Battery Tender Really Necessary?
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Road Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,026
Likes: 4
From: Lansing, MI
Battery Tender Really Necessary?
This is my first Harley, so please excuse the ignorance...
Is a battery tender really necessary? If so, how long does the bike need to be parked before it should be plugged in: a week, a month, a day? I've read a few posts that say they hook it up every night on a daily driver. I have a 2014 if it matters at all.
Just curious because all my metrics never had a battery tender and they could sit for a few months and still start. My car regularly goes 2-4 weeks without being started when I travel, and even in the frigid Midwest, it has no issues and my batteries typically last 5 years.
Is a battery tender really necessary? If so, how long does the bike need to be parked before it should be plugged in: a week, a month, a day? I've read a few posts that say they hook it up every night on a daily driver. I have a 2014 if it matters at all.
Just curious because all my metrics never had a battery tender and they could sit for a few months and still start. My car regularly goes 2-4 weeks without being started when I travel, and even in the frigid Midwest, it has no issues and my batteries typically last 5 years.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 8,039
Likes: 1,305
From: Jayhawk Country
It's not a Harley thing, it's a battery thing. Some use them some don't. I do. But I don't ride often. If you ride often I say it's not necessary. If it's a week between rides then I would say yes. If your gettin 5 years out of a battery then I wouldn't waste my time on a tender. I use one on my bike and tractor in the winter months but rarely in the summer.
Advanced
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Spring TX
Ive never owned one. My batteries typically last in the 6 to 8 year range. I ride a lot and the bike rarely sits more than a week. Even when I lived in Ohio the bike got rode at least once a month during the winter. Never had a need for a tender then and don't think I need one now. But to each his own!
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,566
Likes: 55
From: Londonderry, NH
This is my first Harley, so please excuse the ignorance...
Is a battery tender really necessary? If so, how long does the bike need to be parked before it should be plugged in: a week, a month, a day? I've read a few posts that say they hook it up every night on a daily driver. I have a 2014 if it matters at all.
Just curious because all my metrics never had a battery tender and they could sit for a few months and still start. My car regularly goes 2-4 weeks without being started when I travel, and even in the frigid Midwest, it has no issues and my batteries typically last 5 years.
Is a battery tender really necessary? If so, how long does the bike need to be parked before it should be plugged in: a week, a month, a day? I've read a few posts that say they hook it up every night on a daily driver. I have a 2014 if it matters at all.
Just curious because all my metrics never had a battery tender and they could sit for a few months and still start. My car regularly goes 2-4 weeks without being started when I travel, and even in the frigid Midwest, it has no issues and my batteries typically last 5 years.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,991
Likes: 9
From: washington
i have a tender and right now our bikes are plugged in, we dont ride as much as i would like... i have found that here in the PNW its worth it to me to have one and to use it, i will extend the life of the battery in some cases
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,006
Likes: 1,240
From: On the Front Range, CO
Vehicle batteries discharge when they're not charging. Cars last much longer because they're driven more often, and they're charging so often. Most people don't think of the battery much past starting the car, but the battery runs everything electronic on the car, and in our cases, on the bikes. Because of the constant draw from the battery, the alternator (car) / stator (bike) recharges as we ride.
Bikes, on the other hand, are not typically used every day (yes, I know there are exceptions). They can sometimes for the casual rider sit for days on end, all the while, with a discharging battery.
A battery tender is cheap insurance and helps to prolong the life of the battery. When my bikes are not being ridden, they're on the tender. It's such a slow trickle charge that there is really no reason not to use one.
Bikes, on the other hand, are not typically used every day (yes, I know there are exceptions). They can sometimes for the casual rider sit for days on end, all the while, with a discharging battery.
A battery tender is cheap insurance and helps to prolong the life of the battery. When my bikes are not being ridden, they're on the tender. It's such a slow trickle charge that there is really no reason not to use one.
Last edited by Redbeard719; Apr 21, 2014 at 04:11 PM.
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Road Master
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