I wanted to start a new thread on this, since the title of the other one was specific to the usbc cord....
I was worried that the usbc cord was hot all the time, and that my blue tooth device for carplay that was plugged into it, drained the battery. I got a LOT of great info from people on here! Thank you guys for the input.
I bought my 2025 Road Glide on March 4th. When I would start it, it sounded as though the battery was kind of low. Started right up, but the 2 or 3 cranks that it took, sounded like it was laboring. I got the bike trailered back home from Bike Week, where I bought it, and it started the same way. I drove it about 20 minutes the Monday after, and again about 10 miles each way to a friend's the next day. Weather got cold again, and the bike sat for 20 straight days. Gorgeous Sunday, super excited, I head out to garage to install slip-ons. BATTERY WAS DEAD AS A DOOR NAIL! I tried to jump it with a jump pack to no avail. I got on here for some insight that night.
These bikes draw a TON of energy when sitting. I get it. No doubt about it. But there is no way this thing should be dead after 3 weeks with a brand new battery. I took the battery to the local dealer and had it tested. It tested good, and they put what they call a "deep charge" on it, with the bazillion dollar testing machine. I get the battery home, put it in the bike and everything works as it should.
NOW.... Why did the battery take a shit so fast, and how to remedy it? I spoke at length with the GM of the dealership. He made a very good point about new bikes with "new" batteries. The new bikes get batteries at factory. Batteries may have sat a while before install. Then they get put in the bike and the bike gets shipped off to dealer. Bike sits on dealer floor and typically gets the ignition flipped on and off a million times by everyone that sits on the bike. MAYBE the dealer puts a tender on it, maybe they don't. GM suggests this is what happened with my bike and that it was turning over slow when I first got it, because it was low and then sitting for 3 weeks was the final nail in the coffin.
That said, how do I deal with it moving forward? Obvious answer is a Battery Tender (no shit). The issue I have, is that the garage I store it in is not mine. There is no electric in it and I do not think the owner would be keen on me putting a solar panel on it and running wires etc. TONS of people must run into this due to storing bikes in SHEDS with no electric and have solutions, right? Maybe. But I am having a hell of a time.... It took me a LONG time, but I found a product (link below) that can charge the bike battery from a truck/car battery. The only issue is that the charge will be 2A, and these Skyline equipped bikes should have 5A. 2A has to be better than 0A though, right? I could then easily carry the truck battery by the handle into my place right nextdoor and put it on a charger while I am at work all day -maybe once a month or every few weeks as needed. I also found a battery cutoff switch (link below) that looks like it would work to help. I would like to try the cutoff switch first, but I am not sure where I would mount it. I am also not super excited about monkeying around in the battery box etc on a brand new bike. For the time being, I will try to RIDE IT REGULARLY to keep it charged. This will be an ongoing thing. I know there are other threads about this, but I hope this one helps as well.
Let me know what you guys think of these possible solutions. Sorry for the long read!
I was worried that the usbc cord was hot all the time, and that my blue tooth device for carplay that was plugged into it, drained the battery. I got a LOT of great info from people on here! Thank you guys for the input.
I bought my 2025 Road Glide on March 4th. When I would start it, it sounded as though the battery was kind of low. Started right up, but the 2 or 3 cranks that it took, sounded like it was laboring. I got the bike trailered back home from Bike Week, where I bought it, and it started the same way. I drove it about 20 minutes the Monday after, and again about 10 miles each way to a friend's the next day. Weather got cold again, and the bike sat for 20 straight days. Gorgeous Sunday, super excited, I head out to garage to install slip-ons. BATTERY WAS DEAD AS A DOOR NAIL! I tried to jump it with a jump pack to no avail. I got on here for some insight that night.
These bikes draw a TON of energy when sitting. I get it. No doubt about it. But there is no way this thing should be dead after 3 weeks with a brand new battery. I took the battery to the local dealer and had it tested. It tested good, and they put what they call a "deep charge" on it, with the bazillion dollar testing machine. I get the battery home, put it in the bike and everything works as it should.
NOW.... Why did the battery take a shit so fast, and how to remedy it? I spoke at length with the GM of the dealership. He made a very good point about new bikes with "new" batteries. The new bikes get batteries at factory. Batteries may have sat a while before install. Then they get put in the bike and the bike gets shipped off to dealer. Bike sits on dealer floor and typically gets the ignition flipped on and off a million times by everyone that sits on the bike. MAYBE the dealer puts a tender on it, maybe they don't. GM suggests this is what happened with my bike and that it was turning over slow when I first got it, because it was low and then sitting for 3 weeks was the final nail in the coffin.
That said, how do I deal with it moving forward? Obvious answer is a Battery Tender (no shit). The issue I have, is that the garage I store it in is not mine. There is no electric in it and I do not think the owner would be keen on me putting a solar panel on it and running wires etc. TONS of people must run into this due to storing bikes in SHEDS with no electric and have solutions, right? Maybe. But I am having a hell of a time.... It took me a LONG time, but I found a product (link below) that can charge the bike battery from a truck/car battery. The only issue is that the charge will be 2A, and these Skyline equipped bikes should have 5A. 2A has to be better than 0A though, right? I could then easily carry the truck battery by the handle into my place right nextdoor and put it on a charger while I am at work all day -maybe once a month or every few weeks as needed. I also found a battery cutoff switch (link below) that looks like it would work to help. I would like to try the cutoff switch first, but I am not sure where I would mount it. I am also not super excited about monkeying around in the battery box etc on a brand new bike. For the time being, I will try to RIDE IT REGULARLY to keep it charged. This will be an ongoing thing. I know there are other threads about this, but I hope this one helps as well.
Let me know what you guys think of these possible solutions. Sorry for the long read!
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