Every Spring our phone rings off the hook, motorcycle owners frustrated by dead batteries. This phenomenon seems so foolish to me. Everyone who owns a motorcycle probably owns a battery tender (trickle charger) but no matter how hard we try to teach our customers how to use them, most motorcycle owners just can’t seem to get the hang of it and they miss riding time because of it. So, I’ll take another shot at it here.
I own more than one motorcycle so it’s common for my bikes to sometimes sit for a couple of weeks between rides. How do I do it? I leave each bike plugged in all the time, year-round. I typically get 5 years out of my batteries. The battery in my forklift is from 2014! I have a few customers who show up every Spring for a new battery! I just don’t understand it,these guys all own a battery tender, but they don’t have the common sense to use the darn things until their battery is dead and useless. A battery tender will keep a healthy battery topped off and ready to go year-round. It won’t recharge a dead battery; that’s a job for a much stronger battery charger.
It’s quite obvious to me that since the Covid crisis of 2020-2021 that everything has gotten much more expensive no matter what your hobbies are. A typical motorcycle battery that was under $100 a few years ago is now more than $130! Use your battery tender to extend the life of your battery, save yourself some money (for something more gratifying like a new set of tires) and riding time.
Summing it up, a battery tender (trickle charger) won’t hurt your battery, won’t burn your garage down, but it will save you riding time, money, aggravation and a trip to the motorcycle shop in the Spring.
By the way, this advice also applies to any machine in your garage that’s not used daily, like your lawn tractor, classic car, snowmobile, ATV, boat, RV, etc.
Don’t forget to set your tire pressures once a week!
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