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[CVOSE]

Mine almost died after 7 years. The bike was stored in a shed without electricity and the alarm went off all the time, I've been told. So it was completely drained. Charged it again end it worked, had it checked and it was still 70%.
Because a long travel abroad  I replaced it.

[b407driver]

All my bikes live on a Battery Tender when not being ridden. When I lived on the East Coast, I would get up to 7 years out of a battery. Now that I live in AZ, the heat just kills the batteries. I got 2.5 years out of my '09 FLHX battery ans the battery in my 2012 CVO Ultra was just replaced under warranty, 3 weeks before the factory warranty expired. I get replacement batteries from Batteries Plus.....same battery made by the same company (Dekka)....about $10-20 less 'cause it doesn't say "Harley" on it. I've been told you can buy cosmetic blems from Dekka for cheap too...

[muddypaws]

Three years and 65,000 miles and I just placed the order for a new one. That is a lot of starts...

[Dr.D]

I change mine out every three years, period. To much at stake for me to have a failure. I keep mine on a tender only in the winter because  I am on them every week for a ride. I do not think leaving a battery idle for four or five days is excessive risk.

I did have a dead battery once time and fortunately it was in the garage. I simply hopped on the other bike.

[cvomiami]

I believe I might have gotten a bad HD battery. I got a new one for my FXDFSE2 about one month ago(which I bought new from out of state, when it arrived here after shipping, she wouldn't start and I realizes it was on old battery ), when I first put the new battery from HD, the bike wouldn't start. So I charged it overnight with my battery tender, next day fully green and I was happy. My thought was jeez, I think the dealer would have sold me a fully charged new battery, but anyways I figured the overnight charge was all it needed. Since then, I have had a couple of times when the bike wouldn't start right away. Always have it on the tender when not riding, and when it first comes off the tender, she starts right up, perfect. but say sometimes even that same afternoon, or the next day if I leave it at work and not tender it, she barely starts. It seems to be happening even more frequently. Again, in the morning or right after having her tendered, she starts right up, but a few hours later /next day, its a rough start. I shouldn't be having this problem with a brand new HD battery right? Could it be a bad new battery which I should change ? or could it be something else? the pig tail fuse maybe? Any help/insight or anyone with similar problem, would appreciate some comments. Thanks.

[cptdenny]

I believe I might have gotten a bad HD battery. I got a new one for my FXDFSE2 about one month ago(which I bought new from out of state, when it arrived here after shipping, she wouldn't start and I realizes it was on old battery ), when I first put the new battery from HD, the bike wouldn't start. So I charged it overnight with my battery tender, next day fully green and I was happy. My thought was jeez, I think the dealer would have sold me a fully charged new battery, but anyways I figured the overnight charge was all it needed. Since then, I have had a couple of times when the bike wouldn't start right away. Always have it on the tender when not riding, and when it first comes off the tender, she starts right up, perfect. but say sometimes even that same afternoon, or the next day if I leave it at work and not tender it, she barely starts. It seems to be happening even more frequently. Again, in the morning or right after having her tendered, she starts right up, but a few hours later /next day, its a rough start. I shouldn't be having this problem with a brand new HD battery right? Could it be a bad new battery which I should change ? or could it be something else? the pig tail fuse maybe? Any help/insight or anyone with similar problem, would appreciate some comments. Thanks.

You should have a 6 month warranty with that HD battery. I'd call up the dealership you purchased it from, explain your concerns and issues. Ask how they'd like to replace it under warranty. You may be able to turn it in at your local HD dealership as a warranty replacement with proper receipts.

[HarleyJeffOregon]

I'm just at the five year mark on my 2010. 63,000 miles. starting to get a little slow. I got a full 10 years out of the one in my 04.

[Wusaah]

I have been using the Big Crank ETX30L batteries from www.batterymart.com for quite some time. Both my Ultra and Banana have been running them for years. The service life is great and their shipping is FAST!.

Rob   

[grc]

Rather than guesstimate, which is pretty hard to do when the life of the recent batteries is so variable, just start the season out each year with a battery capacity test.  It still won't help those sudden internal failures that seem to be more common these days, but it will tip you off when the battery is just gradually losing capacity due to the normal aging process.

Jerry

[screem]

I buy my battery's from a local battery distributor, he handles Deka battery's. I am in South West Fl and the heat down here tends to kill off battery's far quicker than when i lived in the New England. Last May i needed to change out the Batery in my old Softail, i went down to see my guy at the battery store and he gave me a smokin deal on a Deka, it was brought back to his store on a stock rotation, it had been on the shelf at a locao PowerSports dealer.And his company goes and changes out battery's that were unsold that year. He sold me the battery for $49 bucks,  with the full warrenty on it. 

[grc]

I believe I might have gotten a bad HD battery. I got a new one for my FXDFSE2 about one month ago(which I bought new from out of state, when it arrived here after shipping, she wouldn't start and I realizes it was on old battery ), when I first put the new battery from HD, the bike wouldn't start. So I charged it overnight with my battery tender, next day fully green and I was happy. My thought was jeez, I think the dealer would have sold me a fully charged new battery, but anyways I figured the overnight charge was all it needed. Since then, I have had a couple of times when the bike wouldn't start right away. Always have it on the tender when not riding, and when it first comes off the tender, she starts right up, perfect. but say sometimes even that same afternoon, or the next day if I leave it at work and not tender it, she barely starts. It seems to be happening even more frequently. Again, in the morning or right after having her tendered, she starts right up, but a few hours later /next day, its a rough start. I shouldn't be having this problem with a brand new HD battery right? Could it be a bad new battery which I should change ? or could it be something else? the pig tail fuse maybe? Any help/insight or anyone with similar problem, would appreciate some comments. Thanks.

It's quite possible the dealer sold you an old battery that's been sitting around since batteries were invented, or it's just defective.  The best way to determine the health of the battery is to have a load test performed.  If the battery doesn't pass the load and capacity test, it should be replaced under the Harley service parts warranty.  If you have proper documentation from the selling dealer, your local dealer should be able to handle this for you.

If you get another battery and still find that you have to keep it on the tender all the time then you need to do a current draw test on the bike to make sure nothing is drawing excessive current with everything on the bike turned off.

Jerry

[cvomiami]

It's quite possible the dealer sold you an old battery that's been sitting around since batteries were invented, or it's just defective.  The best way to determine the health of the battery is to have a load test performed.  If the battery doesn't pass the load and capacity test, it should be replaced under the Harley service parts warranty.  If you have proper documentation from the selling dealer, your local dealer should be able to handle this for you.

If you get another battery and still find that you have to keep it on the tender all the time then you need to do a current draw test on the bike to make sure nothing is drawing excessive current with everything on the bike turned off.

Jerry

Thanks Jerry, I do have all the documentation and I will go to the dealer and see what he says. Ref the draw test, that will be the next step although besides the factory alarm system, I don't see what else could drawn down excessive current. Thanks.

[guppytrash]

Just replaced my original battery on my 09.   I plug into the Bat tender as soon as it hits the garage.
This battery was still cranking it over but sometimes it would crank slow.  Left it off the tender for three days and
it still started.
For what it is worth... since I put the new battery in, I have not had one slow start. 
I guess even though the old bat was still fighting it was time to replace.

[grc]

Thanks Jerry, I do have all the documentation and I will go to the dealer and see what he says. Ref the draw test, that will be the next step although besides the factory alarm system, I don't see what else could drawn down excessive current. Thanks.

The alarm and siren always have a small draw, but there are other things that are less obvious.  Things like the ECM, the speedometer/tachometer, and the voltage regulator also have a small constant draw. Bikes with radios have a constant draw as well, to maintain settings.  The Electrical and Diagnostic Manual for your model and year will have a full list of items and the normal draw associated with each item.  You also have to account for any accessories anyone may have added.  They should be wired so they don't draw current with the ignition off, but you might be surprised how some folks wire things.

Jerry

[CBMC]

I just replaced mine, it was 4 years old. It gave me warning sounds, but I did not know, the bike had a problem starting, it would never start right away. I took the bike to HD service shop and after 2 weeks I was told that they cannot find out what is wrong. I thought that my starter is going bad. I went for a ride, ~50 miles from the home I turned the bike off and that was it. Had to tow it to my home and by a new battery. I bought HD battery the same one I had in my bike. First I wanted to buy the best battery out-there so I found Big Boar 1000 battery with awesome reviews, went to JP Cycles and ordered one, $290, when it arrived I found out that Big Boar batteries do not fit into Street Glide bikes. The terminals are on opposite sides. Had to send it back and go to HD store and buy the same one I had. With a new battery the bike is starting like a champ. However, HD service department is proven useless. They never know what they doing, treat your bike like a sshhit, and take forever to finish it.