I bought my Honda Foreman 450s brand new in 1998 (more on this project can be found on the Area51 Page). When I bought the bike I was skeptical that the factory small battery would last very long especially with repeated use of my 2000 lb WARN winch. I was pleasantly surprised when the factory battery kicked the bucket after 7 years of service. Thanks to Honda's thoughtful inclusion of a pull cord auxiliary starter I was not left broken down and a weekend's riding was not wasted.

Since the first battery lasted so long and performed so well I decided to spend the extra few dollars and get an identical unit from my local Honda ATV dealer. Unfortunately, after only 2 years of service the replacement battery would no longer hold a charge, forcing me to replace it again. I can't attribute the failure to any one circumstance with 100% certainly. When the factory battery was in place the bike happened to be stored in a heated garage. Since the replacement was installed the bike was stored in an unheated garage. There is also speculation out there that battery manufacturers have changed some of the materials in battery construction making them less resilient.

In any case I replaced the battery and needed a solution to extend the longevity of the battery. After some research I decided to pick up a Battery Tender Jr. from Terry at Honda One in St. John's. Its a great compact unit that has one harness that can be permanently connected to the bike's battery, and a harness with Alligator Clips for temporary connection. A plug in the cord of the battery tender lets you choose either harness with ease, and lets you unplug the tender from the permanent harness while riding.

So far the unit is working great, whenever the  bike has to be moved in the garage it starts with ease (even on the coldest days) because the battery always has a full charge. No matter what way you cut it, it HAS to be easier on an electrical system to always have a fully charged battery as opposed to a partially charged unit that the bike must top up when running. For a machine that is not regularly used I defiantly recommend this product.

Cheers, Mike