I too am one of those that leaves mine plugged in whenever I'm not riding regardless of season.

I've been doing this for almost 20 years with all my different motorcycles over time. I've only had one issue and I'm not sure what caused it, probably a cheap battery that came with the used bike I bought. Guy said it was a new battery, seemed to run fine, kept it plugged in over the winter and when I went to start it in the spring, it wouldn't start. All the lights, horn, other stuff worked, just wouldn't turn over. Check fuses and all the things you'd think would be the issue.

Turns out it was a dead cell in the battery... Very strange... But again, I think it was completely a defective battery issue and not the charger....

 

Bike...Mustang...riding mower...all connected to tender from Nov - April w/no problems.

 

How about this, I have a car the wife stopped using and it had been parked in the garage for 4years +. I kept it on the tender and when ever I had to move it, not drive it, it would start right up.

 

Once more. First figure out if you have a AGM battery or old lead acid battery tech. Then learn the difference because they are different. Not going threw this argument ever again on this forum. Some guys think a battery is a battery period. My bike, snowmobile and lawn tractor all have AGM batteries in them when I'm not using them I put the charger on them once a month for 4 hours. BTM.

 

Whether I'm riding again in one day or next week the minute I turn it off in the garage the tender goes on and stays on until the next ride. A good tender will keep your battery in top condition.

 

What type of battery does Harley supply in its 2018 models? Everything my Battery Tenders are connected to thus far are not AGM batteries.

 

Pretty sure that is what is in the current models is AGM.

The battery in my 2014 Limited is an AGM. Still going plenty strong
The battery in my 2005 Suzuki was an AGM- Lasted 9 years
The Cranking battery in my boat is a standard Lead/Acid flooded battery. Lasted 10 years.

All of these are or were put on a battery Tender.

Doesn't matter if the battery is an old style lead/acid or an AGM. Both work equally fine on a tender. AGM batteries will discharge a lot slower than the lead acid style, but it harms nothing at all to leave an AGM battery on a battery tender.

All that means is that the tender will not need to cycle on as often as a lead/acid battery might.

 

I firmly believe in the tender. HOWEVER, dont use the aligator clips that come with them while on the bike. I have an old Norton with Positive earth. I was using the clips because I just never got around to installing the harness. I unplugged the tender and moved the bike. Suddenly from under the seat big smoke. The clip fell off the negative side and hit the frame to ground. I pulled the seat and ripped off the harness, burning my hand but saving the bike and the house I would guess. Lucky it didnt burn the bike harness or hurt anything else. Scary deal. I now have a harness on the bike. Scared the **** out of me and lesson learned.

 

Mine is on all winter, usually ride a couple times a week, so no need to charge it. Last battery I got 7 yrs out of it, factory battery when I traded it.

 

I'm not disciplined enough to hook up the tender every day after I ride, but if it's been a week or so without riding (which is rare for me), I'll hook it up until I ride again.

As for the "off season", I leave the tender hooked up and plugged in 24/7 until I start it up first time in the spring.

My current battery is the original from when the bike was new in 2009. It's an "AGM" battery. To me that means whatever I'm doing is working just fine.

I hear so many on these forums talking about 3 or 4 years from a battery and I'm like....ok if you say so, but my experience has always been a lot longer than that.