battery charging

is it necessary to keep a tender on the bike when i'm not riding it ? i've been given differing opinions on this. some say a full day 1x/week, others get their tenders on almost immediately after parking the bike. are some parts potentially damaged by trying to start the bike with a battery with a slightly less than full charge? i have several bikes that share one battery tender. maybe ask the wife for one or two more 'tenders' for xmas.
thanks for your input.

 

It depends on how long you plan on letting it sit.
I let mine sit for a week or so at a time in the winter, but ride whenever it is dry. I have no problems with starting. If you plan on letting it sit for weeks at a time, then a trickle charger might be the way to go.
I do not know the best way to go about charging a battery during storage, though.

 

You can, per the Battery Tender direction, leave it on the battery for extended periods of time with no issues.

My riding has become infrequent due to family obligations and the 97 will sit on the Battery Tender for 2 to 3 weeks straight with no issues.

BZ

 

I put mine on a charger after 3 weeks. Under 3 weeks and it starts right up. I was on a trip for 6 weeks, when I got back the bike started but turned over a little slow.
This was my 900rr but it's the same amp hour battery.

 

If you leave a sealed battery on a trickle charger, no matter the type, for extetnded periods of time there is a distinct possibility that the battery will be damaged and its lifespan shortened considerably. Keep the battery up of cold surfaces, such as concrete floors, a piece of wood under the battery works well. If the bike is not to be used for several months disconnect the battery from the bike and trickle charge it for 24hrs about every month through the off season. That way you'll have a nice fresh battery when you get back to riding. If you ride more regularly Bubba's method will work, but I'd still only leave the battery on charge for 24hrs at a time.

 

a battery tender can be left on all the time it charges to full .then goes into whats called a float mode which is better than leaving it just sit, the longer a battery tender is connected to your battery the longer your battery will last.

 

for me, I just leave it, regardless of the length. When I pull the battery out for storage, I leave it on a trickle charge for about 8 hrs, then again before I put it back in in the spring. I did that year after year with my 900rr as well, battery was 8 - 9 years old when I had to get a new one. VFR battery only lasted 3 years. Starting with a low charge can result in fouled plugs. And they are not fun to change.

 

How about starting the bike once a week? saves on all that money for a charger ....

 

Crusty:

Most bikes DO NOT charge at idle once warmed up so you are just over working your charging system, which on a bike, causes things like burned out RR's and Stators.

If the battery is low on charge the bikes charging system now acts as the "battery charger". As we all know this is what the system does on a limited basis, but once you ask your charging system to run all the lights, etc AND charge a low battery...again shit burns out quickly.


BZ

 

this is the answer i was looking for. thanks!

 

Rvguy, no disrespect but you should trust me on this one. Even on trickle charge, or in 'maintenance' mode, with a sealed battery, the trickle chargers can and do build up enough heat to cause gassing inside the battery, and given long enough time this has the effect of deforming the battery casing and rendering some, if not all of the cells useless. The heat and deformation can even be enough to crack the casing. These smaller batteries really aren't built to be on charge, even trickle charge, continuously. Use only what the battery needs, that means an occasional charge, to keep the battery happy, and it will last longer.