2017 RT Battery Replaced - now to fit the accessories

[dolittle]

I hope I do this OK. My 2017 RT-S was bought fall of 2016. I kept the battery on a tender. I have 29,000 miles on the bike now & no problems 'til this past 2022, when it would start, but when cold it cranked slow, but still started. When cold, if I wanted the bike out of the garage, I would just release the brake and push it out. Then later this winter, the parking brake would release but would not set unless I started the engine, then it would set. Battery load tested OK, but it is old, and I have read posts on here about the battery, so I got a new one from Amazon - AGM. I charged it and installed it, got the hold down in on the second try, engine spins over fast now and the brake works, but it is a little warmer, and I do think it was time for a new battery!!! :yes: :yes: :yes:
I am not good at this, so I do not know how to put on the accessories I have, and my spelling sucks.

Dolittle :yes: :yes:

 

[Little Blue]

Battery

It seems like you're able to get a Battery replacement done.
That sounds like a great thing to me.
If you enjoy your Spyder Ryde Times that's wonderful.
I have been doing some things but as I get older I am limited to what I can do now.

Stay Healthy and Enjoy Your Life. .....:thumbup:

 

[oldguyinTX]

I hope I do this OK. My 2017 RT-S was bought fall of 2016. I kept the battery on a tender. I have 29,000 miles on the bike now & no problems 'til this past 2022, when it would start, but when cold it cranked slow, but still started. When cold, if I wanted the bike out of the garage, I would just release the brake and push it out. Then later this winter, the parking brake would release but would not set unless I started the engine, then it would set. Battery load tested OK, but it is old, and I have read posts on here about the battery, so I got a new one from Amazon - AGM. I charged it and installed it, got the hold down in on the second try, engine spins over fast now and the brake works, but it is a little warmer, and I do think it was time for a new battery!!! :yes: :yes: :yes:
I am not good at this, so I do not know how to put on the accessories I have, and my spelling sucks.

Dolittle :yes: :yes:

Doolittle, you are a better man than me. I replaced my battery fall a year ago, and I fought my hold down for the batter part of an hour and gave up. To add insult to injury, the battery died on the morning that my wife and I were going to ride down to Wimberly TX from Austin. Imagine me trying to explain to my wife that I didn't know the battery was dead until I tried to start the Spyder and then she wanted to know why didn't I check the Spyder the day before to make sure all was well so that we could take off bright and early. Lucky me, I was able to get a battery that day (Saturday) from Batteries Plus of all places, the bike fired up and we went on our merry way. Although I have yet to hear the end of it.

 

[Peter Aawen]

I hope I do this OK. My 2017 RT-S was bought fall of 2016. I kept the battery on a tender. I have 29,000 miles on the bike now & no problems 'til this past 2022, when it would start, but when cold it cranked slow, but still started. .....

It's that bit that can catch you out dolittle, especially if you aren't riding your bike regularly! :sour:

You really shouldn't put your battery on a battery tender if you're going to ride your bike within the next week or so, or you risk taking it off the tender and being able to start when you're at home, but then finding out the battery is really toast later on that day when you're 100 miles or so away from home when it fails!! And as oldguy discovered, it always pays to take it off the tender a day or so before you want to use it again. Sure, that way you might still be caught with a dead battery when you do go to use it, but at least you're home & you might be able to do something about it!!

 

[Peteoz]

It's that bit that can catch you out dolittle, especially if you aren't riding your bike regularly! :sour:

You really shouldn't put your battery on a battery tender if you're going to ride your bike within the next week or so, or you risk taking it off the tender and being able to start when you're at home, but then finding out the battery is really toast later on that day when you're 100 miles or so away from home when it fails!! And as oldguy discovered, it always pays to take it off the tender a day or so before you want to use it again. Sure, that way you might still be caught with a dead battery when you do go to use it, but at least you're home & you might be able to do something about it!!

Hahaha... Yep, as Oldguy AND ME discovered, Peter. I now only put the RT on the tender if it is going to sit for a couple of weeks... and never before an overnight trip. It’s working well so far ooooops, I probably shouldn’t have written that!

Pete

 

[Ex-Rocket]

I replaced my battery last fall even though I was not having any problems starting the Spyder. The battery was 5 years old or older, cause you don't know how long the battery sat on the shelf somewhere. I think 5 years is about as long I'd go on a motorcycle battery before replacing it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[al0vely]

Lucky I guess ...

I sold my 2016 F3L a couple of weeks ago and it still had the original battery in it ... I guess I was just lucky.

The 2014 RTS had the OEM battery replaced in October 2021.

I cross my fingers that my new to me 2020 RTL will last a long time also.

 

[mandytuning]

I replaced my battery last fall even though I was not having any problems starting the Spyder. The battery was 5 years old or older, cause you don't know how long the battery sat on the shelf somewhere. I think 5 years is about as long I'd go on a motorcycle battery before replacing it. Just my 2 cents.

I'm with you, but my bike is only 9 months and came with the cheapy battery, so I'm seriously thinking about replacing it soon, before it does some funny things in middle nowhere.

 

[iSilentP]

Hahaha... Yep, as Oldguy AND ME discovered, Peter. I now only put the RT on the tender if it is going to sit for a couple of weeks... and never before an overnight trip. It’s working well so far ooooops, I probably shouldn’t have written that!

Pete

I always put my battery tender on the bike every time I pull it into the garage for the night. Not sure about what is meant by your comment. I want to learn. Can you please elaborate. I use the "NOCO GENIUS1: 1A 6V/12V Smart Battery Charger Automatic Maintainer, Trickle Charger & Desulfator with Overcharge Protection & Temperature Compensation" and I have the "YTX24HL - Yuasa Battery" on my bike. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[JayBros]

I always put my battery tender on the bike every time I pull it into the garage for the night.

My Battery Tender Junior is plugged into the double receptacle in the ceiling that powers the garage door opener and the tender cord hangs down in the middle of the bay, so when I turn off the Spyder the next thing I do is connect the pigtail in the frunk to the tender.

 

[Peter Aawen]

I always put my battery tender on the bike every time I pull it into the garage for the night. Not sure about what is meant by your comment. I want to learn. Can you please elaborate. I use the "NOCO GENIUS1: 1A 6V/12V Smart Battery Charger Automatic Maintainer, Trickle Charger & Desulfator with Overcharge Protection & Temperature Compensation" and I have the "YTX24HL - Yuasa Battery" on my bike. Am I doing something wrong?

YES, putting your battery on a tender EVERY TIME you 'pull it into the garage for the night' or after a ride can and will potentially hide a dying or dead battery by letting you start it the next time you go for a ride, due to the residual 'cover charge' the tender leaves in the unused battery for an hour or so after you disconnect it. If you only ever disconnect it immediately prior to riding, that'll mean that you can usually start it up at home on that residual charge and ride away; cos once it's over the increased load of starting (taking all the residual charge) the engine & electronics will run OK off the alternator alone, even if your alternator is not actually able to return any charge to your battery cos it's dying or dead, or even just severely depleted cos your last few runs have only been short runs that were not long enough to return/top up the battery after the drain imposed by repeated starting loads!! So then, once you're well away from home, maybe a long way and out in the middle of nowhere, when you next shut down your Spyder, you might not be able to re-start it!!

Of course, this doesn't happen every time you leave your Spyder connected to a tender/maintainer, only when your battery has been subjected to repeated short runs (running it repeatedly for less than 30 mins at highway revs is not good); when it's been improperly charged/maintained for too long; or when it's been left sitting for too long without use or maintenance, generally somewhat more than a week or so; but then again, you never really know when your battery is going to die on you, do you?! Wanta risk it??

So it's best if you DO NOT connect your Spyder to your tender/maintainer immediately EVERY TIME you return from a ride!!

It looks like you've got a reasonably good tender, but your Spyder battery shouldn't need to be on the tender/maintainer if you're planning on riding again within a week or so - just leave it off that long! And if you've left it connected for a couple of weeks cos you didn't plan on riding during that time, but now you're planning on riding this weekend (ie. a couple of days away) just disconnect it NOW, ie, Wednesday or Thursday, giving it a couple of days to settle so that when you DO go to start it on the weekend, it'll be starting off the charge FROM THE BATTERY, not just of the residual cover charge from the tender/maintainer! And then when you go to start it in a couple of days time, if it hesitates, or is slow cranking, or maybe shows you a blank dash screen for a second or two, or you get an odd VSS or Brake error, maybe even a whole bunch of errors, then it's telling you to check your battery, cos all those things are signs of a dying or dead battery!! But at least if it's showing you that AT HOME, before you've left on a ride, and not when you're an hour or more's ride away from home!

So to summarise, just don't put your Spyder on the tender/maintainer every time you pull it into the garage for the night/after a ride - if you're riding again within a week or so, leave it off the tender/maintainer! And if you're planning on riding soon, take it off the tender/maintainer well before - a couple of days before is ideal; but the night before is OK if that's all you can! Good batteries SHOULD NOT NEED to be left on a tender/maintainer all the time, and even if you're using a tender/maintainer that won't kill your battery by doing that (but some will!) it can fool you into thinking your battery is still good when you start at home/straight after taking it off the tender/maintainer, only for you to discover AFTER you've ridden away and stopped for any reason, than now it just won't start anything, or gives you an error/cascading multiple errors &/or dumps you into Limp Home Mode when you're miles from help!