Do you need to charge a brand new motorcycle battery?

One view:

Some batteries come with a charge which may or not start the motorcycle. I have seen batteries come that are not topped off with acid, but the acid is sent in a separate container that you need to pour in. I would say in most cases that you need to charge or jump the new battery. Take it for a 10 minute ride and you should be good to go.

Alternate view:

When you put the acid in the battery it does charge itself somewhat, but not fully (perhaps only 75%). That is why it says to charge it, follow the instructions with the battery! When you charge it fully it makes the battery last longer. To charge the battery, you have to buy a battery charger and you need one that will only charge at 2 amps. A "smart" battery "tender" may not work as it may register the battery as fully charged. You need to use a simple (non computerized) 1-2 amp trickle charger. There are rules about the max rates to trickle charge, I've seen 10% of rated cold cranking amps (CCA). Lower amperage will be safer but take longer to charge.