CTEK MULTI US 3300 Review

Dustin Woods
by Dustin Woods

Learning to appreciate the four distinct seasons can be a spiritual experience. This time of year when the leaves begin to change and the air turns crisp, there are many who enjoy bundling up and embracing the close of the summer season in front of a nice fire with a steaming cup of hot cider. Then there are those of us who brave the imminent winter wind with all the reluctance of a whining child on the first day of school.

Your neighbors have started tuning up their snow blowers and hanging Christmas lights. Sooner or later it becomes obvious that you’re going to have to put that motorcycle away. There are several things you can do to ensure your bike will be just as ready to go as you will be at the first genuine signs of spring. Paying attention to your battery over the winter months can mean the difference between hearing the soulful sound of your engine coming to life or nothing at all.

There are a number of schools of thought on this topic: some people insist on removing the battery from the bike completely, while others attach a trickle charger. Some give their bike a shot of juice once a month or so while others ignore this element of winterization completely. Unless you want the hassle and expense of replacing your battery once a season, the latter is unlikely to be your best bet. When a battery is not used regularly, it gradually loses its charge, especially with the strain of modern day electronics such as security systems.

We decided to opt for the CTEK Multi US 3300 model to attach to our project CBR600RR. CTEK suggests that their chargers will revive even the deepest of drained batteries but we decided we would be proactive by keeping it topped up over the winter months. Immediately I was struck with how compact, lightweight and user-friendly the unit was. The 3300 could easily be tucked in a side saddlebag in the handy carrying case provided or stored in your workbench without taking up too much valuable real estate.

Made specifically for 12V lead-acid batteries of all kinds, this charger can be used on your car, truck, RV, boat, PWC, ATV, small plane or motorcycle. If you happen to have all of the above, can you adopt me please? Anyhow, while we will bring you a story of bringing back a battery from the dead in a later installment, for our purposes, we simply hooked up the charger to the wall and the battery terminals of the RR. We set the proper function for our particular needs and that was it. We used the Pulse function, which sends electrical charges periodically to ensure a healthy, fully-charged battery stays that way. Much like Chef Ron Popeil’s rotisserie cooker, you simply set it and forget it. Depending on the application, of which there are many options, you can attach the unit to the terminals using the alligator-style quick clips or screw on leads, which are both included in the kit.

If one of your other vehicles refuses to start in the depths of winter, the CTEK unit also has a unique cold temperature mode that enables quick recharging. Their patent pending desulfation mode will wake a sulfated battery that is resistant to normal charging methods.

Aside from being compact and versatile, this unit is also splash proof and weatherproof so you can leave it in your garage, shed or boathouse all winter long. Not only that, but patented technology protects against sparks, short circuits and reversed polarity with powerful surge protection. These guys thought of everything!

Going through the winter storage process outlined may seem inconvenient and excessive. But the effort will pay off when it comes time to wake the beast from its seasonal slumber.

Dustin Woods
Dustin Woods

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