1.) In a perfect world, if you knew exactly how long your bike would sit without being ridden, at what point would you get a battery tender / trickle charger?

One week?

Two weeks?

A month or more?


2.) If you couldn't ride (weather etc.) and didn't have a battery tender, does starting the bike and letting it idle for a bit help keep the battery fully charged?

 

1. I never use a Trickle Charger, if left on too long they will cook the battery. Even if I'm riding almost everyday, I plug the Battery Tender in when I'm done for the day. It's not necessary, but doesn't hurt and ensures that the battery is at 100% when I'm ready to ride.

2. If you can't ride the bike for 30+ minutes don't start it, all you'll accomplish is accumulating moisture (water) in your oil.

It takes ~20 minutes of riding at cruise speed to replace the charge in the battery that was used to start the bike, and it takes 30+ minutes of riding to get the oil warm enough to evaporate moisture that accumulates in the system.

.

 

all year all the time

 

I usually plug it in if I'm not going to ride for 24 hours or more. Which isn't very often.

 

Mine is always plugged in anytime I'm not on it, even if only for a day.

-Beer

 

My program is slightly different from what I've read here. I connect the Battery Tender + the day after I ride, my reasoning is that the battery wil be pretty hot after a ride due to its close proximity to the rear cylinder. Like cHarley I won't use a trickle charger because they charge at a constant 15.6 volts, the Battery Tender + charges to 15.6 then floats it at 14.4. No boiling no overheat.

 

So are mines.

 

Bought a new Sportster in Feb of 2000, I lived in Cincinnati at the time, and the bike would sit for a few weeks between riding during the winter. I lived there 2 years and never had a problem with the battery. Moved to Florida in 2002, and rode year round. That battery lasted 5 years without ever having a charger on it.

 

If not being ridden, plug er' in year round.
Cheap insurance.

 

My garage is not heated but is attached to the house. If the temps outside get 30 and lower and I can't ride it for more than a couple of days, then I hook up the tender.