You can call the reviewers on the HD website idiots…but the lithium has horrible reviews.
My good friend with a 17 RG put a lithium in his, is meticulous about maintenance and stores his bike at the dealer in a climate controlled environment each winter and his lithium lasted him less than 2 years. I’ll pass for now.

 

Deka makes the Harley batteries. When my local dealer gets batteries, they come on a Deka truck

 

I've always had great luck with Harley's batteries. My buddy got 11 years out of one in a Dyna. Harley cheaps out on a lot of stuff like shocks and valve lifters but their batteries are first rate and seem to be quite dependable. Personally I don't want to experiment with anything else when the OEM product is that good. I won't cheap out on my batteries and gladly pay Harley's inflated price.

 

I understand your thinking, I generally don't cheap out on important parts either but if you could get literally the same battery with different brand labels on it for significantly less money I don't see the problem with doing it.

 

amen...so many examples of this out there...HD battery tenders are Deltran, $10 less on Amazon buying the Deltran than at a HD store for the EXACT same item without the branding..just one of tons of examples

 

I'll pass on those Renegade batteries as they are made in China

 

I hear that… just like HJC helmets…

 

I just looked for batteries on the HD website. The only ones I saw on there were Lithium. Yes, I did put in the year and model I ride, 2015 Ultra Classic. They were $299.00.
No more $169.95 batteries from Harley for my bike.

 

I worked as a tool and die maker for a well know manufacturer for quite a while. They made things for various companies who re labeled them. Those products, though made by us, were made to the clients specifications, not ours. Naturally the quality varied greatly. While Deka makes the batteries for Harley, they quite likely make them to Harley's specs, which could be quite different than a Deka labeled battery. Most clients put the vendor through a rigerous "qualification" process before they will contract with them. Considering my luck with Harley labeled batteries since 1972, I choose to buy a product that has given me outstanding service again. Other folks like to hunt around for the best price. Best of luck to them.

 

Back when I worked at H-D folks would often come in to buy mini fuses for their bike. The dealer is literally right next door to Autozone. I always told them they were crazy to pay for a single fuse in H-D packaging when they could save $2 and get a 4 pack to boot of the same exact ones right next door. Some folks honestly thought H-D actually made such things at MOCO and had to use their parts.