Gidday all ... i know this subject has come up a few times but was after opinions on the use of Trickle Chargers specificily HD`s Battery Tender

The scenerio is got my 08 Softail in Dec 2012 ... the battery was installed in Jan 2012 as stated on top of battery ... has a battery tender attached but have never used as i have never had a problem but always thought it would come in handy ... few weeks back the beast had to sit for near on 4 weeks due to work commitments , weather patterns and buying of new house and general running around and not getting a ride in .

Got her out for a weekend ride and nothing just clicking ... put her away and chucked her on the battery tender ... few days latter took her out again , fired up first go , went for a ride , about 250 K`s and thought she would be sweet ... have had her on the tender a couple of times in the past week just to be sure but out this morning to go to the bike races and even though the tender registered green light , when hitting the starter she wound over but didn`t fire and then eventuly got slower winding over , all wires seem to be nice and tight .

I know i will be called a Fair weather rider or weekend warrior or some other judgemental form of abuse but i don`t give a shit as to what some self rightious wanna be`s think when other riders don`t ride every second of the day ... the fact of the matter is not all of us are able to ride everyday of the week .

Now i have that off my chest my question is can i or should i be using the battery tender from a Monday to Friday ... and is the genuine batteries from HD good enough ... and the other thing is in the last few months i have had some work done to the beast and is now running higher comp pistons and so on ... do HD have higher cranking batteries .

Tim .

Harley battery is fine well has been on two of my high comp bikes

If ya got a tender use it, it ain't gonna hurt anything in fact it will look after battery

Oh I couldn't give a rats if ya ride it or not

Thanks Ando ... appreciate the feed back ... and just in regards to my little rant about people putting shit on others for not riding all the time , it stems from the research I was reading up on before posting my question .

I found it to be quite negative the amount of guys who thought a person had to ride at all times to be a rider ... yes some of them were tounge in cheek others not so much ... and not that I have to prove anything to anyone but I have been riding for over 35 years and have done my fair share of ALL weather riding ... wet ... night shifts ... Gail force ... blistering ... freezing ... been there done that .

Thanks again .

HD batteries work well. Infact, the original battery in my 2005 Softail Deluxe served me without issue for seven years (with a battery tender). That same battery tender now looks after my Triumph without issue.

I'm on my original HD battery after 3 years and I've always used the battery tender when the bike is at home, my sister's street bob was bought at the same time and is on it's 2nd battery (no battery tender).

I know that's not a big sample but keeping a battery topped up seems a no brainer to me (even sitting during the week between rides is enough to cause enough voltage drop to slowly damage a battery).

HD "genuine" batteries . ( made "genuinely" by Deka !) work well and last well

Deka batteries work well also ( Imagine that ??)

Use whichever is available or most cost effective obtainable closest to your home

Using a battery tender is a no brainer as said.

CAN DO NO HARM IN MY OPINION

I've been using battery tenders , "Battery Fighter junior" brand since the early 2000's BEFORE all the new Aussie spec HD's had the "non optional Factory security"

I've had 7 years from a battery on several occasions over the years

+1 for using battery tender . Alarm , immobiliser etc all draining battery while the bike sits in shed , regardless of how long it sits there .

Probably best to start a thread on the back foot , ready to jump on the front foot , next time  .

+1 use them on my bike and car , like Tim said with all the stuff draining the batteries it don't hurt using a trickle charger

Original battery 7-1/2 years and still going strong.
and yes I use a battery tender as go away for work often for 2 or 3 weeks at a time.

Cheers everyone ... thanks for the feed back .

Sorry TJU, re-read your post and thought I had better clarify, my charger is not a genuine HD unit, it is a "Battery Link" brand.
I've read some have had trouble with this brand but I can't fault mine.

That's cool Daggs , thanks for the clarification ... I think I will definitely have mine on the Tender from now on even if it is only for a couple of days .

Changed the Battery on the Pride & Joy and she started right up ... Bloody nice sound ... Glad a few people told me to disconnect the main fuse ... changed heaps of batteries on older bikes and cars over the years but first time with one of these whizz bang new thingies , Lol .

Apparently with the alarms and immobilisers if you don`t turn the ignition on ... of course remembering to have your Fob close by ... then pull the main fuse then replace the battery it can go into shut down because the bikes brain thinks it is being tampered with .

Strange thing is I couldn`t find anything in the Genuine Manual about this and the Clymer Manual says you have to go through some other strange procedure ... not to worry though she`s up and running again , ye ha ... of course the weather people are saying it is going to rain , typical .

Cheers all .

I wish I had gotten one earlier than I did as I go away for work 5 days or nights at a time and haveing been around a bit there's nothing harder on a starter motor than a doughy battery !! 

cheers Jimmy.

Glad you put this question out there, need to get one for the cooks Skirtster. Battery seems to go for about 3 weeks then hers gets a bit lazy.

This interests me, my bike is 6 months old, battery is trashed, dealer has told me I need to keep my bike on a trickle charger as thats probably why the battery is dead..

Thing is, I DO ride every day, its my main transport 30 min blast each way on the freeway each day with a once a week/fortnight 200k freeway run down the coast.. 6600ks in 6 months.
But come monday morning (oddly I dont get to ride on weekends), so 2 days without riding and the battery is near dead with me having to twice call out roadside assist.

But yeah, dealer 'buy a trickle charger'.. that sound right to you guys? sounds odd to me..

Frasers in WA at least have been fitting "Battery Fighter Junior" brand trickle chargers to all the new HD's they sell during pre-delivery inspection

That's at least since 2006/7 . Due the the MENTAL amount of battery warranty claims from the FIFO mob , 23 on / 6 off or whatever

Warranty claims on OEM battiries dropped to zip

The very occasional "failed " battery due to manufacturing defect tested for by "load test"

Yours sounds more like one of those rare situations , dead short/bad cell/dodgy regulator etc etc.

My 08 Softail still has the original battery.

If you ride your bike everyday you probably dont need a battery tender. But who rides their bike every day?.

Got 5 bikes in the shed and they all have a tender fitting fitted to their batteries. Every couple of days I just change the charger from one bike to another. Just a battery tender/trickle charger I bought from "The battery shop". Sure does "earn it's keep".

 

I`m glad this issue has had some interest ... Mr Mow , your situation does seem a bit different though ... I would have thought by riding every day then that would have been plenty to keep the battery up to the job .

When you say the bike is 6 months old and I know it may sound like a silly question but is the battery only 6 months old as well ... when I scored my bike the battery had been in it for a year already ... had the install date carved into the top of it ... and who knows how long it sat around not being started .

If it was a brand new dealers bike is it feasible to think the dealer didn`t keep up their own words of wisdom and not keep it charged ... good luck with the next one though .

Slightly left of topic but I run 2 battery tenders on a timer and alternate between 3 bikes. My young blokes are now riding and there is a 4th horse in the stable and the number can only rise.

I used to have a multi bank battery tender for my, the mrs and kids cars that meant one tender and several leads, no need to swap from one to the other.
It was a great idea although not cheap.

I have been looking for similar for the bikes but they all are designed for cars and put out in excess of 4 amps when charging. Does anyone know of a multi-output tender that puts out around 2 amps. Preferably one with 4 outlets minimum.

Regards
Nigel.

I have always trickle charged my cars and now my HD. Battery in my landcruiser is over 8 years now and going strong!
The one thing that I have wondered is that when on the side stand the battery fluid level will stay horizontal but not the battery most likely exposing the plates on the high side.
Does anyone know if this has a negative effect on the battery?

rob