I consider myself pretty lucky. My battery is finally on its last leg. I have a 2000 Road King with 27k and I'm still on the original battery (10 years!). I'm just wondering if I'm in the small minority or if you guys see that kind of battery life too. What kind of battery life do you guys see? What kind of things have you been doing to extend your battery life? I have been using a Westco Battery Optimate during extended periods of not riding (poor weather/winter) since I got the bike.

 

I have a 99 Superglide I bought used 3 years ago. I have no idea if the battery is the original. I always figured no way, but after your post...

 

My '02 Ultra still has its original battery. I have never done anything at all to extend the life of it. NOT ONE THING!

 

H-Ds current generation of batteries is much better than those of the 1990s. I've had 7 years out of my original 2001 Fatboy/Softail - where the battery sits surrounded by the hot oil tank. I only changed the battery because I didn't trust it for a long road trip away from home. Use of a battery tender is a must for extended life span especially if you don't ride for a few days. Having said all this - we all depend on this critical component of our bikes and I think 7 years is a good time to buy a new one from the standpoint of not being stranded.

 

I think I'm going to replace it next Spring, but it still works perfectly. '03 EGC bought new in Oct of '02. I put a Battery Tender on it if it's going to sit for more than a week or so, but have no idea if that's helping or not.

 

We still have the original battery in my wife's 03 VRSCA. Had the original in my 03 FXSTDSE when we sold it this spring. During the winter when we only ride a couple of times a month, we keep them on battery tenders.

 

Replaced my original '03 two years ago - put the old one in my John Deere lawn tractor, neither one of them have missed a beat.........

 

So far I haven't replaced a battery in any HD I owned yet. I usually keep them about 5 yrs on average before I sell. I do use a tender for piece of mind.

 

Ten years, wow! Use a battery tender?

 

Yeah, it's an Optimate though. It runs a test on the battery a couple times an hour and will let you know if the battery is no good. Mine still says it's good for a charge. If it sits for a couple days off of the Optimate, it will be hard to start on the first try. I still think it's time for a new battery. Looks like I'm not that far from the crowd. I'm pretty impressed by that. A bunch of my friends don't use battery tenders and end up putting new batteries in every year or two. They must be the exceptions!