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Probably has to with the drain on it also. I have a SEUC3 with alot of electronics. Bike got hard starting and the dealer said the battery was okay and charging system was great. No loose connections or frayed wiring or overheated wiring. Went out to start one cold morning and uhuh clicketyclicketyclickety and battery was "good". Right. Finally bought new battery and installed it and whamo....good as new. Keep bike on tender in winter so when this happened battery was at full charge. On my Fatboy it lasted 5 years. On the Ultra...a little less than 3 years.
Just Sayin.
Here in So Cal with no tender - original battery lasted just under 5 years. A dead cell possibly damaged when my stator blew up and I rode it home on the battery.
Two to three years on my old EVO Softail, and she stays on a tender 95% of the time it is parked at home. Even when it was new that is all I got out of a battery. Man when they go, they go fast and can leave you stranded.
If you want the maximum life out of a battery read the instructions that came with the tender. The tender has two functions. One is to keep the battery at full charge during storage.
The other is to prolong the life of the battery. This can only happen by using the tender 24/7.
I have five cycles all on tenders 24/7. I have went over nine years on the oldest. I sold the bike but gave the buyer a new battery. It is in the garage on a tender and is a back up battery when I go on a long tour.
I have 5 sports cars on tenders also. A trolling motor battery, a electric brake back up battery and another back up battery for my other touring bike.
I simply do not have battery problems. All for the cost of $21 at Walmart for the Schumacher 1.5 amp tender.
don't fight the issues just take the 2 seconds to plug and unplug the tender at each ride.
A lead acid battery has a certain amount of charge discharge cycles in it. The use of a tender limits the deep cycle events from ever happening.
My '07 Street Bob which I bought in Sept' '06 still has got the same battery on it which is still going just fine. I didn't ride all last year due to a shoulder injury so I kept it permanently on a 'tender' - its MOT is due on March 19th so the old girl will be back on the road and I'll be riding again after a year off!
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