I was in the Harley dealer the other day and noticed the battery tenders setting on a table with some other goodies. I already have one on my Road King but was looking at them because my brother-in-law needs one. They had one with the Harley emblem on it and another without. I asked what the difference was and all he said was the emblem. He wasn't trying to be a smart @ss about it. He said they are even made by the same manufacturer. The non-Harley version was only $39.

So if you have any doubt about that charger, I would replace it. It's a small price to pay for a little comfort knowing the bike will start when you jump on it. Besides, it will probably be the cheapest thing you buy for your bike.

Jim

 

Like most said the trickle will continue to charge until unplugged, while a tender charges battery then monitors it and charges as is needed. Most have a RED light that goes green when charged. The company "Battery Tender" is the main tender that most use. You can EBay one pretty cheap!

 

Yeah...good advice...rare that something for the bike cost that little and well worth the piece of mind

 

I wonder if you could use a clamp type ammeter to check the output?

 

All four of my Battery Tenders are 1.25 amps. If you buy one at Harley, you most likely are getting a Battery Tender, Jr., and paying the price for a Battery Tender Plus....but you get the Harley sticker.

Competition Accesories sells them, often at sale price. http://www.compacc.com/ Their regular price for a Battery Tender Plus is $39.99, which is about what Harley charges for the Jr.

Quality product, guaranteed for ten years. (The Jr. is only guaranteed for five years). I had one go south, and it was replaced as soon as I returned the defective unit..

Here's the web site with specs for the doubters....http://batterytender.com/

 

Here's the ultimate Battery Tender!

Hope this link works !

http://www.compacc.com/images/product/100/13522_1.jpg

 

Schumacher makes a nice one with "float mode" Its what I have and was around 20-25 bucks! Hated buying it at walmart, but for that price its hard to beat and they make great products!
http://store.schumachermart.com/sem-1562a.html

 

Not only is Cadman correct about a trickle charger over charging your battery . . . it will keep right on going until you either unplug it or the electrolyte boils off and falls below the plates on the battery. At this point your battery has a very high probability of exploding. This is because when the electrolyte exposes the tops of the plates an arc can jump between the pos and neg plates and it will ignite the hydrogen and the oxygen that accumulates at the top of a battery when it is being charged or discharged . . . EXTREMELY DANGEROUS . . . what is left of the acid goes everywhere and the case of the battery can contribute bits of shrapnel . . . think in terms of a small hand grenade all you've got a real good picture of what can happen. Just because it didn't explode when you shut the trickle charger off doesn't mean you're in the clear . . . if the tops of the plates are exposed just engaging the starter motor can set the thing off . . . and where's the battery? and where's your most favorite organ aside from your brain?

 

I have a .75amp trickle charger that has a red light that goes out when the battery is fully charged..over the winter I've had in on for weeks on end and the light never went out so the question is can you over charge a battery with a trickle charger?

 

One more thing to remember is that a battery tender will not charge a dead battery, only mantain it in the state that it is in, if the battery is dead, charge it with a low amperage charger (2Amp) first then put it on the tender.