Battry tender connection pain

I bought a battery tender as winter is on the way and my riding time in Iowa is coming to an end soon. I've had 8 bikes in the past and never had such a pain trying to get to a battery. The stupid push pin clips make it very difficult to take the front platic panel off on the right side. After working on that came another difficult process, which was getting to the positive terminal on the battery. It's so tucked away that it's hard to get a good angle. The screws that connect the terminals are extremely soft andbstrip easily. I found a wrench or socket worked much better.

After all that time, it came time to put the stupid cover back on. Just rediculous getting everything lined up correctly. All in all ot took me about 6 times longer to install this thing than I anticipated. Glad it's over!

Seem's like you're wanting to vent and rant more than anything.....that's fine I guess.

But, If you want to switch to a learning mode...the forum might have something to offer! I know I found the Gen 3 bike a bit daunting at first as it sat in my garage, but then discovered the well-written explanations for getting into things and then found it relatively easy by the end.

That and what I and most others have done to not have to do this again.....but again you seem to be more interested in self-suffering, so good luck with that.

Good thing you have a '16.

You would really fall in love with changing a H4 headlight bulb...

In life one must learn to take the bitter with the sweet.

Can't you just put a pigtail on it to connect the charger too? That's what the original owner of my bike did. You get the place to hook up the charger, plus you can buy the USB connector for it to power things as well.

Laser Dude said:

Can't you just put a pigtail on it to connect the charger too? That's what the original owner of my bike did. You get the place to hook up the charger, plus you can buy the USB connector for it to power things as well.

Click to expand...

He was mounting the pigtail. The first time getting into the tupperware can be intimidating. Taking apart without breaking and then trying to recall where and what order it goes back on.

The cover gets easier with practice. As for the push pins, I find that I can push the center in with a small tool of some sort 'til they click. That releases them. Then if they're difficult to get out just gently pull the panels apart, and they'll come out. To put them back in push the bottom up so that the center protrudes above the top, slide it into the hole, and push the center down until it clicks.

For sure put your Battery Tender lead on the posts and leave it. The end tucks away easily when you don't need it.

For what it's worth, I've had my bike 3.5 years and have had that cover off two or three times. In the overall scheme of things, at least to me, it's not a huge deal.

A good reason to run a fuse block; Hook it up once and put it in a convenient place to reach to attach all your goodies to (also keeps the battery terminals tidy by not having to attach everything to them).

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Ignacio" data-cid="1346221" data-time="1478533290"><p>

Seem's like you're wanting to vent and rant more than anything.....that's fine I guess.<br />

<br />

But, If you want to switch to a learning mode...the forum <em class='bbc'>might</em> have something to offer! I know I found the Gen 3 bike a bit daunting at first as it sat in my garage, but then discovered the well-written explanations for getting into things and then found it relatively easy by the end.<br />

<br />

That and what I and most others have done to not have to do this again.....but again you seem to be more interested in self-suffering, so good luck with that. <img src='https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/wink.png' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_emoticon' /></p></blockquote>

I was venting a little. I used the forum and Youtube to help me get the job done. I'm just used to the battery being under the seat.

While there was some venting, I tried to provide some info for those going through the same thing as well. Isn't a "forum" a good place to vent??? It would serve less of a purpose to tell my wife!

Hoopster3 said:

I was venting a little. I used the forum and Youtube to help me get the job done. I'm just used to the battery being under the seat.

While there was some venting, I tried to provide some info for those going through the same thing as well. Isn't a "forum" a good place to vent???

It would serve less of a purpose to tell my wife!

Click to expand...

At least wives are sometimes a little more understanding.

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Teehaml" data-cid="1346225" data-time="1478535016"><p>

Good thing you have a '16.<br />

<br />

You would really fall in love with changing a H4 headlight bulb... <img src='https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png' alt='Posted Image' class='bbc_emoticon' /></p></blockquote>

Amen. My knuckles still hurt!