The charging pigtail on my bike makes it very convenient to plug it into the battery tender whenever garaged. Regardless if I ride daily or less than once a week. A quality battery tender which allows both trickle charge and discharge doesn't hurt the battery's longevity.
Why should you not charge a dead battery with a tender? I've done it many times to my old truck with no problem
Some brands (Battery Tender Jr for example) have internal circuits that prevent "sensing" the battery if the voltage is below a certain reading. I have read <3.0v
In any case those small Deltran battery Jr. types were never intended to bring a battery back from the dead.
Originally Posted by IAMSWUTIAMS
It's not that you shouldn't, it is just not efficient. It takes much longer because it is not a "charger".
I'm in MT, and mine is plugged in whenever I'm not riding it. I just replaced the battery this summer. I checked the dates, and it's been 8 years since the last new battery. That should answer why I stay plugged in.
My bike is stored in the winter in a shed without electricity. If I can't ride it every couple of weeks I'll run an extension cord out and give it a little quality time on the BT Plus (flashing green 80% right away and solid green 100% in under an hour). Every couple of weeks works fine for me....original battery in a 08 SG.
I have a Battery Tender Jr on my Harley and Quad. I have the pig-tails going from the battery to the outside hidden. As soon as I pull into my garage with either one I plug the tender in. Its always on the tender unless the Harley or Quad is under my ***