I was stupid! Battery dead at just 3 years!

[Jackhartjr]

Hi folks, instead of keeping a maintainer on.my battery, 2013 RTL.
Three year old battery!
I won't let that happen again!
Hoping y'all don't either!

[2dogs]

There are not many people who will admit to making a mistake. You are one among the few. Maybe you can revive it with a very slow low amp trickle charger. 2, amp 3, amp 4 amp tops nothing larger. Good luck.

[Flamewinger]

When installing a new battery, put it on a tender or slow charger for a day or so, then put it in the bike.

[DT5534]

2020 RTL is now officially owned 2 years this January. I wasn't going to get a tender since we rode so much last year. Well this Fall/Winnter hasn't allowed us to much ride time. Mostly due to rain. Few months ago I decided to give Eagle 1 a start. Heart dropped when it barely started. Immediately went to Lamonster and ordered up one. No problems now when running to circulate the oil for a while.

[mandytuning]

I have a tracker on my f3t and i monitor battery voltage thur the app ,even have an alarm if voltage goes below your preset

[Peteoz]

Hi folks, instead of keeping a maintainer on.my battery, 2013 RTL.
Three year old battery!
I won't let that happen again!
Hoping y'all don't either!

You are being too hard on yourself, Jack. I had a Yuasa fail on me on my new ‘16 F3-L after 6 months, and it was on a tender. Some batteries last 5 years or more without ever seeing a tender, and some last a matter of months. My current ‘21 RT has not had a tender on it, and it is still going great after 2 years, but I do ride several times a week. It really is the luck of the draw whether you get a “good”battery or not.

Pete

[blacklightning]

I try to ride about every 2 weeks. So far I have had 3- 2016 model bikes. All of them still start right away, and never been on a tender. But I did order a lead so that I can hook one up to my latest one. I also have another tender that I will be using on my 2021 RTL.

[DaniBoy]

Not sure what tender you use. I always used the actual Tender brand in the past. I recently switched to the Optimate 0.8 amp and I really like it. I never had a problem with either, but the super low amperage sounded intriguing. It’s supposed to actually test the cells and desulfate if needed, and is claimed to be able to “rescue” batteries. Not sure if it’s all hype, or if the real Tender does that too. Time will tell. Good luck!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Not sure what tender you use. I always used the actual Tender brand in the past. I recently switched to the Optimate 0.8 amp and I really like it. I never had a problem with either, but the super low amperage sounded intriguing. It’s supposed to actually test the cells and desulfate if needed, and is claimed to be able to “rescue” batteries. Not sure if it’s all hype, or if the real Tender does that too. Time will tell. Good luck!

It's not .... Optimate is one of the better Battery MAINTAINER'S ......Mike

[T.P.]

Looks like this is the one to get, From the above endorsements. https://optimate1.com/om3/or https://optimate1.com/om2/ and the cable page https://optimate1.com/prod/cablesconnectors/

T.P.

[FrogmanDave]

Noco also makes a very fine product.

[K80Shooter]

Noco also makes a very fine product.

I have several of theirs. Zero problems.

[rhino1]

I have several of the optimate charger/maintainers. I just purchased one that will handle lithium batteries and regular batteries. They will rejuvenate a dead battery. They r the best! I’ve been using them for 20 years. I would highly recommend them. U get what u pay for! Just my .02

[Reacher68]

I had a couple of surgeries and couldn't ride for a few months. I finally went to ride Saturday. I had it on a trickle charger most of the time so I wasn't worried about the battery. The night before, I went to turn it on and nothing happened. No dash lights, no front lights, and very dim tail lights. What the heck? I unplug and plug my trickle charger several times, I check to make sure I don't have a loose wire anywhere and found nothing. I was afraid I had a short, a loose wire, or a bad battery.

Then I noticed something. The trickle charger was showing a green light as if it thought my battery was fully charged. I wondered if the charger itself could be bad and tricking itself into thinking my battery was full so it wasn't actually putting out a charge. I went down to the local auto parts store and bought an 800ma charger. I got it home and plugged it in. I waited 30 minutes and turned the key. Low and behold, I had more power! Not enough to start it mind you, but still more! I left it plugged in all night and it started up just fine the next morning. This taught me that even the things you think will last forever can malfunction. I also bought an 800amp jump starter to keep on the bike in case I were to have a battery issue again.

[rhino1]

Reacher68, if that is the right amps, 800. I would not keep that charger on a battery, especially on a spyder battery for more than 4 to 8 hours. It will cook your battery. Unless it is a smart charger where it would turn off when it is fully charged. My trickle charger is 1.5 or 2.0 amps.
Good luck!!

[Reacher68]

Reacher68, if that is the right amps, 800. I would not keep that charger on a battery, especially on a spyder battery for more than 4 to 8 hours. It will cook your battery. Unless it is a smart charger where it would turn off when it is fully charged. My trickle charger is 1.5 or 2.0 amps.
Good luck!!

800ma (milliamps) = .8 amps. It's all good.

[rhino1]

Ok, sorry me bad. U got a 800amp jump pack. Ride safe!

[slhanks004]

I’d be thrilled to get 3 years out of a battery! The average life of any vehicle battery is about 2 years here in Phoenix. The heat destroys them.

[BUZZARD II]

Mine lasted five years and I took pretty good care of it. About 2016 I walked into my local battery store. Before I get near the counter the guys says, "Oh, a Harley battery, no problem." I kind of go into a rant on how my original Gold Wing battery lasted ten years and was still working strong when I sold it. This H-D battery is five and dead.

He explained how the 2001 battery had thicker plates and they all lasted longer. Now they use thinner plates for less weight and they don't last as long. I question whether the manufacturers are after lower weight or more sales. More sales I'm sure, but lower battery life is a given with "modern" lead acid batteries. YMMV.