I have an '04 XL 1200C and have had great luck with the bike since I purchased it last spring with 1,000 miles on the clock. (Now at 2,500 miles) With cold weather on the way, I purchased a Battery Tender (starting to turn-over sluggishly.) After fully charging the battery, the bike fired right up. I idled for about five minutes and then re-installed the B-T. To my surprise, I took more then an hour to reach full charge again! Does this mean that my battery is dying, that the alternator isn't charging, or that I must actually ride the bike to charge the battery??

Also; in preparing for winter storage I'm about to replace the H-D synthetic oil with Amsoil 20w-50. I have used a product called "Z-Max" in the engine oil and fuel in my autos. Does anyone have any experience with this additive in there Sportsers??

Thanks for sharing your experience,

RJS

 

That's normal. My battery tender does the same thing even after getting off from a long ride on both my bikes. My guess is it charges the battery to a slightly higher state of carge than the bike's voltage regulator is set at.

Can't help with the oil additive. I've always felt like they were all money wasted. Just curious, why switch to Amsoil for winter? Seems like you were already covered using HD full synthetic.

 

Thanks for your reply, Muddy;

I've been reading that H-D recommeds an oil change prior to storage. If I must do this, I believe that Amsoil is a superior lubricant to the H-D product. Is the consensus that it is not necessary to replace synthetics over the winter?

You may be correct about additives generally being a waste of money. I like what I've have read about Z-Max in that it was originally formualted for aircraft engines as "Avblend." It's kinda like using Rogaine; I have not noticed any new hair growth, but I fear that if I stop using it, my hair will fall out!
[Catch-22 LOL]

 

I t takes more than five minutes of running for the alternator to replace what you used while starting.

The colder the weather, the more energy used and the longer the charge time.

Trust the BT.

 

With reguards to the battery, keep in mind that a tender has an extremely slow chargeing rate, somewhere around .25 to .5amp so that would explain the time to recharge. Additionally, your bike most likely does not re-charge untill you reach a higher rpm, mine is around 3k - 3.5k rpm to get full charging strength. So simply idling for 5 min. won't do any thing but start to drain it. Also, be sure that the water is at the right level.

Pyro

 

20-50w synthetic good, additives......BAD. Stay away from magic potions, JUNK!

 

Pyro is quite right. A properly designed battery tender will "float" the charge at about 12.5 volts so as to not overcharge a battery dry. Charge it up with a 2+ amp charger, after it's fully charged switch over to the battery tender, and you're battery should stay happy.

 

was looking at my 06 1200c and noticed a small (mabe 2 1/2" long) grey plug with a black ruber stopper in it hooked to the front of the battery. I though this might be where the battery tender could be pluged in but it is not as I called the local dealer and was informed they sell the tender harness separately. Don't know what the plug is, mabe for diagnostic purposes but I do remember that if you are doubting your charging system, a simple test, is to use a volt meter to check the charge of the battery with the bike off (12.5 - 13.5v) then start it, it should rise to between 13-14.7v. I had a situation, where the voltage actually dropped with the bike running, to 11.7v sure enough I had a bad voltage regulator. Amazingly, the bike will run, discharging the battery, for a little over 200 miles before gauge lights come on and bike shuts down.

 

Thanks to all for your input;

Glad to hear especially from you, molsenice.. without problems! Hope your new bike runs flawlessly. BTW, I looked under the cover and had the same thought about the B-T connection. Seems the plug is a interface for diagnosis. The new Sportsters at the dealer all had a harness connection extending from the battery cover for B-T's. Great innovation... guess I'll have to buy the harness next year.

RJS

 

I bought the Battery Tender a few months ago and it comes with a set of battery clips AND a quick-connect harness all wired. Simply connect the harness to the battery and it lays on the back of the engine where the tranny is just like the ones that come from the dealer - no need to buy one from a Stealer!

Thumper26