I have a 2004 Road King Custom with original battery at 21,000 miles. Bike starts strong and I am the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" kind. I know, though, a lot of riders swap the battery out after a few years on principle. Few questions: Will it be evident the battery is starting to fail by sluggish cranking? I have heard maybe not - just goes dead. Is it possible to jump start Harley if battery does go dead? Do you advise just getting new battery and not worrying especially in light of leaving for Sturgis next week? I value the advice of Forum members and appreciate the value of your experience and knowledge.

P.S. – never have run a battery tender but usually get a riding day or two every month in the winter

 

I think your due. Or " Do you Feel Lucky"

 

Murphy says "if it's going to happen it will at the most inopportune time".
Replace the battery your living on borrowed time.

 

I just changed mine out just because it was 8 years old never gave me any problems. My buddy did the same as his was from a 2000 and every once in a-while it would hesitate. You should have some time left on yours so wait til you get a 20-30% off sale.

 

I have a 2000 RG and this just happened to me 2 weeks ago...I'll answer your questions in order:

I had no warning battery was starting to fail...1 day running great, next day won't even crank the starter...just chattered! So...just goes dead...

Yes you can jump the dead battery in your bike from a car battery without the car running...don't shut the bike off until you are at the battery store!

My rule of thumb is (after many bike batteries just going dead) to put in a new battery every 4 years (or sooner) whether you need it or not! That way you can search around online for a better deal and not have to pay the HD dealer $150.00.

My rule of thumb sorta works...bike is about 10 years old and I'm on my 3rd battery...

Lots of vibration and large temperature swings cause bike batteries to just fail all of a sudden...with no warning...

I just need to follow my own advise...B.

 

If it's not FI then you can roll start it with a dead battery. Have never seen it done on an FI bike though. You could jump it with jumper cables but if it's like my E-Glide, it's damn near impossible to get the clamps on the terminals. I just replaced mine this spring because my old one wouldn't hold a charge even after being on the battery tender all winter. Had a couple times last fall where it seemed weak but it always started it. It's up to you if you want the piece of mind before the trip.

 

I would get a new one if I was heading to Sturgis.

Dave

 

Me thinks your living on borrowed time...and a battery tender is a great investment. It has a warning light system that lets you know the condition of your battery. I ride year round, and have them on both bikes.

 

My 03 Dyna battery started a slight hesitation last summer but was still okay, however put a new battery in this spring for this years riding season. Pops right off now. Wife's 04 Sporty starting to do the same thing so will put new battery in next spring for 2010 riding season (unless it does'nt make it till then). From my experience and other I know, 5 years seems to be a turning point for most sealed batteries. My 04 truck battery died two weeks ago (another 5 year data point)