Battery Tender when to use?

[kbwitt]

Hi 2014 rts original battery, Going to park it for awhile. How long do you go with out use before you hook up a battery Tender?
Thanks Kenn

[MisterP]

Mine is plugged in whenever the bike is parked. See no reason not to do this.

[kngfsh27]

I plug mine is every time I get home from a ride and I ride almost every day.

[Motorcycledave]

when you Park it, hook it up
leave hooked up to your ready
to ride again.


QUOTE=kbwitt;1265434]Hi 2014 rts original battery, Going to park it for awhile. How long do you go with out use before you hook up a battery Tender?
Thanks Kenn[/QUOTE]

[JayBros]

If I'm not going to ride for a couple of weeks I use the tender; that's mostly in winter. Otherwise I ride several times a week and ignore the tender.

[ARtraveler]

You will get a mixed bag of answers here. I know you are good for about two weeks without a hook up.

I only put mine on when I am ready for the winter sleep. Oct/Nov through March. Always starts first try.

The rest of the time, I do not use a tender. My is used almost daily. Linda's at least once a week.

[Zip]

I put mine on if it is going to sit for more than a week. I ride almost every day. You don't plug your car in every day do you?

[4 MARIE]

Tender? err... Plug in when you need to. What caught my eye is "original " battery.
Look for signs of slow cranking, lights whose brightness varies with engine speed.
Three years is about long enough. Mine was always on a tender and was very good for more than
THREE years, when things started to slooow down.

Better to change it when you "want" to, than when you "have" to. You can believe a charger is not a
good bandaid for a tired battery

[MisterP]

I put mine on if it is going to sit for more than a week. I ride almost every day. You don't plug your car in every day do you?

No, but a car battery has a much greater storage capacity to absorb parasitic power drains than the Spyder.

[Easy Rider]

Mine is plugged in whenever the bike is parked. See no reason not to do this.

While that seems logical, at some point in time there likely WILL be a reason not to do it.

Having the tender connected at home will pretty much ensure that it will start every time (unless there is a sudden failure in the battery).
BUT THEN if the battery is getting really weak and you ride somewhere and shut it off for an hour or more.......it may not start again.
I prefer to know when my battery is getting weak right there in my garage where it is easier to deal with SO I only use a tender when it will be sitting unused for a week or more.

[Cruzr Joe]

If I'm not going to ride for a couple of weeks I use the tender; that's mostly in winter. Otherwise I ride several times a week and ignore the tender.

Cruzr Joe

[Cruzr Joe]

You will get a mixed bag of answers here. I know you are good for about two weeks without a hook up.

I only put mine on when I am ready for the winter sleep. Oct/Nov through March. Always starts first try.

The rest of the time, I do not use a tender. My is used almost daily. Linda's at least once a week.

Cruzr Joe

[billybovine]

If your Spyder is stock. What I mean by that is nothing added that draws power while parked. You should have no problem leaving it for 3 months and it will start just fine. BRP recommends not letting it sit for more than a month. That sounds like a good plan.

If you have stuff drawing power while parked. Alarm system takes power whether it is armed or not. Power sockets with pilot lights. They take very little power but still draw. Stuff that needs charging. They can take a lot of power. Depending on what, that can dramatically lower the time it should be off a tender.

I have 2 power sockets always on, alarm system, Sena BT dongle that I never turn off. Sena headset charging while parked. It will likely not start after about 5 days. I plug in if I am not going to drive it the next day.

I have a friend that had 2010 RT. It was never on a tender. Had no extras added. It would sit for 4 or 5 months every winter not run. He had to boost it only one spring. He traded it off last fall for a 2017 RT and it still had the original battery in it.

[Netminder]

I plug it in whenever it is in the garage. Personal preference.

[asp125]

We have several bikes so at least one is sitting while another is being ridden. They all have their own tender to plug into whenever they're in the garage.

[Bob Denman]

If it's going to sit for a Month or more (Read that as "Winter Storage"): then I plug the bike in.
The 1330s have such an improved charging system, that it is unnecessary to plug them in every time the engine is shut off...

The 998s however... are a different story!

[Vader]

I hook up my GS if I know I won't be riding for more than a week. That's just me.

[Arion]

Mine is plugged in whenever the bike is parked. See no reason not to do this.

Yep, I agree. We keep our two Spyders at our winter home in Texas, and two motorcycles at our summer home in Maine, and when they're not being regularly being used each remains on its Battery Minder. Recently arrived in Maine and was pleased to see that they both started immediately (boy, do we love fuel injection).
When we return to Texas this fall both Spyders will also start immediately, just as they did last fall. My two cents on the subject.

[Easy Rider]

The 998s however... are a different story!

Not that much different.
Certainly NOT necessary "every time the engine is shut off".

And I hope all of you guys who think plugging in every night is the right thing to do will come back and tell us when your battery goes dead out on the road some day in the future. It WILL happen; it's just a matter of time.