Buying a new battery

[Breeze3at]

General question to any/every one here. when you must set your bike up for -- oh let's say 2-3 weeks, would you recommend going out and starting it up and letting it idle for about 10 mins or so every now and then? Is this a good practice or not?

Thanks for your input.

Bill

Bill; Hit the search button up top, then enter "best cca" and "winter start up"
this should answer your question.

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

Go ahead with confidence with your OEM battery. If you have not discharged the battery to 1/2 charge or less and during long storage more than a month, you kept up the surface charge with a Battery Tender, it would not be uncommon for battery to last 7 years or more...if not, you can expect less. An easy way to tell is to see how far the headlight dims when you hit the starter on cold mornings. If the brightness drops about 1/3 brightness, AND starting seems "labored", means voltage is 9-10V instead of 12.6V which should hold long enough for 2 or 3 second start up if battery is in decent shape. While there are aftermarket batteries out there...finding exact replacement can be tough...! On my 04 Sporty, there are not very many alternatives...but the good news is, even though the HD battery is pricey, it does use the latest battery features, high density plates, thin insulators, water conserving technology, thin plastic case etc.

 

[lionsm53]

Beleive it or not but I got 9 years out of a HD AGM battery using a battery tender when bike is in the garage.
So I just baught another HD AGM battery.

That's the key to a having a battery that lasts a long time, having a tender on it, year round. You can buy them off of ebay for $28.88 delivered to your door.