JUMP TO IT!

Most of us have experienced that sinking feeling when we go to start our bike and we hear the click-click of the solenoid but not much else. It usually happens when we are in a rush to go somewhere! The chances of this happening increase if you ride an later, electric-start classic; the larger Laverdas were devoid of kickstarts, for example. Even with a good alternator / dynamo, there can be some current drain through alarms. Or, as I recently found out, my bargainbuy supermarket battery charger had the opposite effect on my recently-purchased Enfield battery. Over four days, the charger drained the battery it so the bike would not start. That charger will go to recycling…

Luckily, I had already purchased a multifunction jump-starter earlier in the winter. Jump starters used to be great big things but now they can be bought with lithium ion batteries and are very compact units. When I first bought the unit I was sceptical as to whether the thing would work. On a very cold morning in January, my diesel Subaru was reluctant to turn over and start – its battery was eight years old and past its best. I connected the jump-starter and it started the car first time easily. Likewise with the Enfield.

These starters can be bought with different capacities and the prices start at around £20. The unit is small enough to fit in a rucksack or pannier, and the one I chose was a 99800m amp hr unit. The unit has a useful read-out showing its own state of charge so you know when to recharge it. After starting the Subaru it only lost 1% of its charge.

It can be charged at home or on the go using the cigarette lighter plug socket on a car or power socket on a motorbike. You can also use the jump-starter to recharge phones and other devices with the cables supplied.

Stu Thomson, member