battery tender

[jd8181]

i was just wondering if you guys just hook your battery up to your battery tender all the time you are not riding your bike?? or if you just hook it up if you are storing you bike for awhile?? and if so how long do you have to not ride you bike to hook it up to the battery tender??

[specialx1]

just habit for me , i use it all the time!
Specialx1

[ramv102000]

It's part of the routine. Turn off the petcock, lock the ignition switch and the fork lock, plug in the tender.

[Bigs]

I hookup my Tender Plus to my RG if I'm not going to be riding it for 3 or 4 weeks or when we go on vacation. On my '05 Sportster I usually put the Tender Plus on about every 4 or 5 months since I don't ride it in cold weather. The carb models don't use up the battery like the fuel injected models do.
   Bigs

[hotham]

I get amazing life from my batteries and I believe it is because I always use the tender.  Since we live in the country, I use a tender on everything  { Lawn tractor, back-up generator and both bikes }

[Six Blues]

All the time. I have the tender plugged into a switched outlet next to the bike. I just plug it into the bike and turn it on. It takes less than a minute.

[Ultrashovel]

Absolutely keep it on all of the time. They are designed to keep the battery up and then "float" up and down to maintain the voltage at around 13.2 volts DC.

I have three Battery Tenders. One on my bike. One on my lawn tractor and one on a spare battery in my shop that I use for 12 volt dc testing on electronics. All of the batteries are several years old. The battery tender will save you $$$$$.

[Bigs]

Something I think might be better than the Battery Tender is the Battery Minder. It is also has a float mode but also has the pulse mode to keep the battery plates from getting a buildup. I have been using them on my motorhome batteries for years and I have never had a problem. They cost about the same as the Battery Tender Plus. They also have the same plug and battery clips as the Tender.
   Bigs

[Topend]

Year before last I had a new battery & something went wrong with my tender plus & it cooked my battery over the winter. A friend of mine warned me that might happen but I had never heard of that before so I kept it on all winter season. I still use it but now I  plug it into an extra timer I have to kick on for about 2 to 3 hours a day when stored or on vacation etc.. I have not had any more problems like that again.
Topend95

[Ultrashovel]

Something I think might be better than the Battery Tender is the Battery Minder. It is also has a float mode but also has the pulse mode to keep the battery plates from getting a buildup. I have been using them on my motorhome batteries for years and I have never had a problem. They cost about the same as the Battery Tender Plus. They also have the same plug and battery clips as the Tender.
   Bigs

I was speaking generically. There is more than one brand of battery tender. Other than pulse, they mostly work in the same way.

[04glide]

I have never used one. I just replaced my battery after 5 years. I do ride everyday though unless it pouring down rain and thats not very often.

[Ultrashovel]

I have never used one. I just replaced my battery after 5 years. I do ride everyday though unless it pouring down rain and thats not very often.

If you ride every day, you don't need a battery tender. Not everyone does that, although we wish we could.

[xxxflhrci]

Never used on and don't ride every day.  My bike sat idle for 2 months this winter and fired right up.  My batteries seem to last.  The first in the RKC had 5 years/52k miles on it when I replaced it outta paranoia.  The second one is going one 5 years old and still doing it's job.

[Topend]

I would think that storage in a colder climate would affect the battery more without a tender connected than a milder climate, my .02
Topend95

[Ultrashovel]

Never used on and don't ride every day.  My bike sat idle for 2 months this winter and fired right up.  My batteries seem to last.  The first in the RKC had 5 years/52k miles on it when I replaced it outta paranoia.  The second one is going one 5 years old and still doing it's job.

You obviously have some bike other than an UUltra-Classic The security system and radio backup on my bike draw enough current (milliamps) to pull the battery down in a week.

You are leading a charmed life, at least with regard to batteries......

[Bladesmith]

FYI......Harbor Frieght sells a good Battery tender often for $5.00....I've been using them for years with no problems.....my $.02

[Coyote]

Never used on and don't ride every day.  My bike sat idle for 2 months this winter and fired right up.  My batteries seem to last.  The first in the RKC had 5 years/52k miles on it when I replaced it outta paranoia.  The second one is going one 5 years old and still doing it's job.

You obviously have some bike other than an UUltra-Classic The security system and radio backup on my bike draw enough current (milliamps) to pull the battery down in a week.

You are leading a charmed life, at least with regard to batteries......

You got something wrong if that's the case. My 07 ultra can sit for weeks (though it rarely does) and I can put the tender on and it blinks almost full immediately. And in addition to all the stock equipment, I have an added wireless key fob for my bag locks drawing some juice.

[Justpassingas]

same as whats been said here.....when I'm not riding its on the tender wether its overnite or a couple months during the winter

[Ultrashovel]

Never used on and don't ride every day.  My bike sat idle for 2 months this winter and fired right up.  My batteries seem to last.  The first in the RKC had 5 years/52k miles on it when I replaced it outta paranoia.  The second one is going one 5 years old and still doing it's job.

You obviously have some bike other than an UUltra-Classic The security system and radio backup on my bike draw enough current (milliamps) to pull the battery down in a week.

You are leading a charmed life, at least with regard to batteries......

You got something wrong if that's the case. My 07 ultra can sit for weeks (though it rarely does) and I can put the tender on and it blinks almost full immediately. And in addition to all the stock equipment, I have an added wireless key fob for my bag locks drawing some juice.

Nothing wrong with my bike.

[PoorUB]

You got something wrong if that's the case. My 07 ultra can sit for weeks (though it rarely does) and I can put the tender on and it blinks almost full immediately. And in addition to all the stock equipment, I have an added wireless key fob for my bag locks drawing some juice.

With my '05 Ultra I notice it does not crank over as fast when it has sat for 3-4 weeks, without the Battery Tender. If I forget the battery Tender, then plug in in after it has sat for a week or two it does take some time to charge back up. After a couple months without the Battery Tender it will barely crank over. Been that way since new.
I wonder if the change in the radio on the '06 bikes has something to do with it. Perhaps the '06 radio uses less power to store the memory.
I use the Battery Tender only when the bike is going to sit for more than a couple weeks. Normally I ride darned near every day so I don't bother then.

[Coyote]

You got something wrong if that's the case. My 07 ultra can sit for weeks (though it rarely does) and I can put the tender on and it blinks almost full immediately. And in addition to all the stock equipment, I have an added wireless key fob for my bag locks drawing some juice.

With my '05 Ultra I notice it does not crank over as fast when it has sat for 3-4 weeks, without the Battery Tender. If I forget the battery Tender, then plug in in after it has sat for a week or two it does take some time to charge back up. After a couple months without the Battery Tender it will barely crank over. Been that way since new.
I wonder if the change in the radio on the '06 bikes has something to do with it. Perhaps the '06 radio uses less power to store the memory.
I use the Battery Tender only when the bike is going to sit for more than a couple weeks. Normally I ride darned near every day so I don't bother then.

A month is a bit different than a week. If a battery is going dead in a week, something ain't right. Just sayin..

[RK101]

In the warmer months I never use it because I ride almost everywhere I go, and the bike never sits for more than a day or two. In the colder months I use it all the time. Like many others, it's my belief that it extends the life of the battery if it's on the tender in colder weather riding or not.