Was told by may dealer if I wanted my battery to last I should hook up the battery tender when its parked inmy garagewhen I'm not using the bike. That sound like overkill to me. What do you think? Do you guys use them and how often? Thanks

 

My rule is that if I am not going to be using it and it is going to sit for more than two weeks I will hook it up. It only takes a second to plug it in.

 

I believe it will help, but your right connecting it every time you park is tough but if you connect it anytime the bike will be parked for say a week or more that will help. If your like many though you won't always know when you might get to ride again and then it may make sense to connect the tender every time you park on the off chance that it could be a while before ride again. certainly the long winter storage it would be a good thing.

FBL

 

I plug it in every time I park it at home for the day even if it's just for overnight. It ensures the battery is fully charged and it can't overcharge. Cheap insurance and it takes no time to plug it in.

 

batteries deplete from sitting. Whether its a week or a couple days.By plugging in all the time this prevents the battery discharging and keep all the cells in top performance. Now do I do that nope!

 

Got 5 years out of my last Battery using a tender... And I only replaced the battery because we were going on a 4000 trip????

 

In the five years that I have owned my Ultra I've plugged its battery into a tender every time I pull into the garage. Also during the long cold winters we have here the tender is plugged in while the battery still in the bike. Same battery and it fires up every time...

I just got into the habit and automatically plug it in each and every time. I figure this is much cheaper then buying a battery every few years...

 

Spike is correct...and this is even more true for the EFI bikes as the ECU for the EFI bikes maintains a slow constant drain on the system. A carbed bike will last longer off a charger. My bike will be six years old in another week and it still has the same battery that came with it. It literally pops off the second I hit the button on my 10.6 to 1 compression motor....with no compression releases. I'm certain this battery would have had to be replaced if It didn't get trickle charged all winter long...I have no idea how long it would last if I plugged it in every time I parked it at home.

 

For me .. every time I pull it into the garage after a ride. Same battery after almost 4 years.

 

I do the same