Battery Tender For Storage

A note about charging batteries.
NEVER fast charge a battery because it can overheat and buckle the plates rending the battery useless because they are shorted out. Charging on a trickle charger at a low setting is best. Use of a battery tender for charging very low/dead batteries can damage the trickle charger.

Also never use a car/truck to jump a battery. The additional amperage in the donor battery can damage the electrical components in the bike.

When removing the battery cables, always remove the negative first and replace it last. This eliminates the possibility of welding a wrench to the frame when it shorts out.

Any battery in storage for winter or extended periods of time will give longer service life if a battery tender is used to maintain a full charge. This is the type that works well with a float mode with an output of .750 amps, also various accessories for the unit.
Battery Tender - Home of the Battery Tender Jr. - Batterytender.com

Here's a selection guide...
Motorcycle - Batterytender.com

Here's another source for extra cables too.
Battery Tender Jr 12 Volt 0.75 Amp Battery Charger: BatteryMart.com

Battery Tender ( The larger one 1.25 amps output )
A Battery Tender is similar to a trickle charger but will not overcharge your battery. Batteries in storage will lose a good portion of their charge in just 14 days! Standard trickle chargers can overcharge and permanently damage the battery. The Battery Tender puts an end to this worry. Connect the alligator clips to your battery terminals, plug it into a wall outlet, and that's it! It will maintain a 100% charge constantly: enough to ensure starting power, but not enough to boil away electrolyte and damage the plates. It even senses incorrect connections and will not charge if the polarity has been reversed.

Though I ride enough to keep my battery charged,I keep the Battery Tender attached to my bike when not riding for periods longer than a few days. My past bikes have never left me stranded with a dead battery. You can even make it easier to connect by wiring a cigarette lighter socket to your battery and mounting it somewhere on the bike, and a male connector to the charger's clips. This setup even doubles as a lighter if you have the correct one.This inexpensive modification now allows you to charge your bike without pulling the seat off each time.
What I use is an inexpensive two prong chrome connector, available in any boating supply store, mounted to the bike for the purpose of a connection, if it doesn't allready come with the pigtail when you buy the charger.

Here's some info on the odyssey battery.

Odyssey Batteries | Charging

treeblue · Nov 9th, 2008, 04:22 AM

Glider

I thought I would add something to your post. If a person is using an odyssey battery, do not use a battery tender on it. The company recommends some smart battery chargers to use with their batteries. This includes use as a battery tender for storage. Use of battery tender brand battery tenders will cause premature failure of the battery. It also will not bring the battery up to a full charge. Well, there's my two cents.

glider · Nov 9th, 2008, 07:03 AM

Thanks for the info. It's difficult to post every aspect of every different option here.

Here's some info on the odyssey battery.

Odyssey Batteries | Charging

HD4ME! · Nov 9th, 2009, 08:50 AM

Battery Tender seems to be the brand of choice, so Battery Tender Junior or Battery Tender Plus? From what I can tel the Junior will do the job but want confirmation before I order.

glider · Nov 9th, 2009, 08:55 AM

The battery tender Jr for 12 Volts is the one to get. Harley sells the same unit that is made by this company for more $$$.

Iceman24 · Nov 9th, 2009, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glider

The battery tender Jr for 12 Volts is the one to get. Harley sells the same unit that is made by this company for more $$$.

Glider's correct (as always

)...see my post on Deltran vs. HD tender:

Battery Maint for Winter - Page 2 - Harley Davidson Community

Save some $$$ & buy the Deltran.

glider · Nov 10th, 2009, 09:53 AM

A little trick I learned with the tender plug, after forgetting to unhook the tender plug a few times because of my setup in the garage where the tender is behind the bike and against the wall, I ran the pigtail wire for the tender back under the fender strut and mounted it facing rearward using an adel rubber coated clamp and if I forgot to unplug it again, it unplugged itself as I rolled the bike out of the garage.

Never forgot to unplug it again after this.

Fourdogs · Nov 10th, 2009, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glider

A little trick I learned with the tender plug, after forgetting to unhook the tender plug a few times because of my setup in the garage where the tender is behind the bike and against the wall, I ran the pigtail wire for the tender back under the fender strut and mounted it facing rearward using an adel rubber coated clamp and if I forgot to unplug it again, it unplugged itself as I rolled the bike out of the garage.

Never forgot to unplug it again after this.

Dang I thought i was the only one to ever do this..its gotten to the point i have a orange streamer affixed to the wire....

Iceman24 · Nov 13th, 2009, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourdogs

Dang I thought i was the only one to ever do this..its gotten to the point i have a orange streamer affixed to the wire....

Luckily, my wife gave me a nice retractable electric reel for my birthday & I mounted on the ceiling above my bike (center of garage). This way the electrical cord's in my way when I want to move the bike. Otherwise I like Glider's solution w/the plug mount.

jwoollen · Nov 28th, 2009, 11:38 AM

Very interesting. Apparently I've done all the wrong things.

I bought my Road King in 2004; and, ran the factory battery until this year. Sometimes it would have to sit for a while...but I still never had a problem. Then I moved to the desert west of Las Vegas.

The bike, because I didn't want it sitting in the sun all day...plus I wanted to slow the wear the desert and nature was putting on it, sometime sat for a few weeks (I work a lot,) and one night I forgot to turn the lights off. (...Another story.) Of course the next morning the battery was dead.

I jumped it with a car (running) and went to buy a new battery. (I'm pretty ignorant about checking acid, plates and all that.) The guy sold me what another dealer, a few weeks later, told me was a battery that didn't have enough cranking amps. (I can't remember the numbers, but the battery is a good name brand with warranty and has 30%+ more cranking amps.)

In the meantime, my stator was going bad. (Supposedly. I don't know what or who to believe now.) Got that replaced (and found out later you should NEVER go into any service department and specify a part of a system. i.e. The should have replaced the alternator at the same time and checked everything else.) Makes sense. Anyway, the tech forgot to plug my stator back in. ...Probably saved my alternator. Question: Could I have damaged the stator jumping the bike with a running car?

A day later the new battery was dead. I jumped it with a running car (that's where the unplugged stator may have saved the alternator.) Got a new battery (still too low on CAs)...and a week later IT was dead. 'Put it on a regular trickle charger but removed it at 10 hours as directed. Fired up fine the next morning.

'Went to different dealer; 'got bigger battery, they found the unplugged stator... and all seems to be well.

What is making me reply is the maintenance that the writer indicated needing performing so often. Trickle it if you don't ride a week? That seems awfully extreme, though I love the idea of the lighter.

My question is: How is the best (if there is a way) to jump a bike battery? One dealer told me it's no problem if the car/truck isn't running. I've jumped mine twice (with the stator hooked) from a running car. Could that fry a stator?

A fried electrical system would put my bike out of service for a long time. I don't have that kind of money. I've been riding a long time but never had to deal much with batteries. Any "NEVER, NEVER, NEVER," kind of things would be appreciated. I apparently don't know what the heck I'm doing.

Nov 9th, 2008, 04:22 AM	#1
treeblue Start The Engine Ride: 1992 FLSTF Join Date: Oct 17th, 2008 Posts: 23 My Mood:	Re: Battery Tender For Storage Glider I thought I would add something to your post. If a person is using an odyssey battery, do not use a battery tender on it. The company recommends some smart battery chargers to use with their batteries. This includes use as a battery tender for storage. Use of battery tender brand battery tenders will cause premature failure of the battery. It also will not bring the battery up to a full charge. Well, there's my two cents.

Nov 9th, 2008, 07:03 AM	#2
glider Community Liaison Ride: 07 Road King Classic Join Date: Jun 21st, 2007 Posts: 21,053 My Mood:	Re: Battery Tender For Storage Thanks for the info. It's difficult to post every aspect of every different option here. Here's some info on the odyssey battery. Odyssey Batteries \| Charging

Nov 9th, 2009, 08:50 AM	#3
HD4ME! Play The Throttle Ride: 08 Electra Glide Ultra Classic Join Date: May 14th, 2009 Location: Houston Texas Posts: 188 My Mood:	Re: Battery Tender For Storage Battery Tender seems to be the brand of choice, so Battery Tender Junior or Battery Tender Plus? From what I can tel the Junior will do the job but want confirmation before I order.

Nov 9th, 2009, 08:55 AM	#4
glider Community Liaison Ride: 07 Road King Classic Join Date: Jun 21st, 2007 Posts: 21,053 My Mood:	Re: Battery Tender For Storage The battery tender Jr for 12 Volts is the one to get. Harley sells the same unit that is made by this company for more $$$.

Nov 10th, 2009, 09:53 AM	#6
glider Community Liaison Ride: 07 Road King Classic Join Date: Jun 21st, 2007 Posts: 21,053 My Mood:	Re: Battery Tender For Storage A little trick I learned with the tender plug, after forgetting to unhook the tender plug a few times because of my setup in the garage where the tender is behind the bike and against the wall, I ran the pigtail wire for the tender back under the fender strut and mounted it facing rearward using an adel rubber coated clamp and if I forgot to unplug it again, it unplugged itself as I rolled the bike out of the garage. Never forgot to unplug it again after this.

Nov 28th, 2009, 11:38 AM	#9
jwoollen New Family Ride: 2005 Road King Classic Join Date: Nov 28th, 2009 Location: 1 hr west of Las Vegas Posts: 2 My Mood:	Re: Battery Tender For Storage Very interesting. Apparently I've done all the wrong things. I bought my Road King in 2004; and, ran the factory battery until this year. Sometimes it would have to sit for a while...but I still never had a problem. Then I moved to the desert west of Las Vegas. The bike, because I didn't want it sitting in the sun all day...plus I wanted to slow the wear the desert and nature was putting on it, sometime sat for a few weeks (I work a lot,) and one night I forgot to turn the lights off. (...Another story.) Of course the next morning the battery was dead. I jumped it with a car (running) and went to buy a new battery. (I'm pretty ignorant about checking acid, plates and all that.) The guy sold me what another dealer, a few weeks later, told me was a battery that didn't have enough cranking amps. (I can't remember the numbers, but the battery is a good name brand with warranty and has 30%+ more cranking amps.) In the meantime, my stator was going bad. (Supposedly. I don't know what or who to believe now.) Got that replaced (and found out later you should NEVER go into any service department and specify a part of a system. i.e. The should have replaced the alternator at the same time and checked everything else.) Makes sense. Anyway, the tech forgot to plug my stator back in. ...Probably saved my alternator. Question: Could I have damaged the stator jumping the bike with a running car? A day later the new battery was dead. I jumped it with a running car (that's where the unplugged stator may have saved the alternator.) Got a new battery (still too low on CAs)...and a week later IT was dead. 'Put it on a regular trickle charger but removed it at 10 hours as directed. Fired up fine the next morning. 'Went to different dealer; 'got bigger battery, they found the unplugged stator... and all seems to be well. What is making me reply is the maintenance that the writer indicated needing performing so often. Trickle it if you don't ride a week? That seems awfully extreme, though I love the idea of the lighter. My question is: How is the best (if there is a way) to jump a bike battery? One dealer told me it's no problem if the car/truck isn't running. I've jumped mine twice (with the stator hooked) from a running car. Could that fry a stator? A fried electrical system would put my bike out of service for a long time. I don't have that kind of money. I've been riding a long time but never had to deal much with batteries. Any "NEVER, NEVER, NEVER," kind of things would be appreciated. I apparently don't know what the heck I'm doing. Last edited by jwoollen; Nov 28th, 2009 at 11:44 AM. Reason: misspelling

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Battery Tender For Storage

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