2026 SE, What Battery Maintainer?

Does the 2026 SE with lithium battery require a special battery maintainer for storage? How long can the bike sit in the crate in the cold with the battery not being charged?
Yes, a lithium specific battery tender.
Mine is a Battery-Tender brand, and has a battery health meter on the pigtail plug(3 different leds)

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Mythos said:
Does the 2026 SE with lithium battery require a special battery maintainer for storage? How long can the bike sit in the crate in the cold with the battery not being charged?
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I think it'll be ok until it's activated/connected for the first time.
And they don't come with the battery leads connected.
This is what I use and it works. It’s at Walmart for like $39. Charges and jumps fast too. Mind you, I keep my Busa in my garage.

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@stangman327 the indicator lights on the CTEK look foolproof. Anyone should be able to read that to easily tell what the battery is currently doing.

@sixpack577 I have an old Battery Tender Junior for lead acid batteries. It kept my 08 hayabusa's stock battery working for seventeen years so the tender definitely works. I always found the single LED confusing. It flashes at three different rates and I think I finally figured out what they each mean. It also changes from red to green and I have a heck of a time telling which color it is. It obviously works for lead acid batteries though. If the pigtails now have easier to read LEDs, that's a nice update as well as the lead/acid and lithium selection. The Shorai maintainer I had for my Shorai battery also worked but the flashing lights were kind of confusing. In the end, you just plug them in and they do the job but it's nice to be able to read the LED display since it's there.

Thanks @Busa333 . This is a new bike in the crate at the dealership. I don't know if the building it's in is heated. The Shorai battery I had didn't like the cold. Shorai even says not to charge it in below freezing temperatures. The Shorai was damaged the first winter I stored it in the bike and after that, the battery came out and was on the maintainer in the house. The battery was working 12 years later but didn't hold a charge for more than a couple days. It was on the maintainer even in the summer.
@sixpack: "I think it'll be ok until it's activated/connected for the first time.
And they don't come with the battery leads connected."

I hope you're right. It would seem kind of silly to sell a battery in the crate with the bike if the battery required a maintainer. My Shorai was fine for two months when new without being charged. ...it was kept in the warm house though.
Thanks, @pcs. I got a Schumaker from Walmart many years ago and it worked great for lead acid batteries. I'm sure I still have it somewhere.

I sure appreciate the pics but I haven't been able to see pics on this site in months. If you have a link, I can copy/paste, I can see pics on other pages.
Mythos said:
Does the 2026 SE with lithium battery require a special battery maintainer for storage? How long can the bike sit in the crate in the cold with the battery not being charged?
Click to expand...
Yes lithium compatable tender, but why you need it? Mine did not discharge even after one year sitting in the bike without usage ;)
Mythos said:
@stangman327 the indicator lights on the CTEK look foolproof. Anyone should be able to read that to easily tell what the battery is currently doing.

@sixpack577 I have an old Battery Tender Junior for lead acid batteries. It kept my 08 hayabusa's stock battery working for seventeen years so the tender definitely works. I always found the single LED confusing. It flashes at three different rates and I think I finally figured out what they each mean. It also changes from red to green and I have a heck of a time telling which color it is. It obviously works for lead acid batteries though. If the pigtails now have easier to read LEDs, that's a nice update as well as the lead/acid and lithium selection. The Shorai maintainer I had for my Shorai battery also worked but the flashing lights were kind of confusing. In the end, you just plug them in and they do the job but it's nice to be able to read the LED display since it's there.

Thanks @Busa333 . This is a new bike in the crate at the dealership. I don't know if the building it's in is heated. The Shorai battery I had didn't like the cold. Shorai even says not to charge it in below freezing temperatures. The Shorai was damaged the first winter I stored it in the bike and after that, the battery came out and was on the maintainer in the house. The battery was working 12 years later but didn't hold a charge for more than a couple days. It was on the maintainer even in the summer.
Click to expand...

I put a Shorai in the '18 Gsxr1000R about 6 years ago.
I thought it was dieing about 4-5 months ago(slow cranked a few times), but it still starts.
I put it on the Shorai tender that came with it for one day, and it still starts right up.
I keep the bike in my baement, where it stays 60-70°F all year, with a dehumidifier, and it's only been on the tender a few times, and because I hate that tender, as it plugs into the top of the battery, so the seat has to come off.
I have an Anti-Gravity in my '03 Gsxr1000, and that has the Battery-Tender pigtail with the 3 led lights in it(that I bought seperately).
The AG battery also has the reset/jumpstart button, so if it dies, it saves enough power for one more start.
It also starts the bike instantly, as I think it's 360cca, vs the 270cca stock lead-acid requirement.
pcs said:
www.walmart.com

Battery Tender 4 Amp, 6V or 12V Selectable Battery Charger, New - Walmart.com

Buy Battery Tender 4 Amp, 6V or 12V Selectable Battery Charger, New at Walmart.com
www.walmart.com
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'll check Walmart first.

Sl@Sh said:
Yes lithium compatable tender, but why you need it? Mine did not discharge even after one year sitting in the bike without usage ;)
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The tender will be for storage in the future. I'm interested in a tender because from what I know about Shorai batteries, a tender will benefit the life and performance of the battery. It seems unlikely the lithium battery that came with my 2026 Hayabusa needs a charger while it's stored for winter. After the bike is assembled and the battery is used for a season, I'll probably remove the battery and put it on a tender. I assume the owners manual will suggest doing this. However, it's been 15 years since I bought the only lithium battery I ever owned. Technology might have changed since then.
sixpack577 said:
it's only been on the tender a few times, and because I hate that tender, as it plugs into the top of the battery, so the seat has to come off.
Click to expand...
The Shorai I own is in my 2008 ZX-14. I bought a pigtail for it about fourteen inches long. it was just a shorter piece of Shorai charger cable with male connector on one end and female on the other. The male end stayed plugged into the battery charging port. I wrapped the female end in plastic secured with a bread tie to protect it from dust. When I needed to charge the battery, I was able to pull the female end of the pigtail out from behind the battery compartment door and plug it up to the four foot long cable that went to the Shorai charger. As mentioned before, I damaged the battery early on so it needed to be charged if the bike hadn't been ridden in a while. From my experience, you might not need a maintainer but it will extend the life of the lithium battery. However, if you use a maintainer improperly, ...now you need it.

AmericanThunder said:
Another c-tek fan here. Used them on both cars and bikes without issue.
Click to expand...
Like
Out of all the battery chargers I have tried and had in my lifetime, only 2 have lasted more than 3 years.
My first Ctek charger is over 15 years old, and my Schumacher charger is now over 10 years old.

So this year I bought a Ctek MXS 5.0 to add to the fleet so I can do both my cars and the bike.
However this won't do lithium batteries, as I still don't trust them yet.
I've had good luck with my battery tenders. The Battery Tender Junior is 16 years old and it still works. My 13 year old Shorai maintainer hasn't been used for three years but it was working fine the last I used it. The little Schumaker I have is about 13 years old and was only used for a few winters but it never failed on me.
My Goldwing lives on my carport, as it won't fit through my 36" basement door unless I take off the mirrors and side cases.
It has been on the Battery-Tender and under the cover for 5 weeks now, and with a new battery in it just a few days before.
It's been fridgid and/or snowing ever since...but I'm pretty confident it'll start right up whenever the snow melts and I can see my driveway again.
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