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As eluded to, your problem is likely the battery.
As for the tender, I never have it connected during the riding season, but then again I generally ride a little also every week.
In the off season I still ride but here in Nebraska it can be weeks between rides.
So I use the tender all winter long.
Last OEM battery lasted about 4 years before it started showing signs of weakness.
I got 8 yrs out of my last bikes HD OEM battery while always on a Tender Jr.
When you say always. Does that mean every time you park your bike for the day, you charge the batteries? Or only when it will not be used for more than two days? I just got a battery tender my self. Wondering how often I should actually charge it.
The nice thing about a tender is that you can connect to the bike as frequently as you like. I plug in whenever I'm done riding for the day, assuming I'm at home. That way if I don't end up riding for several days in a row, I'm set. If you use the tender daily, you're not charging the battery so much as maintaining it. Keeping the battery as charged as possible will help it last longer, in my opinion.
I got almost nine years out of the battery for my ricer, it was an AGM type and I'm sure keeping it on the tender, especially over winter, helped me get that much life out of it.
Every time a cranking battery gets discharged and recharged it shortens it's life, especially true for running it under 12V (dead). Tender helps avoid that.
I got 8 yrs out of my last bikes HD OEM battery while always on a Tender Jr.
If I had kept my OEM battery on a tender all the time it would probably also last 8+ years.
The problem with my OEM battery after 4 years was if the bike sat idle for 3-4 days it was slow starting and my speedo/tack would reset every time I started it.
It didn't "not start" the bike.
I didn't want to get caught out on the road when it finally goes.
$100 for a new battery every 4 years is acceptable to me.
I just bought my bike a couple of weeks ago. When the dealer's service manager was giving me the walkthrough, he told me to ALWAYS use a tender. He said that it will increase the life of the battery by years. He went on to say that these batteries don't like to get below 12v, and it can cause problems.
When you say always. Does that mean every time you park your bike for the day, you charge the batteries? Or only when it will not be used for more than two days? I just got a battery tender my self. Wondering how often I should actually charge it.
Yes. When the bike gets parked for the night, it's on the tender. I live in Texas and heat is a killer of batteries. Despite this, I have only gotten about 3 years out of a battery.
If you use a tender, you shouldn't have to actually charge your battery. The bike keeps it charged when you are riding and the tender keeps it charged when you aren't.
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