ABS eats 24/7. CD players eat 24/7. Security does also.

It is different for each bike. Some may have minor shorts. Just being connected has some drain. In a dark garage pull the negative cable off and touch it to the terminal. You will see a spark. If you see a large spark you have some investigating to do.

A fresh battery on a tender until the bike goes out and connected upon returning can go 10 years.

I have 10 bikes in the garage that have been on tenders since the first day. I do not have battery problems ever unless it was a defective battery to begin with.

I did have one defective battery which the dealer replaced under warranty.

 

I'm also native to the valley of the sun, and just make it simple and replace them every 2 years before the machine starts showing sign of engine drag. So I can say that I get 2 years out of a battery even garaged.

 

I generally get about 3 years out of the batteries on my cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Anything more than 3 years is living on borrowed time. I'd prefer to replace the battery after 3 years and perhaps lose a few months of battery life than try to stretch the battery life to the limit and get stranded somewhere when the battery dies.

 

What's snow? Lol

 

five years on mine, put it on a tender every winter for 5 months. I think every technical article I've ever read regarding battery maintenance advises to keep them charged with a trickle charger or the like. The tender is ideal as it provides a charge on demand.

 

Does that mean that it is not only the excessive heat a Sportster battery has to endure but even prolonged high ambient temperature as you guys have do so much damage?
That is something that us, who live in cooler climes, don't always think about.
Have to say though that if I could swap a new battery every two years for not having to worry about rust I know what I'd choose.

 

+1...Good Thinking....It's not worth being stranded in the middle of nowhere.