This is the ubiquitous Battery Tender Jr., manufactured by Deltran. There are quite a few float charger type products out there that bill themselves as "battery tenders" but the actual product name of this is "Battery Tender Jr." - they have other Battery Tender products, including one with higher charging output, and one with more outputs for charging multiple batteries.
Lead-acid batteries, of the type used in cars and motorcycles, lose a part of their charge over time just sitting when they aren't even connected to something. When left in a bike that has a clock or radio memory circuit in it that constantly draws power even when the bike is off, that loss of charge is even faster.
Lead-acid batteries "like" to remain at full charge at all times. A battery that is kept at full charge will have a much longer service life than a battery that is left sitting with less than a full charge.
I used to go through a lot of batteries - my motorcycle batteries would last between one and two years before they needed replacement. With multiple motorcycles (not to mention other battery powered things like a generator, snow blower, etc.) this gets expensive!
I figured I would put a trickle (float) charger on my main GL1100 battery to help keep it fully charged. I bought a cheap float charger from Harbor Freight, for under $10. I hooked it up to the battery and left it sitting overnight. Two days later, to my utter surprise, the battery was dead! The cheap float charger overcharged the battery, destroying it! I could charge it fully, but its plates were sulfated, and it would no longer produce enough current to start the bike. This was an expensive lesson - and taught me about the false economy of Harbor Freight float chargers!
So it was with a bit of trepidation that I tried the Battery Tender Jr. - I didn't really want to throw another $100 down the drain for another new battery. The difference with the Battery Tender products is that they are intelligent: they have computers inside that analyze the state of charge of the battery to which they are connected, and alter their output to adjust: Initialization, Bulk Charge Mode, Absorption Mode, Float Mode).
The result: I'm still using that battery five years later, and it still works like it is brand new. I was so impressed that I bought more: I now own five Battery Tender Jr.'s, and they are connected to all of my bikes and devices, 24/7. Every time I park my bike, I plug it in. I have not had a single battery go bad in the five years since I have started using Battery Tenders - and every battery still performs like it is brand new.
The Battery Tender Jr. comes with a 12 foot cord and a plug. This plug then attaches to one of two included connectors: a set of alligator clips, for temporary attachment to a battery, or a set of ring terminals, for permanent attachment. I use the ring terminals, then feed the other end of the connector up through the bike somewhere where it can be hidden. In my wife's PC800, the connector hides behind the right passenger footpeg:
- Connector mounted behind PC800 passenger footpeg
- Connector mounted in GL1500 cubby
The Battery Tender is designed to be pretty much indestructible. You can hook it up backwards to the battery, and nothing will happen. You can start the bike with it connected, no problem, it simply turns itself off. It's spark proof, and has an indicator light that flashes and changes color to tell you the state of your battery, and what it is doing to manage it. It has a five year warranty, which I have not had to use.
The Battery Tender works great on standard flooded wet-cell lead-acid batteries, as well as AGM (absorption glass mat) batteries. If you have a gel-cell battery, there is a different version that has programming to work properly with them.
And you can now get accessories that plug into the Battery Tender vehicle-side connector when the Battery Tender is not connected. These provide USB charging outputs and 12 volt cigarette lighter-style power ports to allow you to plug your electronic devices into your vehicle. See more about these accessories here: Battery Tender USB Charger and 12 volt Socket
Overall, this is one of my favorite products, they work amazingly well, keep your batteries in top shape, and cost less than a quarter of the cost of a single new battery. I can't recommend them highly enough.
You can see my video on it here:
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Have a look see inside, see if there may be a circuit-mounted fuse or something of that sort inside.
