When to use battery tender?
#22
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I just bought a new battery for my bike last week. The date on the old one (by the date code) was October 2008. I have a Noco Genius battery tender/charger and I keep it plugged in when ever Im not riding my bike. I think its cheap insurance to have the battery plugged in to keep it maintained and topped off.
+1 on the Noco Genius, smartest charger out there, do the research. I have the 1100 on the bike whenever it's parked. Wired it so that I just plug it in a Powerlet outlet, fast and easy. The Car gets the Noco 3500 during cold weather like now. Batteries last longer when a full charge is maintained. The Noco can do so much more then the Harley Tender, it's worth looking at.
#24
#26
#27
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I use a tender on my bike year round, unless I get back from a ride and know for sure I will ride the bike the next day. I still have the stock battery from 2007 with over 20k on it and it's fine every time. Remember the ALT in the bike does not charge on idle, you have to be about 2500 RPM's or so to chrage so leting the bike idle in the garage will pull the battery down as it's not like a car. Like was said it's not good to start the bike and not ride it for about 20 mins to a 30 mins. My bike has not been started in over 3 months, just seafoam in the tank and a tender on it.
#30
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Trickle chargers don't charge unless your voltage drops below a set preset voltage determined by the specific charger. With that being said outside of winter I ride from spring to snowfall as a season rule. I don't use the tender in the summer only when the bike might set for a month or so before riding. I replaced my nearly 7 year old battery this year although it was working fine. Just did it for age sake. Used the tender for 4 years without issue.