BC Bravo 2000+ charger & maintainer

RRP £88.99 // www.jawsmotorcycles.co.uk // Tested by: Nigel Hole

At some point through the winter months (fair weather rider here!), I think about starting the bike and warming it through in the comfort of my garage; no salt, no muck equals no hassle. Now how this usually goes is, wheel the bike to a suitable place, turn the key, press the start button and…. nothing! The battery is dead through lack of use; you’d think I’d learn.

Cue stage-right and the guys from Jaws Motorcycles with one of their state-of-the-art Battery Controllers. The BC BRAVO 2000+ is a smart and automatic battery charger and maintainer for motorcycles and cars, with batteries of up to 100 Ah. It fits direct to the bike on the positive and negative terminals and connects and disconnects from the main charger dependent on need. In essence you (or I) will just leave this on all winter and hey presto; the bike will start when the riding season opens once more!

Okay it’s not a budget charger at an RRP of £88.99 but I have had lesser units in the past that usually fry themselves.

It has an eight-step charging algorithm and can recover deeply discharged batteries but that’s not all. It’ll charge, desulfate, analyse and maintain all 12V lead-acid batteries plus gel and a whole bevy of types. It also features an automatic battery and alternator test procedure; hell, it’ll even hold your hand and guide you through your battery’s needs by way of an LCD display, I guess kind of like a battery ‘counselling’ session!

It couldn’t be easier to fit straight to your bike, featuring good quality fitments with a blanking plate to stop the dirt getting into the connectors. It also comes with some crocodile clips should you chose the more traditional method of charging. There is more than enough cable on the charger to get from a plug to your bike without creating a trip hazard, unless of course the nearest electrical socket is in the bedroom!

The one thing missing from this kit is some small black zip ties for tidying up the wiring once fitted but a few pence later, the job was sorted. If it saves me a couple of batteries over the lifecycle of the bike then it will have more than paid for its keep!