BMW patent battery charging through a sidestand

BMW has again shown that it believes the future of motorcycling – or a large portion of it anyway – is electric by patenting an innovative charging system that uses the motorcycles sidestand.

The system works by using the only metallic part of the motorcycle that touches the ground when parked to direct current towards the motorcycle's battery via a wireless charging pad located on the floor. The system should be equivalent to a trickle charge to the bike's battery – or Level 1 charging for electric bikes – meaning the machine could be charged from flat to full overnight.

The system would automatically begin charging the machine when the rider parks the motorcycle with the side stand pad on the wireless charger. Wireless charging works best when the two are in nearly direct contact, a bit like the wireless charging systems on some mobile phones. BMW’s wireless electric motorcycle system seems to do just that.

Could the BMW system also work on internal combustion motorcycles?

While all signs point to this system being used on all-electric motorcycles, there’s no reason why a system such as this couldn’t be incorporated into a conventional petrol-powered motorcycle. The low current transfer from the wireless charging pad could be regulated in such a way as to facilitate a trickle charge function to a bike’s convention 12v battery.

The advantages of this seem fairly clear and wide reaching; no more struggling to connect a trickle charger to the battery, no more removing bodywork in a freezing cold garage or shed and no excuses to not hook it up every time you park the bike!