How often do you use your battery tender?

[QwickFliCk]

use mine whenever i plan on goin on a long ride

 

[mave2911]

Never - I don't have one.

I ride 120kms a day to and from work, so I suppose when (IF!) I get a couple of days off, the battery is still good.

My batter is over 2yrs old, so I'll be looking to get a new one soon, just in case.

Cheers,
Rick

 

[Nelly]

PM ant_mb and Motogiro and ask them to change it.

I have changed the poll to show the new options.
You can change the number of options in the edit function. You can't change the responses.
So the poll will be slightly skewed with the new options added after the start of the poll.

Until last month I had to use a tender on a daily basis. I have disconnectd my alarm system as it was draining the battery.
I parked my bike at Dublin Airport for a week and came back to a flat battery. It's a pain in the bum to bump start the bike fully ladden and wearing all the gear. As the engine has an imobiliser I think my bike is relativley safe.


Nelly

 

[teeter]

I never need to use one because I ride 5-6 days per week, year round. Even when I'm on vacation or otherwise away from the bike I never tend the battery. The factory battery lasted about 5 years and I expect the replacement I bought to last about the same.

 

[FinalImpact]

Just curious at what frequency you use yours.

As of today - 331 looked but only 48 voted. . . Just like voting for a president, turn-out sucks unless there are haters involved! :BLAA:

 

[pookamatic]

Is that 331 views or users? I often check back to see how the poll is going or to read posts.

Based on results thus far, I'm still happy I got one, but less so now that I see so many with long battery life without one. It should come in handy when she goes to sleep for the winter though.

 

[mikw73]

FYI: We can't vote when using the mobile app. Not yet, anyway. I'll vote the next time I'm on a PC and not doing worky-work. (Could be weeks.)

If you're really wanting to know what I'll say and can't wait: (I assume I'm talking to an audience of zero.) I plug the FZ in once or twice each winter, usually for a day or three, only when I haven't ridden in weeks. Our winters here have some pretty cold days, but are generally pretty mild, and not very long. This past winter was exceptionally short and mild, and I did not use the BT at all on the FZ6.

My old and little bike, ('82 CM450) which I hope to sell this year, I keep plugged in about half the time, and it's given me no problems in the four years I've owned it even though I don't ride it anywhere near enough to keep the battery charged. Hence the pending sale.

 

[mikw73]

Oh, FYI: If you ever do completely discharge a battery, get the battery tender on it ASAP. Batteries that are completely discharged and not charged back upbsoon can die and not be recoverable if left for weeks or months even though they might have been OK if the had been charged soon after being discharged.

 

[FinalImpact]

FYI: We can't vote when using the mobile app.

Is this where we bloodgen you'all and say get off the phone?!!!! :spank:

 

[08fz6]

I don't get to ride my bike much. I have put my optimate 3 on it since new in may of 08. I am a firm believer in them. My dad had a friend that had a '70's Corvette, he had a tender on that as it sat in his showroom and he didn't drive it. The battery that was in that car was 20 years old and would still start the car.

 

[Evitzee]

Any battery will last years longer if always on a BT. The constant fall off of a sitting battery and then recharging of it takes a toll on battery life. I have a car that often sits for weeks on end, but it is always on a BT, still using same battery since I bought it 6 years ago. Very cheap insurance.

 

[rdrManny]

Last two winters i stored my bike without BT. my bike started in first crank in next spring after 3-4 month idle. BTW I am weekend warrior during non-winter days.

 

[iSteve]

Original battery in my 08 as far as I know it's never seen a charger. Always starts right up even after winter.

 

[Andz]

Original battery in my 2004 may be getting tired now, yesterday morning I tried to start it after a week not riding it and a couple of nights close to freezing. Bump started it and rode it, put it on the Optimate overnight and this morning it fired like the battery was brand new, and did so all day. So, I only use it when it needs it.

 

[pookamatic]

Wow - 8 year old battery? That's impressive. Don't let the BT give you a false sense of hope though. Replace it before it leaves you stranded.

 

[Dave in Houston]

My '06 FZ6 has the original battery. I've ridden it about 3000 miles in a bit less than a year. The previous (second) owner only rode it about 200 miles in two years. The battery went dead for me on a test ride, but I was able to bump start the bike.

I went three months without riding due to a series of unexpected events, and the battery was dead. After that, I got the battery tender.

I have three bikes in the garage, and I rotate the tender among the three. So far, it's helped to extend the life of the original batteries in bikes from 2006 and 2007.

 

[vinmansbrew]

Winter only. I pull the battery out and store it in my basement and hook it up to my smart charger.

 

[LERecords]

same here.. winter only!!

 

[banjoboy]

Wutza battery tender? :don'tknow:

 

[Andz]

I never use them, they are not needed... a manufacture ploy... In the winter I just top up the battery (left in the bike by the way) ever few weeks or so... Never had a battery last less than 4 years...

Thanks to the "manufacturer ploy" I have made my battery last over 8 years, the tender was half the price of a new battery. That's good economics to me.