Had to jump start my Interstate this morning !

[Firefighter]

Rode about a mile to a Stripes store this morning to buy a taco before I set off on my adventure and that was as far as I ventured! Turned on the ignition switch and before I could push the start button everything went off, dash, gauges, lights everything. Cycled the key a couple of times with the same results. Tried the kill switch several times, same.

Ok! Broke down! I carry an army of tools, so I pulled the seat, could see some corrosion on the positive batt. connection, great! that's it,,,,,nope! Cleaned both post, took apart the start relay connections, noooo, looked at everything I could see. Got my test light after it, would light up then go out when I pushed the start button when touching the batt. cable. Was thinking my Battery was fairly new, but I had to call the wife to come help me!! Had my motorcycle jumper cables which I had never used before ready when she drove up. Had her shut her engine off cause you guys say to and connected the cables, everything came to life and the Valk started right up. I have a volt gauge on my bike and it was showing 14 volts so I picked everything up and rode home. The battery is so dead that there is no ark when shorting the cables, I don't understand battery's now a days!

Turns out my battery is one month short of being four years old 9-4-14 ( to the day). I have read that some of you guys get 7 years or so out of a battery, I never do. I use the battery tender and ride about once a week, sometimes a few weeks go by but not usually. I want to get one of those batt. jump devises to carry especially on trips. Any suggestions on those? Felt like talking so I did, my adventure and all!   Be Careful

[Tfrank59]

Out of curiosity, was it a Yuasa?  Pretty sure, barring charging problems or what, you'd get at least 4 years (plus) from one of those.  At least that's been my experience, and I've been too lazy to put the trickle charger on.

[sandy]

Lithium jump starters. I have a NOCO GB40. Amazon sells it. 1000 amp supply. It's good up to a 350 cu in engine.

[John Schmidt]

Lithium jump starters. I have a NOCO GB40. Amazon sells it. 1000 amp supply. It's good up to a 350 cu in engine.

I like the size of that unit. I recall DDT used something like this to power his bike for quite a distance when his alternator failed. He just hooked it to the battery and away he went so wondering if it's possible to use this unit in that manner.

As for battery life on the bike, I replace them no later than four years from date of install....regardless of how good/strong they may seem. Pretty cheap insurance.

[old2soon]

              4 years? MAYBE you should have gotten a bit more service outa yer battery But sometimes the folks in charge of the tricity decide-you puny human have had enough!  I go back to 6 volt batteries in cages and the old fashion diaphragh fuel pumps. New or rebuilt on fuel pumps and new 6 volt batteries were at best a crap shoot.  I've heard of new modern batteries crappin out days or weeks after a fresh install. My Brother-da prez-still fond of tellin folks about my Sears Diehard battery that died easy!  When you install the new battery clean up the block ground. Or the frame ground-whatever the case may be.  RIDE SAFE.

[Bagger John - #3785]

One of mine (Yuasa) is 10 years old. Still starts the bike (I/S) up without issue and holds a charge, though I throw a Battery Tender into the circuit if I don't ride the thing more than once a week.

[Firefighter]

Tfrank, haven't pulled the battery out yet, but looking at my records I don't think it is a Yuasa. I remember when I ordered it I thought it was and was disappointed when I received it. I will order a Yuasa this time.

[old2soon]

Tfrank, haven't pulled the battery out yet, but looking at my records I don't think it is a Yuasa. I remember when I ordered it I thought it was and was disappointed when I received it. I will order a Yuasa this time.

             This may or may Not werk fer you but it did werk fer me. Go to both flea bay and amazon and price out the Yuasa. Go to your dealer of choice and see if they will price match. If not-wait on yer flea bay/amazon order. There was in my case about a $30.00 difference price wise. Even though the dlr had to charge taxes on the lower price I had it that day. And I installed the acid. And put the new battery on trickle charge for 24 hrs like the directions state. That SLOW initial charge is a key to long battery life. RIDE SAFE.

[Jess from VA]

This one was recommended on here a while back.  https://www.amazon.com/INTELLIBOOST-Portable-Charging-Emergency-Motorbikes/dp/B01AKQPBE8/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530238177&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=rugged+geek+jump+start+air+compressor

I'm thinking about one too.

My Yuasas all go well past 4 years, but I run Battery Tender Jrs 24 X 7 X 365 unless riding or on a trip.  Every time I go for a ride, the first thing I do is look for that green LED on the Tender telling me I am all topped up charge-wise.  This cuts way down on battery sulfation during all sitting time.

I've never cooked a battery, never blown a fuse, never had a fire (everything out there is GFCI anyway), and only had one Tender stop working in 15 years (and it was an older one I inherited with another motorcycle).

[..]

This one was recommended on here a while back.  https://www.amazon.com/INTELLIBOOST-Portable-Charging-Emergency-Motorbikes/dp/B01AKQPBE8/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530238177&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=rugged+geek+jump+start+air+compressor

I'm thinking about one too.

My Yuasas all go well past 4 years, but I run Battery Tender Jrs 24 X 7 X 365 unless riding or on a trip.  Every time I go for a ride, the first thing I do is look for that green LED on the Tender telling me I am all topped up charge-wise.  This cuts way down on battery sulfation during all sitting time.

I've never cooked a battery, never blown a fuse, never had a fire (everything out there is GFCI anyway), and only had one Tender stop working in 15 years (and it was an older one I inherited with another motorcycle).

Mine was on a battery charger not tender.

[Jess from VA]

Mine was on a battery charger not tender.

Hey Paul, I know that.  I wasn't directing those words at (or because of) you.

I know that anyone should be concerned about running any kind of charger 24-7 year round as a potential fire hazard.  My (3) tenders are out in my sheds, not in an attached garage.  Even with a fused Tender (designed to go on float as soon as the battery is fully charged) on a GFCI circuit, I'd be a little more concerned if they were all in an attached garage.

I wouldn't want to lose my sheds (and one usually has 10 or more gallons of gas and a propane tank or two), but I really wouldn't want to lose my house too.

But I've been running them constant (up to five of them) for over 10 years, with no problem.     

[Valkorado]

The jump starter gizmos are great for just such an occasion as you experienced, or even getting to the next stop with a bad alternator like DDT so ingeniously rigged his to do.

As far as trickle charging, that should be done rarely (one a month, overnight) unless you have a high quality unit with desulfation, maintenance and safety features.  I use this one.

https://www.pulsetech.net/xc100-p-xtreme-charge-12v-battery-maintenance-charger-desulfator.html

I also sprung for their Quadlink,

https://www.pulsetech.net/store/multi-charger-quadlink/xc-ql4-quadlink-4-channel-battery-charger-multiplier.html

which charges both bike batteries and two old spares by using the one charger and switching between batteries every ten minutes. 

No battery requires a constant charge even with a quality unit like this.  Leaving a battery on constant trickle with a normal tender will actually decrease its lifespan and performance.