In that post, he says that when you leave the bike for a while without riding, just removing the negative from the battery will help keep the draw he measured from affecting the battery. Is that true?
I'm asking because I don't have a way to keep the bike on a tender, no outside plugs. In the winter or long stretches of time, I pull the battery and keep it on the tender inside. If I'm gonna park for a week or 2, I'd like to let it sit, and just pull the negative to help keep the battery healthy. Is that a good idea or a waste of time?
My battery is also toast now, I get a hint of a crank then it doesn't start, apparently fully charged (according to tender). If I need a new battery, I'm considering a lithium one as it would be MUCH easier to remove after riding and bring inside. If I DO upgrade to lithium, would the same thing apply with removing the negative in between rides?
1) you can remove either positive or negative: because most systems are negative ground/chassis it's safer to take off the negative lead in case you're clumsy with the wrench
2) if you're going to leave a lead-acid battery in cold conditions it's better if it isn't flat
3) what's described as a "parasitic" drain or draw in the forums (around 3 or 4 mA) is really a low current, but it
will completely flatten your 8 Ah battery in 2000 hours, so yes, it's a good idea to take a lead off. I use my Himmie as my primary transport: my little-used Land Rover Disco II has a parasitic draw of over 100mA which
will kill the battery in a week so I keep the battery disconnected as life's too short to fix the sodding thing, (ABS solenoid or something).
4) Lithium batteries are fussy about how they get charged and I assume if they're sold for automotive use they will have some sort of smart charging/discharging control built-in, I haven't researched it though.
5) A small solar panel, even in mediocre light would probably be enough to balance the few mA drain, if you inclined that way.
Good luck.