I just own way too many toys and trying to keep them all going and the batteries charged is nearly a full time job. My wife and I barely used our 4 motorcycles over the past 5 years and I had to replace 2 batteries last year. I tried to keep them charged but ended up having to replace them again this spring when I decided to get back into riding. I bought 5 Shumacher battery tenders at Wallyworld for about $20 each to keep on the bikes and one on an old muscle car that sits in the garage. What do y'all feel is better, keeping them on the tender at all times when not being used or just occasionally plugging them in? I also have 3 boats, Toyhauler, lawn tractor, and various other goodies with batteries to keep going so replacing them can add up to serious coin if they don't live their normal lifespan.

 

I prefer the original "Battery Tender" for all of the motorcycles I've owned. I guess I use the Plus model. I would leave it plugged in indefinitely if I wasn't using the bike.

 

I just occasionally plug the batteries in. I don't even have one of them new tender things, I have an old (from the early 70's) sears trickle charger.

About 2-3 times during the winter, around 4-6 weeks apart, I'll connect it to the battery for a weekend, and then unplug it after 2 days.

repeat a month or more later.

Once spring hits and riding season kicks in...no need to connect until season is over in December and the bike sits for more than 4 weeks unused.

Anyways, that's what works for me. Other battery devices...tractor, or when I have boats...those batteries doesn't get on the charger until spring when I need 'em.

I don't want batterys hooked up to some charger for long periods of time when I'm not around.

Batterys last a long time for me.

 

I leave mine plugged in all winter why sits, use one on my riding mower all winter also. If know will not be riding for an extended period for any reason I will plug it in also. I use the same as Dresser does on both and have never had an issue to date.

 

All of my bikes are kept on Battery Tenders when not being ridden and they're parked in the garage, I even put my new truck on a Tender when it comes in the garage for the night. I've never had issues with batteries, I get lots of years out of them which I attribute to my daily use of the Battery Tenders...

 

These are the kind of answers I'm looking for. Trying to figure out if leaving it on all the time extends or is detrimental to the life of the battery. I've read of people getting 8 years out of Harley batteries that are kept on tenders but wondering if that is a fluke or if the tenders really do extend the lives.

 

Either I've been really lucky all these years or the constant use of Tenders does make a difference in the longevity of my batteries. One side note, several years ago I noticed an older HD was showing a longer 'red' charge than it typically had, it was always kept plugged in after every ride and I pretty much knew how long it took to go back to the flashing green then finally static green. A bit of investigation in to the problem revealed a rotor magnet had come loose and nicked the stator. A simple fix in the garage, not so much 100 miles from home

Using the Tender after every ride and knowing each bikes pattern I was able to detect a problem before it became a real problem. I realize some people post that they never us a Tender and never have any battery issues, but my experiences tell me a battery kept on a Battery Tender lasts longer and is always fully charged and ready to go when I want to hit that start button...

 

On my riding mower, I was replacing the battery at least every other year...since I have kept it on a tender all the time...my last battery lasted 8 years.

 

I'm a big fan of the battery tender - how hard is it you pull into the garage & plug it into the bike - then unplug it the next time you go for a ride

 

I'm using Sears tenders and they seem to work OK. I use one each for my MINI Cooper and my bike when ever they are not on the road. They shouldn't but both are subject to parasitic leakage and tending just keeps them healthy and ready to go in top shape.