PulseTech XC100 Battery Charger | MC TESTED

Battery chargers are part of life for most motorcyclists. Whether for seasonal reasons or because the bike doesn’t get used as often as we’d like, we all seem to own at least one charger. Joining the established players on the market is the XC100 charger from PulseTech, which serves as both a maintenance and a bulk charger, and promises longer battery life thanks to proprietary desulfating pulses that are said to break up harmful lead-sulfate crystals that form during regular use.

Like most chargers, the XC100 comes with a 6-foot fused cord ending in an SAE-type plug. The unit comes with clip leads as well as a pigtail with ring terminals intended for permanent installation on your bike. The unit measures just 8 x 3.5 x 2.25 inches and is quite lightweight, with a maximum output current of 2.5 amps and a series of LEDs on the face that convey charge status. One thing you’ll notice the XC100 doesn’t have, however, is a single button. It’s literally plug and play. The XC100 has a microprocessor that figures out what kind of battery you have and how best to treat it, so you don’t have to.

We’ve had the XC100 in the shop for nearly a year, and have used it to charge and top up all kinds of lead-acid batteries, from the small unit that powers our lap timer beacon to a 50-amp-hour car battery that went dead during a photo shoot. Our IT guy even used it on his Harley’s five-year-old battery. His charger declared the battery dead, but the XC100 brought it back to life long enough for him to order a replacement without having to park his bike.