these words means you own an electronic device. Which also means you’re open to the idea of combining your ownership of motorcycles with the usage of electronic devices. Sure, we hear people say they ride their bikes to get away from the emails and phone calls and other electronic noise that bombards their everyday lives, but at the end of the day, technology is supposed to enhance our lives. If you’re one who believes in this idea, then read on, because in this motorcycle gadgets buyer’s guide we show you some cool and/or useful devices that will make your riding experience just a little bit better.

Today, Zero Motorcycles announced its 2018 model line, and while the lineup remains unchanged from a model name standpoint, that doesn’t mean the electric motorcycle company has been sitting still.

The sad truth is that some motorcycles go through extended periods of not being ridden. While some riders are lucky enough to own multiple motorcycles, Winter storage is the most common reason for parking our beloved motorcycles. When smart chargers first hit the market, they were a revelation. Prior to that, people rigged up all kinds of Rube Goldberg contraptions to make sure that their stored motorcycle battery kept a charge but wasn’t ruined by the constant input of the old, dumb chargers. (I know of people who rigged their chargers to stay on as long as their garage door was open so that their battery would get a little tickle of electricity a couple times a day.) Smart chargers that could sense a battery’s level of fitness and switch to a maintenance charge when the voltage was above a certain level are relatively common now, but they were a game-changer when they were first released. Today, in this more mature market, buyers are looking for features to differentiate the available chargers. This is where the Bosch SmartCharge Plus enters the field.

We’re now mid-way through September which means we’re well into the time of year that manufacturers announce their new models. By this point, America’s two heavyweight cruiser brands Harley-Davidson and Indian have already announced their 2018 lineups, but for the first time in nearly two decades, there were no Victory model announcements.

MO readers know that electronics are changing motorcycling at a blinding pace – and I’m not even referring to the technology that the OEMs are building into the current generation of motorcycles. Today, your typical rider has a smartphone that can act as a GPS. Sooner or later, many riders will want to be able to hear those turn-by-turn directions while they ride. Then it’s a pleasantly slippery slope from earbuds to Bluetooth communicators to action cameras to who knows what’s next. The problem is that most of these gadgets run on batteries. And batteries need to be charged. That’s where the Goal Zero Venture 30 Solar Recharging Kit shines.

Modern technology has radically changed our lives, and not surprisingly, motorcycling reflects that change in many areas. While maybe not directly related to the act of riding a motorcycle, our portable technology permeates much of our daily life. Look at my recent review of the Scala Rider Q3 Multiset for a place I’d never really considered to be essential to my daily motorcycle use until I experienced it. However, there is one thing that most of these modern conveniences need to do their job: power – in the form of electricity.

Full disclosure, I’ve owned a CTEK Multi US 3300 battery charger since circa 2004. I’ve relied on it for keeping the battery in my 1975 CB400F charged for the rare occasion when I actually ride the bike. According to my records, the battery in my vintage Honda was also purchased circa 2004. So, for a decade the old CTEK model’s been doing a fine job of prolonging the life of this rarely used battery.