Best Motorcycle Battery Maintainers: Chargers for Boosting Battery Health

As a motorcyclist, not many things give you that gut-punch feeling like hitting the ignition switch on your bike, only to hear the click of death. You’re going nowhere. But what rubs salt in the wound furthermore is knowing that the situation was easily avoidable. All you needed to do was hook your bike up to a battery maintainer before putting it into hibernation, and you’d be happily munching miles on a sweetly humming motorcycle. 

Having your bike start when you want it to isn’t the only benefit of a battery maintainer, or a smart charger, which are now more commonly used. Letting a motorcycle battery die damages it and shortens its lifespan. But some smart chargers can charge a flat battery and repair the damage caused by letting it completely discharge. The bottom line is that you can make your battery performs better for longer, saving you money in the long run.

To choose the best motorcycle battery maintainer, I employed The Drive’s comprehensive research methodology and evaluated dozens of chargers before choosing the top contenders. Although I haven’t personally tested these products, my selection is informed by consumer testimonials, expert reviews, discussions on relevant online forums, and my institutional knowledge of the motorcycle industry.

When fellow motorcyclists ask me what battery maintainer to buy, I only give them one answer: the Noco Genius5. So it only seems fitting that I recommend this to you as the only option to get if you can. The Genius5 towers above the competition as the Swiss army knife of smart chargers. To be more precise, this is a 5-amp trickle charger, smart charger, and battery desulfator all rolled into one. And it’ll work with 12-volt lead acid, AGM, lithium, and 6-volt sealed lead acid batteries. This should cover just about every bike you’ll find on the road.

This iteration has been tried and tested to the point that, when you hook it up, you should never doubt that your battery will receive the juice it needs. And since this is a smart charger, it'll go into float mode when your battery is fully topped up. This ensures that the Genius5 will never overcharge or undercharge your battery.

Only when your battery dips below its fully charged state will this model begin charging it again. In theory, you could leave this plugged in indefinitely without worry. The LED indicator in the top right corner lets you know what state of charge your battery is in.

Not all of us have the foresight or opportunity to hook our bikes up to a maintainer before we stop riding for long periods, which can lead to a dead battery. Most people would need to look for a jump starter or new battery. But the Genius5’s Force Mode can charge dead batteries that have depleted down to zero volts. However, once a motorcycle battery has gone completely flat, it can be damaged in a way that’ll reduce its lifespan. And this is where the Genius5’s party trick comes in.

This model can restore your battery’s health using its battery repair mode. This mode uses slow pulse reconditioner technology to detect battery sulfation and acid stratification to restore lost battery performance. Basically, it keeps your battery running better for longer and saves you money in the long run.

The green LED indicator pulses when the Genius5 is optimizing your battery for extended life. Most competing smart chargers don’t restore 12-volt batteries and the ones that do cost more.

The only thing this model won’t do is jumpstart a battery. But since this is a 5-amp charger, it shouldn’t take more than four to six hours to bring the majority of motorcycle batteries back from the dead. You can get lower and higher amperage smart chargers, but this 5-amp model hits the sweet spot in terms of value and how long it takes to bring a flat battery back to life.

If you don’t care about how long it takes to bring your battery back from the dead, you could save some money and get the Noco Genius1, but that won’t have a 12-volt optimizing mode. And since your motorcycle likely has a 12-volt battery, it’s best to have a charger that’ll keep it healthy for longer. Likewise, you could opt for a Noco Boost Sport GB20, which is perfect if you intend on jump-starting your battery often. But, this should only be used to get you out of a jam and isn’t a replacement for a good smart charger.

If you can’t get the Noco Genius5 for any reason, here are some other battery maintainers that’ll do the job of keeping your battery topped up just fine.

You've got questions. The Drive has answers.

A: You can't go wrong with the Noco Genius range. But the best combination of versatility and value is the Genius5.

A: When you're considering the best battery charger for a motorcycle battery, the answer has to do with the cell. The voltage always needs to match, so 12-volt batteries require a 12-volt charger.

A: Step one: Disconnect the battery from your bike (ground or negative first). Step two: Attach the trickle charger (positive first). Step three: Turn on the charger and let it sit. Step four: Disconnect the charger when it is finished, and reconnect your battery.