I have a 16 cvo street glide. In 2018 I had Dakota digital gauges installed while in sturgis. When first put in the voltage gauge would read 14 and not change. In 2020 the voltage gauge started reading 13.9 and when riding in cooler weather it would read 14.1. I had it at my mechanic for other work and he checked the charging system and it tested ok, I put a new battery in at the same time. Today while riding as the day went on and got warmer the gauge would read 13.8 and read as low as 13.5 when stopped at a light.

when I got home I plugged it into the tender and as soon as plugged in the tender was flashing green saying the battery was 80% charged. I have a manual and just performed a voltage test at the battery and running the engine at 3,000 rpm per the manual my volt meter read 14.0 and the voltage gauge on the bike read 13.8. Per the manual it states that at 3,000 rpm any reading over 13.0 the charging system is working properly. At idle the voltage gauge on the bike read 13.6 and the volt meter read 13.8. From what I’ve seen online I’ve read that anything over idle it should be charging at 14.1 to 14.7. Am I over thinking this and worrying about nothin? The main reason I am concerned or over thinking this is because we leave for sturgis on Thursday. What are your thoughts?

 

There is no issue.
Follow the information in the service manual.

 

You're way overthinking this, your bike is fine.

 

Rest easy man.........stop thinking........

 

As others have mentioned you are good ... For peace of mind look up "load testers" and view the gauge image ... You'll see that the "green" in the charging scale is around 13.5 to 14.5 ... Ride that bit¢h !

 

80% charge is something to think about
first, you need to look at the load on the machine to see if you have at least 20% head room to charge the machine.
did you load test the battery? temperatures can effect readings
the machine runs off the regulator when running and the battery only makes up short fall, that said, yes there can be minor variations.
bad connections will play a role here also.
voltage is only part of the equation, amps are of great importance also. you can have volts and hardly any amps.

 

I disagree. Every other single thing is indicating a completely healthy charging system and the OP has said nothing about any symptoms of a problem The only thing that gave him any concern was the 80% indication on his maintainer and I would completely ignore anything any maintainer or battery charger told me, I've yet to see one that gives any meaningful information.

 

Way too much analysis paralysis.

A battery tender is not a troubleshooting tool.

The OP`s bike is fine.

 

Sounds like it’s working fine. Take if for a good ride. When you get home, turn off the motor, and use a good dmm to check the battery voltage. It should be 12.5 to 12.7…if so, the charging system is doing its job.

 

If it ain’t broke, fix it until it is.