INSPECT DA GADGET

JUNOJUMPR NEVER BE LEFT “FLAT” AGAIN WORDS JOHN CONNOR

This month’s review is a fantastic little device that I believe every motorcycle rider should have in his or her travel kit.

Have you ever had a fl at battery in the middle of nowhere when there is no one to assist you? Well, you may never have had this happen to you, but I own a 1999 Harley so it happens to me – a lot. Probably it is because I ride the thing once every three to four months. I store it in a car park where there are no power points so I can’t leave it on a charger. I guess I am asking for trouble.

So what is this? It is a mini charger for smart phones and tablets, plus a jump start unit for motorbikes and cars called a Juno Jump R. The actual unit is about the same dimensions and weight as an iPhone 4. This tiny little battery pack has a USB port on it and a plug connection to plug in a small car battery style set of clamps. It also comes with a car cigarette 12V lighter adapter for charging the Juno Jump R unit when it goes fl at. The Juno Jump R can be charged by the car cigarette adapter or by the USB port and there are four blue lights (once you’ve turned it on) that indicate how much charge it has. There is also a built-in torch in case you need to use it at night.

Here is how I put it to the test. I had not ridden my Harley for around 6 months, so I knew it was not going to start.

Normally I would get a set of traditional car jumper leads, grab my car and go stuff about with jump-starting the Harley from my car. Not this time. I grabbed the Juno Jump R and the Harley key. Sure enough, my bike’s battery was flat.

It only had enough charge to light up the instruments and a very dim headlight. There was not enough to turn the engine over. Just that annoying “click, click” of the starter motor trying to do its work. So I lifted the Harley seat and connected the Juno Jump R. The Harley started first time.

I was so impressed.

But I had one other test for it to see just how good this little device is.

I had had my car sitting in the car park for about 8 months. I had not touched the car for all that time due to a “small” speeding fine I had received. I was now able to ride and drive again, but sure enough my car battery was fl at after sitting for 8 months. There was not enough charge left to turn over the engine but with the Juno Jump R connected, my car started first time. The engine is a V8, too!

The other function of the device is for charging smartphones or basically anything with a USB port. It does a great job of that, as well.

The unit itself charges fairly quickly. I drained the Juno Jump R by charging up my iPhone6 a few times – it charged the phone four times before going completely fl at.

I then charged the Juno Jump R once by the car cigarette lighter and once by the USB port. It took around 40 minutes using either method to fully charge – not bad at all!

The instruction book says it can jump start a car 10 times before going fl at. It did my dead fl at Harley and car, with the unit indicating it was still fully charged.

The Juno Jump R is priced at $120 and comes with a 1 year warranty. I am so impressed with the size and ease of use, that I bought two of these. One went into the glove box of the car and the other is in the Harley.

Visit the Juno Jump R website to purchase www.smartmotorcycleaccessories.com.au or call Nic on 0438 432 751.