Very nice write up!
Time saver battery charging tip
Time saving torture tech tip:
I don’t now about you but one of the most important items on my maintenance list is keeping the Grizz battery in good shape. It hasn’t happened to me yet but I cant imagine getting stuck on the Grizz with a dead battery 132 miles from everything in the mountains or desert with no other method of starting it.
I keep my batteries on a battery tender. For those of you who don’t know what a battery tender is, it is a low amperage battery charger some times called a Battery Saver.
The tender is intended to be kept on the battery when your ATV is put away for the weekend or even the entire summer or winter. They are designed to initially recharge your battery with a low amperage then switch to a very low trickle charge maintenance cycle to keep the battery in tip top shape when in storage for long periods of time. They will not over charge your battery like a standard battery charger can.
Here in the Southern Nevada desert a battery typically lasts maybe 2 years. I have a 99 Yamaha Big Bear that I just recently had to replace the original battery because of the battery tenders ability to keep the battery healthy.
A few weeks ago I was in the local Yamaha show room and they had the “RideNow” brand battery tenders on the wall for $20.00.
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Since I now have 2 ATVs I decided that I could use a 2nd one.
The way that I have been charging my battery on the Grizzly was to remove the rack, then the plastic hood then attach the alligator clips to the battery. When I was ready to ride I would have to remove the alligator clips, and reinstall the plastic and the rack.
That became a pain in the butt when there is such an easier way.
The “RideNow” brand had a unique idea that I just had to take advantage of.
It came with alligator clips for the ATV battery as well as a pair of electrical eyelets attached to a quick disconnect cable on the charger. These eyelets are designed to, or they are the exact size to fit on the terminals of the battery.
The 1st thing I did was to replace the battery terminal bolts with 2 bolts that were a few millimeters longer because of the other accessories attached to the battery the bolts were barely hanging on.
I attached the eyelets to the battery terminals and ran the cables through the plastic like so, just to the left of the gauge cluster.
![]()
This charger comes with a fuse and plastic caps to cover the fuse and the terminals on the end of the cable.
![]()
I then cut a small notch out of the plastic for the cord to fit into. I probably didn't have to do that but I like to destroy stuff.
![]()
After replacing the plastic with the cord sticking through, the terminals will tuck neatly under the gauge cluster when riding with out interfering with any moving parts including the steering. Only the best of Grizzoholics will even notice the cable.
![]()
When I am done riding all I have to do is attach the charger to the quick disconnect terminal.
![]()
This tip saves me a lot of time before and after each ride and gives me no excuse not to attach the battery saver.
I don’t now about you but one of the most important items on my maintenance list is keeping the Grizz battery in good shape. It hasn’t happened to me yet but I cant imagine getting stuck on the Grizz with a dead battery 132 miles from everything in the mountains or desert with no other method of starting it.
I keep my batteries on a battery tender. For those of you who don’t know what a battery tender is, it is a low amperage battery charger some times called a Battery Saver.
The tender is intended to be kept on the battery when your ATV is put away for the weekend or even the entire summer or winter. They are designed to initially recharge your battery with a low amperage then switch to a very low trickle charge maintenance cycle to keep the battery in tip top shape when in storage for long periods of time. They will not over charge your battery like a standard battery charger can.
Here in the Southern Nevada desert a battery typically lasts maybe 2 years. I have a 99 Yamaha Big Bear that I just recently had to replace the original battery because of the battery tenders ability to keep the battery healthy.
A few weeks ago I was in the local Yamaha show room and they had the “RideNow” brand battery tenders on the wall for $20.00.
Since I now have 2 ATVs I decided that I could use a 2nd one.
The way that I have been charging my battery on the Grizzly was to remove the rack, then the plastic hood then attach the alligator clips to the battery. When I was ready to ride I would have to remove the alligator clips, and reinstall the plastic and the rack.
That became a pain in the butt when there is such an easier way.
The “RideNow” brand had a unique idea that I just had to take advantage of.
It came with alligator clips for the ATV battery as well as a pair of electrical eyelets attached to a quick disconnect cable on the charger. These eyelets are designed to, or they are the exact size to fit on the terminals of the battery.
The 1st thing I did was to replace the battery terminal bolts with 2 bolts that were a few millimeters longer because of the other accessories attached to the battery the bolts were barely hanging on.
I attached the eyelets to the battery terminals and ran the cables through the plastic like so, just to the left of the gauge cluster.
This charger comes with a fuse and plastic caps to cover the fuse and the terminals on the end of the cable.
I then cut a small notch out of the plastic for the cord to fit into. I probably didn't have to do that but I like to destroy stuff.
After replacing the plastic with the cord sticking through, the terminals will tuck neatly under the gauge cluster when riding with out interfering with any moving parts including the steering. Only the best of Grizzoholics will even notice the cable.
When I am done riding all I have to do is attach the charger to the quick disconnect terminal.
This tip saves me a lot of time before and after each ride and gives me no excuse not to attach the battery saver.
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