I have the pigtail attachment attached to the battery permanently. That way, I can just plug in the tender and leave it be. It has a cap on it to keep water/dirt out of it and it tucks away nicely out of sight.

 

This. I have the plug coming out near the left pillion peg.

 

Another +1 to the pigtail attachment.

However, if yours didn't come with one (though you can still buy it online) or you don't wish to install it, you can use the alligator clips. No reason not to leave the battery in the bike, though in that case I'd also leave the seat OFF so as not to push the aligator clips around and cause a short.

Which you connect first doesn't matter. There's not a lot of current coming from a tender, and there's NONE coming from an automatic tender until it is connected.

 

This is where I mounted my one.

 

Exactly where mine is mounted. It's the best place where I could plug in the charger when parked in the garage.

 

Make sure it is a tender and not a charger. You will ruin the battery. Everything I own has a tender on it. Mower, 4 motorsickles, tractor,and even my truck cause it sits up so long. I am a bad azz hard core rider. I can tell you that Ive ruined a battery or two till I got smart enough to buy many tenders. I got the cheap ones from Harbor Freight, $6ish bucs each. One of them is going on 6 years old and still going. Not one has failed. I rewire the ends on them. On my Harley I re-wired the eccessory plug in the tour pack directly to battery.

Tim

 

Sage advice. There is also a battery terminal anticorrosion spray available that you spray on the bat terminals after everything is connected. Careful, it is a concoction that never really dries and once on your hands you'll spread it everywhere! It works. Never had a terminal corrode after I sprayed it. Try NAPA or any quality auto parts store.

 

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/m...ca/en/pdp/motomaster-10-2a-automatic-battery-charger-0111503p.html#.UuqLbX-9KK0

That's the charger I bought. Has a 2volt trickle charge option for the bike. This won't murder my battery will it? The box says it's rated for bikes.

 

It's not a 2 volt charger, it's a 2 amp. It will output around 14 volts.

That'll work just fine, but it appears it doesn't have an option to connect a pigtail. If you haven't used it yet, you might consider taking it back for a tender like this;

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/battery-tender-junior-0-75a-maintainer-0111940p.html#.UuqNKfldVrU

This will have a permanent mount pigtail attachment, be a lower amperage and will perform all of the battery tending tasks.

To be clear though, the one you have will work just fine. It'll just require the removal of the seat and such each time you use it.

 

A Charger is not a Tender. A charger puts out its rated output all the time. Even the automatic ones can overpower a small motorcycle battery. A Tender monitors the battery voltage and at preset points it turns itself on or off as needed to keep the battery at full charge without overcharging it.

 

I have a CTEK MXS 5.0 the name in Sweden, in the United States called the CTEC MUS 4.3. think it's one of the better on the market. many connectors and accessories to buy. I mounted a lighter socket on one side cover, where i can plug in the charger and charge the smartphone and other accessories.

 

I was at the mower shop today getting some parts and I noticed a pig-tail adapter with an in built battery indicator;

Plugs straight into my ctek battery tender and has three flashing LEDs to indicate battery state. Labelled as a Husqvarna part, but I'm sure it is a re-branded ctek part. Pretty handy I reckon. $11.95 AUD.

 

Thanks fellas. No pigtail on my bike but when I start ebaying parts I'll grab one.

 

I've had good luck with this model. You can get it at Walmart in the automotive battery area (sometimes next to the tires if you have one of those still).

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Battery-Tender-Plus-021-0128-12V-Battery-Charger/15779498


It's about $50, but it comes with everything you need. I've used it several times with zero issues. Might save you some hassle. Just throw the pigtail onto the battery connectors and route it out and plug in as needed.

 

You can buy a Battery Tender Jr. for $23 at Amazon.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0123-Junior-Charger/dp/B000CITK8S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391451433&sr=8-2&keywords=battery+tender+jr[/ame]

I use one on my 900 Custom, ATV & lawn tractor with no issues.

 

You can buy a Battery Tender Jr. for $23 at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tende.../B000CITK8S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391451433&sr=8-2&keywords=battery+tender+jr

I use one on my 900 Custom, ATV & lawn tractor with no issues.

that product is a 750mA. it's perfect for charging and keeping the battery charged. it also comes w/ a long cord and all that's needed. you may use a timer to turn it on 30 min each day... that's all it takes for a good battery...

your battery is probably 10Ah/10HR 12V. it is recommended to slow charge it at 1.2Amps or fast at 5A. the product you choose is in between (2A the lower rate) just not sure it has the 'maintenance' option; and in that case it will overcharge your battery fast.

 

Borrowed time Battery and Stator.

I just replaced a battery on my Honda Bobber after 6 yrs. I keep it on a Tender year round. I have an 07 900 and it still has the same battery. I have 20,000 miles on it now and cringe at the thought of a Stator going out 2,000 miles from home. I may be on borrowed time for both.....I keep everything I don't run daily on a tender. 6-7 of them all in a row..

 

So none of these guys are wrong, and the pigtail option seems like a great idea, but here's what I did.

Living in Montana, with winters getting down to -20 for weeks at a time, I actually take my battery out of my bike and bring it into the house. I keep it in the basement, and put it inside a big rubbermaid tub (Just in case!), and then hooked up the battery tender to it.

Although the trickle charger you have is a great thing to have, I would opt for a tender/float charger just to be safe. Here's the one I got at Harbor Freight (BEST STORE EVER!) for $7.49. Get one of those 20% off coupons that are floating around everywhere, and save yourself another couple of bucks.

http://www.harborfreight.com/automatic-battery-float-charger-42292.html

Hope this helps!

 

@philvt
I lived in Missoula for one year in 97.
What a nice place to own a motorcycle!
;^]

 

Ha Durox that's awesome! Whereabouts are ya now? You're right, it is a WONDERFUL place to own a motorcycle when it's warm enough to ride!

It's a nice warm -4 at my house right now. And windy as a bitch. Those Hellgate winds have been whipping us to death the last week.

Weird winter this year. I was able to make it out for a few careful January rides. Normally never happens. Once February hit, it got terrible again.

Here's a pic of me gettin the hog out this January before all the snow came back.

Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App

 

@philvt: at the time I had a student VISA for one year. then went back to Europe and now I'm in Scottsdale Az. I got to experience both the warm and cold seasons in Missoula. it wasn't that cold in fact -yes it was cold as %(*&. by the time I got back home I could go out in the winter w/ just a t-shirt on... ;] for real.
I remember vividly waiting outside for 15 min w/ no key for someone to come home... never been so cold before or since!

weather is about the same here, meaning that starting w/ feb it got colder than the average, so we have ~60F during the day, and believe it or not, I feel cold in the shade. I might be in need for some Hellgate winds sessions just to reset my senses :]].

*half helmet in January, Montana... OK!