Oem or aftermarket battery?

[gator508]

My neighbor has an 03 Roadking with the original battery still kicking good. He told me he puts it on the tender as soon as he gets off the bike. Sounds like the OEM is a great choice.

 

[09RKC]

I got my '09 new in Apr 2010. That means it sat for 9-12 months without regular starting and running. I have been to the dealer before opening and the employees were waiting to go in and I have not seen them unplugging battery tenders. Do they ever put them on charge? Should I be expecting a much shorter life because of the time it sat? Just wondering, thanks

 

[Duane53]

I'm still on the OEM 2004 Heritage still cranks good.

 

[2007_harley_man]

i got a 07 sporster got it new still have stock battery in it all i do during the winter is start it up once a week i have no problem with mine but if i do i will stay with oem

 

[Crocker]

As you can see from everyones answer HD has got this one down along with many other HD OEM parts ,they have the rite specs and the rite supplier, Dont know who makes them, but most likly China or Japan being very very very few parts on todays HDs are manufactured here in the USA.

 

[cromedome]

I think Deka makes the HD batteries.

 

[splitchest95]

Just curious as to how long should one expect a battery to last? I have had my Jeep Wrangler OEM batteries last for 12 years without putting a charger to it so should these Harley OEM batteries be as good?

 

[Jack Klarich]

I think Deka makes the HD batteries.

Yep, and die hards now too

Just curious as to how long should one expect a battery to last? I have had my Jeep Wrangler OEM batteries last for 12 years without putting a charger to it so should these Harley OEM batteries be as good?

In a word no, if you get 5 years from an OEM HD battery you would be lucky, dont want to push your charging system to far that gets spendy

 

[RAWLDYMAN]

....all i do during the winter is start it up once a week i have no problem with mine......

Don't mean to go off topic but......just askin, do you take it out for a ride? Reason being, I read in previous threads that it is not a good idea to just start up the bike repeatedly in winter for short periods - unless you're goin to ride and get her warmed up properly. Apparently not good for the engine.
Maybe others will come in on this but check out threads on winter/storage etc...

 

[Jack Klarich]

Don't mean to go off topic but......just askin, do you take it out for a ride? Reason being, I read in previous threads that it is not a good idea to just start up the bike repeatedly in winter for short periods - unless you're goin to ride and get her warmed up properly. Apparently not good for the engine.
Maybe others will come in on this but check out threads on winter/storage etc...

You are 100 on this Winter Storage - Harley Davidson Community here is a thread worth reading