Want to buy a battery tender/charger, trickle charger. Also, winterizing question | GTAMotorcycle.com

Want to buy a battery tender/charger, trickle charger. Also, winterizing question

hedgehog88

hedgehog88

Well-known member
Hi,

So I left my bike in my garage over the last month and wanted to pull it out for a ride, then finding out the battery is died from all the symptoms I read about. Now I would like to buy a battery tender/charger.

Silly question, but is a battery tender and batter charger and trickle charger the same thing?

What should I look for in a battery tender? I need something that I can use for my current bike (GS500F) as well have something hold up when I decide for buy a more powerful bike in the near future. How voltage/amp should I look for? I don't want to spend a whole alot for one but I don't mind spending a bit (less possible) if it does its job. Will I know if a battery is charger 100%?

Lastly, I want to winterize my bike and for the battery after being removed from the bike, what and how am I suppose to maintain it so it can last till next year?
- do I charge it full and leave it?
- can you overcharger it if I left it charging?
- how will I know its fully charger?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if it sounds like newbie questions, but I'd rather be certain all my concerns are answered.
 
You could find all the answers to your questions by doing a search, but the short version is:

More or less, yes they are the same except for the car battery chargers. Go to the store of you choice and seek out a battery "tender" and make sure the box has a picture of a motorcycle on it, or the word "motorcycle" is included in the description. The device will charge and then maintain your battery automatically, as long as you haven't killed it by letting it discharge too far. The fully charged state will be indicated by a LED, or by the colour of the LED changing, depending on the brand you choose. Yes you can leave it connected all winter, but a lot of people disconnect it for a day or so every week, or put a timer on it. Good luck.
 
Battery Tender Jr. About $30 - $40. Dead simple. Hook one end up to the battery via clips or included terminal post cables and plug the other end into the wall. Forget about it until spring. You can even leave the battery in the bike. I've even used it to charge my car battery once.
 
The only difference between most chargers is the way they distribute the charging cycles over time (better ones will have some methodology to supposedly retain battery life longer), and the charging time. For example, a battery tender Jr will tend your batt, but if drained it will take longer than a CTEK battery tender. Not a big deal to most unless your batt is low one day and you need to charge it. It's a 2 in 1 essentially. If you have the battery tender Jr., make sure the switch is on 12V and not 6V (on the back).
 
I've always had good luck keeping my bikes plugged in year round and I prefer to keep the tender cord accessible under the passenger seat so that it isn't hanging down on the side and visible. The cord for some tenders (including the CTek) are short and depending on your bike may not reach to this location. The Battery Tender Jr has a nice long cord and this is never an issue.
 
Most Battey Tender type chargers are pretty user friendly, plug-and-play.
I bring my battery inside for the winter and keep it on a wooden shelf in the basement. About once a month or so, I plug in the charger and let it sit for a couple hours. Never had a problem and it's a 10 minute job to put battery back in bike come spring.
 
Can anything happen if (while the tender is connected to the battery) someone touches the terminals at any point or it comes in contact with metal etc.?

Just worried about safety and don't have a clue about electricity/batteries

Thanks
 
e90 said:
Can anything happen if (while the tender is connected to the battery) someone touches the terminals at any point or it comes in contact with metal etc.?

Just worried about safety and don't have a clue about electricity/batteries

Thanks
Click to expand...

You never want to "bridge" the terminals. It will melt the bridge and shock you.
 
touching one at a time is okay though? while it is connected?
 
Short answer - yes.

If you're "touching" the terminals with something conductive (metal), make sure you don't also touch anything "grounded" to the bike/battery, if you are "touching" the positive (+) terminal.
 
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