Battery Tender?

[Baggey22]

So this past winter I had both batteries for my KLR and my ZZR die and need replacing. I'd rather not have that happen again, especially since I have a race bike now.
Can anyone recommend (from personal experience) a good tender that can take care of a few (minimum of 3) batteries all winter? Something I can just plug in and let it sit until it's time to ride?

Thanks!

[nhbubba]

Battery Tender brand tenders work great.

[close2reality]

Hope your sitting down.

http://batterytender.com/motorcycle/...emisphere.html

[#1 masshole]

What they said. I've used the Battery Tender brand for about 10 yrs with no issues whatsoever. I'd buy one tender and alternate batteries every so often.

[Rosco61]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-Ba...9ece7c&vxp=mtr

you could buy 3 JR's for under $100.00 free shipping and your all set. Cheaper than one new battery.

[Baggey22]

What they said. I've used the Battery Tender brand for about 10 yrs with no issues whatsoever. I'd buy one tender and alternate batteries every so often.

Every so often....like Weekly? Bi weekly?

[Linteau]

Not sure of the brand, but I bought mine from my local walmart, haven't had any issues thus far, so it was a good 20$ investment.

[#1 masshole]

Every so often....like Weekly? Bi weekly?

Others can correct me if I'm wrong but...I know guys that leave one battery on a tender during the entire off season. I know others that alternate a few batteries just every few weeks(leave the same battery hooked up for a wk or two, then swap to another). You're not going to do much damage to a battery if it's off charge for a few wks. Unless it's still hooked up to the bike still and the bike is sucking down tons of juice even while the bike is off like a Duc.
If you do a search around here you'll find more info I'm sure. I think I've read that some people hate them and have had them destroy their batteries(Stoneman?). I've heard of a lot more satisfied people than upset people though.

I had my '05 gixxer 1K oem battery for 6 yrs with not a single issue. Just hooked it up to the tender each winter.

[oVTo]

I've been using the Deltran tenders for winter maintenance for many years with no problems. I'll put a bike on a charger for a week or two then move it to a different bike. The batteries almost always last 5-6 years, sometimes more. Even if you have a clock and other low current loads on the bike, letting it sit for a week or three without a charger is unlikely to cause any harm to the battery. And if it did, then the battery was probably nearing it's end of life anyway.

I connect a pigtail with an SAE plug to the battery so switching from bike to bike takes about 1 minute, plus I can use the SAE connector for electric gear if I'm riding in cold weather.

If I was buying one now, I'd buy the Jr. model. It's max charge is only 0.75A Vs. 1.25A for the standard model, but for maintenance 0.75A is enough. It has the 4-mode charging logic like it's bigger brothers, so you don't need to worry about boiling the battery. Plus it's small, so you can throw it in your toolbox for the track, just in case you (or someone else) needs an overnight charge there.

[Baggey22]

If I get the Battery Tender Jr. model and swap it around on my three batteries is it going to skyrocket my electric bill?

[oVTo]

If I get the Battery Tender Jr. model and swap it around on my three batteries is it going to skyrocket my electric bill?

The Battery Tender Jr is rated at 12W. If you kept it plugged in constantly for 6 months, it'll cost about $6.50.