This is my first Harley, so please excuse the ignorance...

Is a battery tender really necessary? If so, how long does the bike need to be parked before it should be plugged in: a week, a month, a day? I've read a few posts that say they hook it up every night on a daily driver. I have a 2014 if it matters at all.

Just curious because all my metrics never had a battery tender and they could sit for a few months and still start. My car regularly goes 2-4 weeks without being started when I travel, and even in the frigid Midwest, it has no issues and my batteries typically last 5 years.

 

It's not a Harley thing, it's a battery thing. Some use them some don't. I do. But I don't ride often. If you ride often I say it's not necessary. If it's a week between rides then I would say yes. If your gettin 5 years out of a battery then I wouldn't waste my time on a tender. I use one on my bike and tractor in the winter months but rarely in the summer.

 

Ive never owned one. My batteries typically last in the 6 to 8 year range. I ride a lot and the bike rarely sits more than a week. Even when I lived in Ohio the bike got rode at least once a month during the winter. Never had a need for a tender then and don't think I need one now. But to each his own!

 

Not usually needed during riding season. I live in NH and if one of my bikes doesn't see any use for 3-4 weeks, I hook it up as a precaution. We get 4-5 months of winter here...so no riding. When they are down for the winter, I put them on the tender.

 

i have a tender and right now our bikes are plugged in, we dont ride as much as i would like... i have found that here in the PNW its worth it to me to have one and to use it, i will extend the life of the battery in some cases

 

Agreed, if not riding for a several weeks/month put it on a tender. Otherwise not needed!!

 

Vehicle batteries discharge when they're not charging. Cars last much longer because they're driven more often, and they're charging so often. Most people don't think of the battery much past starting the car, but the battery runs everything electronic on the car, and in our cases, on the bikes. Because of the constant draw from the battery, the alternator (car) / stator (bike) recharges as we ride.

Bikes, on the other hand, are not typically used every day (yes, I know there are exceptions). They can sometimes for the casual rider sit for days on end, all the while, with a discharging battery.

A battery tender is cheap insurance and helps to prolong the life of the battery. When my bikes are not being ridden, they're on the tender. It's such a slow trickle charge that there is really no reason not to use one.

 

Thanks for the edumacation.

 

I use them on my bikes, atvs, lawn mowers, and anything else that sits for a while (2+ weeks) at a time. They do significantly increase battery life.

 

Maintaining optimum voltage/amperage in any form of battery will always prolong it's life.
I plug mine in whenever it's parked in my garage, always have.