Who uses these things and why? What brand is best/easiest to use? Where can i get one? How much can i expect to pay?

 

I use a Battery Tender and I love it. In the cold weather I never worry about having a dead Battery and I am always ready to go. Out here in the Pacific Northwest you never know when you will get a break in the rain to get a chance to ride. I try to get in as much dry riding as possible, The rain gear is a pain to put on. I do ride all year and a dead battery is the last thing you want to deal with. They also prolong the life of your Battery. Makes sense to me.

Penny
89 1200 Sproty

 

Get a Schumacher from Walmart. It works great and will set you back a whoping $17.88. At that price that thing is a steal.

 

I use the Battery Tender +. It just works, it's reasonably priced and hasn't hurt a battery that wasn't on it's last legs anyway. They aren't hard chargers like some Automobile chargers which can put a serious charge in a very short time. Not so good in my opinion for a Motorcycle battery. It's also good because you can just leave the darn thing plugged in full time, since it goes into a storage mode which just monitors the battery and trickle charges it when it needs it.

 

I got a Battery Tender + liked it so good I gave my son one for xmass.

 

I have a Yuasa 'battery maintainer' ($49.00CAD) that my wife bought for me at Canadian Tire last year. It came with a harness that you attach to the battery when it is IN the bike sitting between rides all you do is connect the maintainer to the harness and it keeps it at full charge. I also leave it hooked-up in the winter to keep the battery in a full state of charge. I can't recommend which is best but I would venture to say that virtually any of the tender/maintainers is a worthwhile purchase.

Tom

 

Why: Because you like your bike to start

Why Not: Because you think it's fun to push start your Harley.

Just pick one up at your local harley dealer. They sell it with the pigtail so you can plug it right in without removing your seat everytime. It's a must for winter or long periods of idleness.


Terry

 

This has been covered good already, here's a battery education for you

https://www.hdforums.com/m_72068/tm.htm

https://www.hdforums.com/m_154614/tm.htm

 

I got the Battery Tender Plus from this same guy - can't beat the price but only 2 hours left on the eBay auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-D...QQcmdZViewItem

If you miss this one, there are others. Just type in "battery tender" on eBay's home page. It's a great accessory, and one I wouldn't be without. Comes with cables AND the "pigtail" for easy plug in/out of the charger without removing your battery.

Thumper26

 

Because my second Schumacher from Wall-Mart quit working last year and a car type battery charger will damage the new type MC batteries. You can get a Battery Tender Junior at virtually all non Harley dealers for $29.95. Harley sells the same thing with a bar and shield on it for a lot more money.