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Battery Tender?

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acj2001jones

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I am considering purchasing a battery tender plus to use on my vehicles and my motorcycles. I would like to attach the supplied quick disconnect leads to my Sportster, and use the plug in on my 09' SG when needed (occasional winter charge). Has anyone tried using a battery tender on the factory charging port? I would like to simply plug it in. If it doesn't work i will probably break down and buy the over priced harley charger. Thanks, for the feedback
 
Battery Tender sells the harness with plug and battery "cuff links" for $9.99 at either HD or Metric dealer or retailer like Cycle Pro, so one charger can be rotated among both bikes as an option. Use a DMM to check and make sure polarity is correct at the plug (generally the shrouded end is + on the battery/pigtail side.
 
i use optimate chargers
have pigtails fitted to all of the harleys and use the supplied crocodile clips on the Honda as the seat flips up and the battery is easily accessible
i have mounted an optimate charger in the ceiling of each of the sheds and can charge any bike in any parking space without having to move the chargers
although special mount brackets are available for the chargers i fabricated my own out of a bit of wood a strip cut out of an old inner tube and some screws

Brian
 
acj2001jones said:
I am considering purchasing a battery tender plus to use on my vehicles and my motorcycles. I would like to attach the supplied quick disconnect leads to my Sportster, and use the plug in on my 09' SG when needed (occasional winter charge). Has anyone tried using a battery tender on the factory charging port? I would like to simply plug it in. If it doesn't work i will probably break down and buy the over priced harley charger. Thanks, for the feedback
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Yes, I have a battery tender hooked up to my 08 SG and the port is the same for the battery tender vs whatever unit Harley sells (which I though was made by tender also). They should have told you that when you bought the bike. Just put the new connector on the sporty battery and you can then swap the tender back and forth. No problems at all.
 
Hey Richard, chrome is good, saving a few bucks...uh...priceless? Keep that plastic cool for the big stuff!
 
acj2001jones said:
I am considering purchasing a battery tender plus to use on my vehicles and my motorcycles. I would like to attach the supplied quick disconnect leads to my Sportster, and use the plug in on my 09' SG when needed (occasional winter charge). Has anyone tried using a battery tender on the factory charging port? I would like to simply plug it in. If it doesn't work i will probably break down and buy the over priced harley charger. Thanks, for the feedback
Click to expand...


I use "c tek" battery chargers on all my vehicles.These are completely spark free,reverse polarity protected and can be left connected for months.(switching between charging and pulse maintenance)They come with quick connectors that are bolted to the battery terminals, and you merely plug the charger into that lead for hassle free charging.Further,their new quick connectors come with green,yellow and red l.e.d.'s to indicate battery condition at a glance.No more putting your voltmeter across the terminals.I bought an XS3600 for cars and bikes;and then an XS7000 which includes a battery recondition mode.For cars and bikes also.

Seriously,these are probably one of the best battery chargers available Worldwide today.The XS3600 is on special here for $90;in the U.S probably around $50.

Check out their Website.
 
Cheap???

I'm Mr. cheap. I buy the ones from Harbor Bomber Freight - when and only when they go on sale ~$6. Have one on the Vette about 3 years old and the girl starts up every time even if I have been riding the RK exclusively for months. Only thing it won't do is keep the battery up if the wife opens the back hatch with the key remote while the car is covered up and all of the inside lights come on. Took me a while to figure that one out. Went out to start it and zip... Looked at the charger and the LED was out. Thought it was a bad charger. As soon as I lifted the leads from the battery the LED came back on. If you short the alligator clips together the LED goes out. Open the circuit and the LED comes on again. Can't take heavy current loads as it's only for trickle charging at float.

Pretty cool for ~$6. I almost bought one not on sale for the RK when I bought it but waited 2 weeks for the next sales cycle and bought it on sale. Used $5 bucks in gas but saved $3...

You may need to cut off the alligators and install the quick disconnect if your bike has one. I don't throw anything away and had an old one in one of my electronic connector drawers. A little solder and some heat shrink and it works just like the $50 version...

Just like NEWHD74FAN said, make sure you get the polarity right.
 
I use the Battery Tender, Jr. on my 05 Wing and my 09 Road Glide. The Battery tender hooks directly into the installed quick plugs on my Road Glide (I'm not sure if it came that way from the factory or if my dealer installed the quick plugs.) I attached the ring ends of the quick plug supplied with the Battery Tender, Jr. to the battery on the Wing. Switching from the Road Glide to the Wing is simply a matter of plugging the quick plugs from the charger into one or the other of the quick plugs on the bikes.
 
Batter Tender is a great product. I have a six volt and a 12 volt one (juniors).....my 'ol 66 BMW is a 6 volt. I love them. I did notice the cords one the newer bike and I thought the were battery tender hookups. I don't know what HD gets for their charge, but I'll bet it's alot more than B.T.
They come with a 5 year warranty, and I did have to return just one of mine in about 6 years of having them. great product, great people.
There is ONE thing...DO NOT just plug it in and forget it. Eventually, even with the "float" mode, it will drain the battery, I learned the hard way with the tiny 6 volt battery one the '66.
My 2 came with all the cords for permanenet hookup and alligator clips also,
 
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