Harley Battery Care

By Dennis Santopietro

Q: I have been told many different ways how-to maintain a Harley battery. I live in Florida and not able to ride as much as I would like. My last battery lasted about two and a half years. I would charge it about once a month before I would go for a ride. Now I am told to keep it hooked up to a battery tender all the time and it will last longer. What is the best way to maintain the battery when you are unable to ride much?
Thank you for your time,
Ron K

A: Hi Ron,
Thanks for the email. A trickle charger is best. You can connect a pigtail to your battery so you do not have to fuss with it. After a ride plug into the pigtail.
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27 Responses to “Harley Battery Care”

  1. Larry Verheyden

    Charge a heritage soft tail 2018

  2. Mark Jirjis

    I've been using a Trickle Charger for quite a few years and it seems to extend my Harley's batteries life. The battery I have now is going on 4 years old and still going strong !! Hope I didn't just JINX IT !! LOL !!

  3. Roy

    I’ve gone over 4 years with my “non Harley” battery by hooking it up to a Genus 750 trickle anytime I foresee a period longer than a week I might not ride. Sometimes it might be a month or two. I swear by it.

  4. Sam Brustas

    Best thing you can do is buy a CTEK charger. You can leave them permanently connected and just disconnect the pigtail (comes with the charger) when you go for a ride. You don't need the 10 amp model. The smallest unit will do. We have 3 m/c's and five cars. All of them have a CTEK charger and we leave them on all the time when the cars or bikes are in the garage. Our batteries last 5 to 8 years and that's here in cold and wet Germany! Our riding season is 5 months at best. Check them out on the internet - you'll be glad you did.

  5. Ralph Parks

    A battery tender works great, when not riding keep it plugged up.

  6. donsbombers

    Hi is the auxiliary plug the same plug you plug in the HD battery tender into on 2015 Street Glide

  7. Rich Nast

    Get your trickle chargers at Harbor Freight for $8.99 (with sale coupons often down to $4.99) Have them on all my bike, car and truck batteries..keeps them all topped up, instead of allowing them to totally discharge and freeze in winter which really kills them. Unless you ride nearly every day, a must for all bikers and classic car enthusiasts.

  8. DPG

    Harley Davidson should include a battery tender with each new bike. They can throw in a suspension pump while they're at it. I'd trade my catalytic convertor for it any time!

  9. Tony Morris

    I got in a rush when hooking up my battery and crossed the wires. The bike always started up right away but since then it won't fire at all. What could be the result of crossing the wires. I've been told I burned up the module,fuses and complete ignition.

  10. Larry Brown

    I use a tender Jr and get more than 6 years out of my jelly batteries.