I have a 2014 Iron, and 9 months after buying it new I had the side stand error message with engine stop. It seems that this is due to a low batter so I have charged my battery and not even two months later here it goes again. Is that normal that the battery doesn't last long on a sportster ?
Today I had the "side stand" error message. I did check my battery voltage and the reading was 12.44V, could it be that the side stand sensor isn't working well ?

 

My 2014 Custom battery lasted only 4 months. Dealer replaced it under warranty.

 

Something's not right, either the battery is bad or you have an electrical problem draining it, if it's only 11 months old and under warranty get it in & fixed.

 

Yup, take her in and have it checked out. If you are maintaining the battery correctly, it will last for a couple of years if it's a quality battery.

 

With all the electronica on new Sportsters, there will likely be some current draw from the battery even when parked.

The cheapo Yacht battery on my 1991 is coming up on six years service without a tender.

John

 

My 2007 1200C battery lasted 6.5 years, it now wears a J&P Cycles 310 cca battery. Every parked moment it wears a Battery Tender Plus.

 

I have a 2011 Iron XL883N with Alarm System with the Siren. I am the first owner, and the Harley Battery lasted 2 yr. Got a new HD Battery and just lasted 2yr, I just got a new Battery (Motobatt MBTX12U). I keep it on a tender, but so far not impress with the HD Battery.

 

What needs to go along with these complaints is some idea of how it was treated, for example, how the motorcycle is ridden. If 10 miles or less at a time, running it 15 minutes to, "charge it up" these will both leave it half discharged and its life will be very short. My battery is fortunate because I live 35 miles from everywhere, the battery and the oil have a good life because of that.

 

The main cause of battery failure on new HD bikes is due to the battery being connected while sitting on the showroom floor. Going by the state inspection sticker my 2014 was in the showroom for over 6 months with the battery connected. Battery lasted 4 months and was well maintained.
Every metric I've ever bought the dealer had to connect the battery before taking it off the showroom floor.
My Kawasaki 1600 battery was going on 6 years before it was replaced as a precaution.

 

I never had to replace a battery on mys previous bikes (kawasaki 600zzr, suzuki dr650se) guess it was because the battery wasn't draining while sitting in the garage. Can we suppress the alarm system and all the stuff draining the battery (I don't have a key on my bike, just an electronic thing) ?