Battery maintainer connector

I have two good float chargers and was going to connect one to my bike but in looking at the connector it has a third terminal for a flat male connector. The other two terminals look like they would connect to a standard two wire 12 volt connector. What is that third terminal for? I checked it for voltage and there is voltage present when I take a reading between it and the hot(insullated) terminal so I'm wondering if it's just another ground. Also will a regular 1 amp w/ float capability charger work or do I need to get the official HD maintainer?

same goes, used a trickle charger, bought at a garage sale for years, 2 amp setting, but found a Swwwwinging deal on an offical maintainer, so useing that now.

which now I think of it I am going to have to analize cost of maintaining said battery for about 2 years over just replacement. dang i hate it when thoughts of such magnatude kick in.:cussing:

to much time on your hands and your minds starts to do tricks on ya. :roflmao:

I checked the charger that I keep on my lawn tractor off season and it has dropped back to .2 amps so that should work. I'm going to check the other one tomorrow and see how far it drops back from 1 amp. Thanks for all the info. It's 19 degrees tonight, supposed to get down to about 15 but tomorrow up to 45 so that has to be a ride. I'll jsut have to stay of the moutain although once you get up there, it's beautiful - cold but beautiful. Have a safe and GREAT weekend.

I Picked one up for mine and it has a auto shutoff so it doesn't run 24/7.
Ya might want to check around and see whats available in your area. Got it at my local bike shop.

Don't want to sound like a tree hugger but I went solar - small 1 watt panel mounted on garage wall. Only cost $30 and the rest is FREE BABY

1W Powersports Solar Charger | Canadian Tire

Only needs a few hrs of sun/day to maintain bike battery, even overcast skies still provide some juice!

1 watt solar charger - not a bad idea. I checked the other trickle charger and it dropped down to .25 amps. They both say motorcycle on them. One is from Advan Auto and the other is a Schauer (probably spelled wrong. Anyhow as soon as the temp got up to 34 today, I hit the road for about 20 minutes up to the H-D dealer. Stayed there awhile, had some coffee and talked to several folks then came home. Short rides but none the less - GREAT.

Quick connect cord is 20' plus the alligator clamps and second quick connect cord are 2'. It also has anti-reverse feed so it can't drain battery when the sun isn't out. Had this all last year and battery stayed between 12 & 14v all winter and even played cds on the bike for hrs no problem!

Not to change the subject too much and get thread drift,but has any one checked 09 or 10 touring models to see if there may be a pig tail drop from battery so you can just plug the charger in and save removing seat and ECM etc etc?