Best Portable Motorcycle Jump Starter

Many fuel-injected bikes come without a kickstart (more about that later). If your battery dies on a long ride, you could be stranded.

The solution? A portable jump starter.

Best Motorcycle Jump Starter Reviews

Here are our top picks.

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Hi-Q PM400 Jump Starter

This fully motorcycle-specific jump starter is slim, rugged and lightweight. It only outputs 12 V at 400 amps, so no cars or other vehicles, but if you’re after something exclusively for your bike, this is a great pick.

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The 24 W lithium-ion battery gives this decent capacity, and there’s a 4 increment capacity LED display. Battery connection leads are tough and easy to fit on a motorcycle. Including a cigarette lighter adapter are a nice touch and another clear nod to the motorcycle market.

This is the smallest device on our list and probably the one we’d recommend if easy storage is a priority. It doesn’t have all the features of some of the larger options, but it works perfectly for motorcycles, is tiny and has a rugged, lightweight shell.

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Noco GB400

This starter uses a 24W lithium-ion battery with 400 amp output and is one of the smaller and lighter solutions available.

Though small, it’s ideally suited for cars up to 4 L and will jump-start any motorcycle. The marketing for this one mentions up to 20 starts from a single charge.

Even if that’s a slight exaggeration, there’s still a lot of charge in this unit.

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USB in and out ports are located on the side, a micro USB cable is included, and four LEDs give battery readout in 25% increments.

Everything here is miniaturised, and this feels almost like motorcycle-specific equipment. The needle nose connectors are particularly suited to attaching to a motorcycle battery, and an LED torch is included for emergencies.

Overcharge protection, reverse polarity protection and spark-proof connectors are all featured, making the unit safe.

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Gooloo Portable Jump Starter

This unit has an 18,000 mAh capacity and can deliver up to 1200 amps to jump-start your vehicle. The marketing says it can jump-start up to thirty times off a single charge – and they’re accounting for an average-sized car.

All this is much more than we necessarily need for motorcycling, but the unit is as compact as some of the lower-capacity starters on our list.

For adventure/touring riders, having a large capacity to charge laptops, phones, and cameras can be important. To this end, a USB port and 8-in-1 laptop/Macbook charging adapter are included.

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Protection against human and mechanical error is as comprehensive as any starter on our list. Crucially, reverse polarity protection, overcharge protection, and spark-proof connectors are used.

Of the 8 safety features a jump-start unit can have, this one features all 8. If you’ve connected it incorrectly, the unit won’t send current.

A flashlight is mounted on the unit – a valuable addition for touring riders.

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Buyer’s Guide

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Portable Design

This is a pretty big factor for most of us. Motorcycling riding means hard limits on the gear we can carry, so if a jump starter needs its own backpack, it’s not practical for our purposes.

The starters on our list are all designed to fit inside a glove compartment. Though, in some cases, there would be little room for anything else!

Many portable jump-start solutions also market themselves as portable charging stations for your electronic devices for activities like camping and hiking. This also demands a smaller form factor.

Output Voltage

Motorcycles almost universally use 12v batteries, so we need something that can output this voltage at least. Many devices are sold as suitable for charging a variety of larger vehicles and, therefore, will be able to charge your smaller motorcycle battery safely.

Likewise, a jump starter capable of powering your 12v motorcycle battery will be able to charge smaller devices like laptops, phones and tablets (if the connections are present).

Capacity

The larger the capacity of your jump starter means more jump-starts and charges for your electronic devices. How quickly a battery depletes when stored varies from product to product and according to the conditions it’s stored in.

Battery packs are best kept away from sunlight and localised heat if possible.

Built-in Protection

The jump starters on our list use spark-proof connectors and reverse polarity protection to mitigate any risk involved with jump-starting your vehicle. Without these two features, connecting the wrong clamp to the wrong battery post could create problems.

Additional Features

Some of the units on our list go as far as to include compasses on their surface, and others feature hazard lights for nighttime use in an emergency. Honestly, neither of these two features are necessary, nor are they utterly pointless.

Ports

All the jump starters on our list feature at least a USB-C connector. Higher-end jump starters include a wider variety of ports; some even have a 6-in-1 power supply designed to fit most laptops, tablets and cameras.

FAQ

Conclusion

Having one of these under your seat or in a pannier makes sense.

They’re inexpensive, whereas a single call to a recovery service could cost you quite a bit.

The smallest ones on our list will work if you try to keep it as minimalist as possible. And if space isn’t a huge concern, consider a larger unit that can work for cars and other vehicles.

Note: If you get caught without the right tool, try these 4 ways to jump-start a motorcycle.