Battery tenders
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,997
Likes: 94
From: Massachusetts
I always thought so, but now have mixed feelings.
I always replace my batteries on my bikes every 4 years, whether I need one or not.
Some people may say this is a waste of money, but I take at least one 6-10 day trip with my wife every summer and the last thing I want to do is get stuck on vacation with a bad battery.
For $100 every 4 years, it's pretty cheap insurance.
The bike before this one, I never used a tender even during winter storage and never had any issues, it cranked right over in the spring.
I now have a '13 and have always hooked up the tender when not riding since new.
The bike is only 3 years old and the battery is shot.
I just bought a new battery after only 3 years with a tender.
I've always heard that using a tender is a good thing for battery life, but not this time, for me.
I always replace my batteries on my bikes every 4 years, whether I need one or not.
Some people may say this is a waste of money, but I take at least one 6-10 day trip with my wife every summer and the last thing I want to do is get stuck on vacation with a bad battery.
For $100 every 4 years, it's pretty cheap insurance.
The bike before this one, I never used a tender even during winter storage and never had any issues, it cranked right over in the spring.
I now have a '13 and have always hooked up the tender when not riding since new.
The bike is only 3 years old and the battery is shot.
I just bought a new battery after only 3 years with a tender.
I've always heard that using a tender is a good thing for battery life, but not this time, for me.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 10,946
Likes: 822
From: Nevada
Just kidding... If my bike sits for a week or more, I connect the tender.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 4,214
Likes: 661
From: Prior Lake, MN
I believe it's beneficial, based on my personal experience. I put the battery for my first bike on a tender (AGM Style battery), and that battery held up for 9 years, and also on the cranking battery for my boat- standard lead/acid type and it held up for 10 years when I got rid of it just because it was 10 years old- still held a charge.
I do plug in the Limited when I'm not riding it, it does have parasitic draw from the security system.
None of this is proof, but to me it's strong evidence. And it kinda makes sense- cranking batteries are happiest when they are kept fully charged, and draining them and constantly recharging can shorten their life.
Maybe if someone rode their bike a lot- all year long, and that activity kept the battery charged it wouldn't be so important, but that's not me.
Just my $0.02.
I do plug in the Limited when I'm not riding it, it does have parasitic draw from the security system.
None of this is proof, but to me it's strong evidence. And it kinda makes sense- cranking batteries are happiest when they are kept fully charged, and draining them and constantly recharging can shorten their life.
Maybe if someone rode their bike a lot- all year long, and that activity kept the battery charged it wouldn't be so important, but that's not me.
Just my $0.02.
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 155
Likes: 9
From: North Carolina
I've never used a battery tender until recently, but I've always had good life out of H-D batteries on my new bikes. My '01 still had the original battery in it when it was totaled in '08.
However, my '14 is ridden some days only a short distance to and from work and on cold mornings it would pull the voltage down so low during cranking that the boom box would shutdown and not come back on unless the bike was ridden for a while then shut off and restarted.
I bought a battery tender and was surprised at how long it took the tender to bring the battery back up to full charge the first time I used it. I plug it in most every night now.
However, my '14 is ridden some days only a short distance to and from work and on cold mornings it would pull the voltage down so low during cranking that the boom box would shutdown and not come back on unless the bike was ridden for a while then shut off and restarted.
I bought a battery tender and was surprised at how long it took the tender to bring the battery back up to full charge the first time I used it. I plug it in most every night now.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 10,907
Likes: 8,758
From: Galt's Gulch - MI
I've always been a big believer in a Battery Tender and all my bikes are on one as soon as they're parked in the garage. Perhaps I'm just lucky but I've gotten years out of batteries which I attribute to regular use of a Tender. My new truck is even wired with an extended pig tail and it's plugged in every night when it comes in to the garage as well.
Regular use of the Tender does have one side benefit. Once you've seen the pattern the Tender goes through when it's plugged in you'll notice if it changes. On my '03 Wide Glide I noticed it was taking longer to bring back the battery to a full charge after a ride. It was typically plug in the Tender to the pig tail, the light would remain red for 30 to 40 seconds before cycling to the green flashing state and finally to the solid green. It was now taking longer under the red charge state.
A bit of checking and I discovered my stator had been nicked by a loose magnet in the rotor. Due to the change in the Tender's charging behavior I discovered that problem long before it left me stranded 100 miles from home; it was much easier to open the primary and change out the stator and rotor in my garage than on the side of the road
I'm sold on using a Battery Tender!
Regular use of the Tender does have one side benefit. Once you've seen the pattern the Tender goes through when it's plugged in you'll notice if it changes. On my '03 Wide Glide I noticed it was taking longer to bring back the battery to a full charge after a ride. It was typically plug in the Tender to the pig tail, the light would remain red for 30 to 40 seconds before cycling to the green flashing state and finally to the solid green. It was now taking longer under the red charge state.
A bit of checking and I discovered my stator had been nicked by a loose magnet in the rotor. Due to the change in the Tender's charging behavior I discovered that problem long before it left me stranded 100 miles from home; it was much easier to open the primary and change out the stator and rotor in my garage than on the side of the road
I'm sold on using a Battery Tender!
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9,193
Likes: 494
From: Richmond, VA
After exhaustive research, and a warranty battery issue on my '13 Road King, my answer is simple. It's always better to use a battery tender IF AND ONLY IF you have the right tender. The new Harleys DON'T USE LEAD ACID BATTERIES ANYMORE. If you use the old style lead acid tender one a new bike, it will in fact damage the battery over time. If you use a correct, modern battery tender compatible with our batterys, getting amazingly long battery life (7-10 years), is quite possible.
Last edited by bikerlaw; Apr 7, 2016 at 10:23 AM.
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Road Warrior
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 1,462
Likes: 105
From: Kentucky
Battery Tender is a good thing if it's going to be sitting for a while, going to be riding very much it's not needed Have six of them hooked up mostly just during the winter.
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Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 322,622
Likes: 3,077
From: .....
When my first bikes battery didn't last but 18 months, when I got a new battery, I started keeping it hooked up all of the time. Whether it helps, I don't know but one thing, it couldn't hurt.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 9,282
Likes: 1,139
From: southeast PA
Since it involves all of 6 seconds to connect it, I always do. Part of that is it becomes a habit so I don't risk not hooking it up. Besides, I don't know of any downside to keeping it on while parked.