I wasn't sure about leaving mineconnected 24/7, so Igot a plug-intimer. Set the timer to come on for a couple of hours a week, works great.

GhostBagger.

 

I've been doing it that same way for years and no problem.

 

If you have a good tender, like the “Tender Jr.” that turns itself off and on, you can hook it up and just let it go. Honestly, I would think that unplugging and then replugging your tender would cause the battery to drain down more, only to be charged back up.. this could actually shorten the battery's life. that’s why you use a tender over just using a regular old charger at the beginning of the season. Remember… the tender does the turning off and on for you... they're "smart" and know when the battery needs it and when it doesn’t.

As far as the cover goes… I have my bike in the garage with the tender on 24/7, but no cover. First, I agree that covers can cause more harm than good… abrasions, fumes, etc. Second, and more importantly, I just love looking at my bike every time I walk in the garage!

- Jerm

 

I guess I'm paranoid. I would be a little reluctant to leave it like that. I'm sure it's o.k. as long as "everything is working o.k." but if for some reason things weren't working o.k. I can't help but wonder if a dangerous amount of explosive gas would build up under the cover !

I might add that removing the cover might be a good idea. Sure, the bike would get dustier but moisture wouldn't be trapped inside the cover and since the bike would be able to breath more I think the end result would be better.

 

On the contrary, I've always believed that lead-acid batteries last much longer when they drain some charge and then are recharged. I take my batteries out of the bike, lawnmower and RV for the winter and keep them in the house. Occassionaly I will hook up a 12v trouble light for an hourto each battery and them put the tender on to recharge. I have kept some of my bikes 6-7 years and have not had to replace a battery yet. The RV battery (deep cycle) was bought in 2000 and is still working fine today...about 3 years past what the RV place says I should get out of it.

Just MHO.

 

I leave mine on the battery tender 24/7 with a cover. I use a breathable cover and leave the tender plugged in. It turns on and off as needed so I don't mess with it. That's what it is designed to do. It's a 2004 Sportster and the battery is still strong....

 

Any decent quality battery tender keeps the the batteryBELOW the 'gassing' level (the gas is potentially explosive around any spark ornaked flame) so there should not be a problem with your cover. Personally I don't like covers onstored bikes - experience has taught me that even a 'breathable' cover in an unheated garage will attract a certain amount of moisture. IMHOI'd rather carefully wipe any accumulated dust off the bike after storage than cover it. Proof is I've always had rust free bikes.

 

If you live in a cold area, it's probably best to leave the tender on and keep the battery up. As the specific gravety drops, the freezing point of the electrolite goes up. A near dead battery will freeze and maybe burst when a fully charged one will just have a little slush inside.

 

I took a top quality cover off my 55 Chevy to find out that as the cover moved, it was scratching the tops of the fenders where the weight of the cover hit the car. Even the cleanest car/bike and best cover will have some small amount of fine dust between them. Never will use a cover again..

 

Their made to leave on,not a charger a tender

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