My bike can sit for up to 6 mths between uses and it lives on a small plugpack smart charger 24/7. An alternative is a solar panel and regulator. These panels often don't have a diode in the line and can back-drain at night. The reg stops this as well as monitoring the battery charge. I use one on the boat and the battery is now over 7yrs old and 100%.

 

By all means -- everyone should use a battery tender if you quad / lawn tractor/ snowblower ... whatever sits for an extended period of time.

But in the case of your KQ, it is good to use it after EVERY ride as the current setup in those quads does NOT adequetly charge the battery... I mean on average people report only getting 13 volts into their batteries and since the KQ 700's are EFI, there is more draw on the battery during operation than a non-efi machine.

I use a battery tender on my Yamaha after every ride. The battery is 2.5 years old and works just fine!

 

i have 07 700 king will not run with out a battery help.

 

OF course it will not run without a Battery! It has Electronic Fuel Injection and a computer.... You need a Battery to run your machine.

 

Are we sure these are just battery issues ? So many of us are having the same problems....finding no real fixes. I believe it is a manufacturer defect. Having spent so much on the KQ's I believe we all should look into a class action suit. Responses please.....

 

I would absolutely be interested in helping with a lawsuit ! My dealer is great but My 05 King Quad has about 200 miles on it and almost every time I go to ride it it's dead. I have never been more frustrated with a machine in my life. I try to start it and ride it throughout the year but nothing helps. I was also told to use a battery tender which is a poor answer. I'm afraid to go for a long ride without strapping a generator to my 4-wheeler !

 

Lawsuit... Ah.. good luck with that! Ford has been having sparkplug issues on most 5.4L 3 value engines causing the plugs to break. If they break there is a 60% chance you have to pull the cylinder head!!! You are talking a $1500 job for a $10 spark plug... no law-suit..

Do you think Suzuki is gonna bend on this NOPE! If you really read this post you will see there are 3 solutions to prevent your battery from dying... 1 is FREE, 1 is $30.. 1 takes some skill..

FREE: Some KQ700's from 2005-2007 have a ECU (computer) that puts a higher than normal draw on the battery while the quad is Turned OFF. Suzuki knows about this and if your VIN qualifies, you can get a new ECU for FREE! But Suzuki also recommends using a battery tender for extended periods of storage.

$30: Stop being a cheapo and complaining about something that Suzuki knows about and told you to buy a Battery Tender ($30) too easy..

Skill: Do the regulator mod I had mentioned earlier in this post which will allow you to give your Battery a good charge while riding it...

Personally, I do did both on my brother in laws quad. Done deal no issues anymore..

Also... If you have a 2005 with only 200 miles on it.. that is like having a 2005 truck / car with only 20,000 miles on it... Drive it DOOD! Geez?!

Also when you got a new battery did you prep the AGM battery correctly? That will also cause short life..

 

My Response ?

Get a battery tender and get a life.

 

Ok Guys...First, I disagree with the last post: "There are three solutions, a battery tender, disconnect, or ecu replacement"

I had to pay about $500 for a new rectifier and diagnosis/labor for Suzuki to "rewire" a harness that "isn't faulty" but I haven't used a tender or had any issues since last august. I do recommend one in the winter or if using a winch without sufficient time to recharge the battery.

Apparently, the shop jumpped a ground that adds a few more amps to charging. combined with the ecu, no troubles.

But to all you out there just saying "buy a tender"--THAT WONT FIX IT!!! those of you out there that have done this and bought many batteries and rectifiers know this. The key is the ground and revised ecu.

Great machine otherwise, but I'll NEVER buy or recommend Suzuki again since they refuse to be supportive nor acknowledge there's a problem until push comes to shove. even then they suck at standing by their botched design...but atleast there's a resolution, albeit expensive...Buy a Yamaha for some reliability. Never thought I'd say it, used to be all about suzuki till I dealt with their AS**&LE rep and got NOTHING

 

First of all, yes the battery was prept correctly by the dealer, and I have tried the tender route. Oh and it's a 2006 not a 2005. It's got less than 200 miles on it because its ALWAYS got a dead battery and I am not going to plug it in all the time. I've got alot of toys and they never need bat maint like the 4-wheeler so it just sits. My dealer is going to put a battery kill switch on, that should solve the problem.