I purchased a brand new battery from the dealership last year and road the bike for 4 months and now the battery is shot! Right when I bought the battery I read the directions on charging (trickle charge 2 amps for 4-8 hours?). At the end of the season, I took my battery out of my bike and put it in the house. This past weekend I put the battery back into the bike, charged it up completely (2 amp trickle charge), and attempted to start the bike. The battery went dead... I charged it up again until it had the proper voltage and still no start. Did a load test on my battery and found that it was weak...I then brought it to Interstate Batteries and they did the same thing and found that it slowly dies.

How are you guys storing your batteries over the winter? I've heard many people investing in battery tenders. What are you guys using for battery tenders?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

I don't even remove the battery from my bike over the winter. I have a pigtail from the terminals to the rear compartment where I plug in a Battery Tender Jr. I leave it plugged in all winter long.

You can find them for less than $20 with a bit of Google searching.

 

battery tenders work great if you are not going to ride for a while. i dont use one, mainly because i can ride year round. but everyone i know that cant ride regularly, swear by them.

 

+1 on the battery tender..

If you do decide you need to remove the battery for storage reasons, don't buy into myths about setting it on concrete etc.. I'd put it in a plastic tray myself in a cool corner of my workbench and call it a day if no tender is connected

 

I bought a batter tender from Batteries Plus. Has worked great. Since then have bought one for my boat. Worth the price to be ready to ride and have a strong battery that won't leave you stranded.

 

Like roadijeff, I don't remove mine either, had my battery in since march 2010. Use battery tender jr when the bike sits. I ran the rings from the battery into the trunk and plug it in through there.

I think a battery tender is worth the investment for anyone who has a bike sit for any extended period of time.

 

Hey, thanks for the replys and the advice! I think I'm gonna invest in a battery tender since I can only ride about 6 months out of the year...

 

I ride yr-round as well. However, I have multiple bikes & like to keep 'em all juiced. ;-) I have the plug connected & routed like the other guys - to the trunk area. Makes it easy to pop off the rear seat & plug it up.

 

Luckily the dealership that I bought my battery from is going to warrenty the battery since it's not even a year old. When I get this new battery should I just leave it in the bike year round and charge it ever so often even though it will be sitting for 4-5 months? I keep my bike in a heated garage which stays at least 55. Or in my situation would it be better to take the battery out?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

get the battery tender.... plug it in for those months.