x2 on the battery tender. They are pretty cheap and a worthy investment if you park your bike over the winter.

higgs - make sure you've got fresh gas in there too. All the battery juice in the world won't fire an engine full of stale gas. Ask me how I know...

 

I just plug in both out bikes once a week for a couple of days on the battery tender. The hookup I have can't be any easier. Plug and play....as the kids say

Note: Jumping a battery to get any vehicle going is really not the best thing. It will get you going, but it really is hard on the battery, and the charging system as it pull the max load on the charging system.

Copy and Paste...LOL but still applicable.

If done incorrectly, jumping a dead battery can be dangerous and financially risky. These procedures are ONLY for vehicles are that are both negatively grounded and the electrical system voltages are the SAME. These procedures would also apply to using emergency jump starters. DO NOT jump a frozen battery and ALWAYS connect POSITIVE to POSITIVE and NEGATIVE (-) to the ENGINE BLOCK or FRAME away from the dead starting battery. Reverse this rule to disconnect. The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimates that of the 275 million vehicles that will traveling in the U.S. during the Summer of 2003, 7.4 million (or 2.7%) will break down. Of that number, 1.3 million (or 17.7%) will require a battery jump to start their engine. The German automobile association (ADAC) estimates that their battery related service calls has increased from 21.7% per year in 1999 to 29.9% in 2004.
In cold weather, good quality jumper cables (or booster cables) with at least eight-gauge wire are necessary to provide enough current to the disabled vehicle to start the engine. Larger diameter, smaller gauge number wire is better because there is less voltage loss. Please check the owner's manual for BOTH vehicles or jump starter BEFORE attempting to jump-start. Follow the manufacturers' procedures, for example, some vehicles should not be running during a jump-start of a disabled one. However, starting the disabled vehicle with the good vehicle running can prevent having both vehicles disabled and provides a higher voltage to the starting motor of the disabled vehicle. Avoid the booster cable clamps touching each other or the POSITIVE clamp touching anything but the POSITIVE (+) post of the battery, because momentarily touching the block or frame can short the battery and cause extensive and costly damage.

 

This is what I have been using this past winter and it seems to work great (Very cheap too)!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=99857

 

Sorry for the double post but while looking for my charger I came accross this, although I dont have any experience with it.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42292

 

cool.. thanks for all the info guys... i jumped it from my truck and it works fine... i usually fire it up in the winter about once a week... take it for a spin around the block and let it warm up, then park it again.

i got lazy this winter - didn't do anything to the fuel so it was in there from about October haha - BUT i read that Deej closes the petcock and lets the bike "run out" of fuel... so i started doing it and man.. what a difference!

anyway, it fired up with no issues and i got to ride for the first time in 2010! I'll look into a tender for sure though!

 

Here is my battery tender. And as you can see the hookup is awesome, it charges backwards through the 12V accessory plugs.



Jumper cables that I can use between the two bikes in case *cough* she leaves her key on *cough*


Her bike with the 12V socket and of course the heated grips, because lets face it, if its below 70, she ain't riding with out them. LOL







My 12 v adapter, and I just discovered that my GPS can be powered by the Blackberry charger, so now the screen will stay on as long as its plugged in.



And finally.....Head Banging Cat....just because I think its funny, and I love cats...so there's that.

 

Since I installed the kick starter on her bike I probably wont need to jump the bike, especially since I just posted that its not the greatest thing to do. LOL

 

Hmmmmm.... I like the 'battery tender plug into the accessory port Deej". Alot easier than taking off the side panel with an 8mm. The 12v accessory plug is a for sure mod this spring with that liitle gem of info. Very easy charging for those winter hibernation periods.

M

 

Most battery tenders come with a pig-tail you bolt to the battery terminals, and leave hanging behind the side plate. Very easy to connect it to the tender then.
+1 for Deej's cig lighter outlet, it works just as well and gives you a power outlet for your stuff.
Dan