Does anyone use a "battery minder" for their machine when it is stored for a period of time?

I know several of you live/ride where its warm. Up here in North Central Wisconsin, the snow gets a little too deep to ride so I will be storing the machine for a few months.

My machine has a new battery and I don't want the battery to die for lack of use. I have a battery minder (small trickle charger) which I could use to keep the battery charged.

Also........Should the battery be removed and brought inside?

 

I've been using a Yusabu (not sure on the spelling) battery minder, it's a small unit that plugs into a wall socket and has a quick disconnect attached to the battery of my 400EX. Once the battery is fully charged it automatically goes into storage mode. This thing works excellent, it's plugged in all the time when the rig is in the garage.

 

Hey Zoo,

Where are you living in Colorado Springs?

We used to live at 4715 Iron Horse Trail (NE of Academy and Templeton Gap and just north of Barnes).

Dave

 

I'm up on Briargate, close to the chapel hills mall.

Oh by the way, the name of that battery tender I'm using is spelled Yuasa. I thought the right spelling might help just a little bit more if you're looking for one.

 

I know the area you live in. I was employed by a manufacturing firm In Colrado Springs (located on North Nevada Ave, just south of Templeton Gap). Left there back in 1981 to purchase a business back here in Wisconsin. We really miss the Colorado Springs winters, believe me. Are you in the military or working for private company?

Battery Minders......Actually, I have two Schumacher, 1.5V trickle chargers (bettery minders) that I could use. I keep one on my 5th wheel battery to maintain it's charge. That battery costs over $100 so don't want to have it go to pot.

The ATV battery is also new and I want to make sure it stays in good shape as well. I do anticipate starting up the machine from time to time after the snow gets too deep to ride but that (hopefully) is a long way off yet. (No snow here thus far but any day now).

 

Colorado is getting too big/busy, traffic is unreal, and prices here are skyrocketting... I will be leaving here to head back to Oregon within a year. At the moment I am self employed, contracted out to several companies, as soon as those contracts are up in 2002 I'm outta here.

So what kind of machine do you ride?

 

I know what you mean by growing too fast. The first time I went to the Springs, it was about 150K people......Man, I thought that was a big town (I lived in a rural farming community in western Wisconsin then).....Well, some 10 years later, I got the opportunity to join a mfg. firm there and the population at that time was already jumping but now where near to what it is today. The city limits in '82 were Powers Blvd on the east and slightly north of Templeton Gap (Pulpit Rock was the latest development then). We have visited friends off and on over the past years and found that Colo. Springs is no longer what we want. Californian's are migrating by the thousands and paying the California prices for homes. I can't think of a better way to ruin an area than to bring all their California problems/ways to Colorado. I'm not agains't the people, just some of their "ways". We have relatives in both California and Oregon and believe me, we would take Oregon any time over Cal. Where in Oregon you from? Our relatives live near Sweet Home.

My machine is an old stock 1990 Trailblazer 250, 2x4. It's in real good condition. I bought it for hunting out west. My old legs (I'm 64) can't take all those long walks anymore. I use it around here for doing chores around our place, hauling firewood (I cut dead trees for friends who burn wood), etc. There aren't many trails to ride around here. In the next county to our west (Jackson) there are several trails and of course Northern Wisconsin near Hurley & Ironwood Michigan area. VERY GOOD trails up there.

 

I can remember when powers blvd was a dirt road, now they have plans to head it right up to hwy 83. Give the Springs a few more years and there will be no more open space between here and Denver.

Most of my family resides in Oregon (La Pine, Pendleton, Brookings, Cresent). I'm hoping to settle down in Newport or Florence. But I will probably end up somewhere on the outskirts of Portland, because of the job market.