Topic: Starting issue

[jakjac]

Put in a new battery and it fired up, electric start. Thanks for your help. Will try to test the charging system soon, but the old battery was in bad shape... pretty much seemed solid and levels were Def low. Neglect on my part, I've known for a while I needed a new one.

[calj737]

A battery should never "dehydrate" unless it is subjected to charging irregularities. Or significant neglect for extended time.

Simplest test you can perform is with a volt meter, at the battery, with the engine running, measure the voltage the battery sees at the following intervals:
Idle
3,000
4,000
5,000

If the voltage increases at each step, and plateaus, then at least you know the system is charging. There's other more in-depth stuff, but that should be a trigger to investigate further.

Things that cause charging issues are: neglect, corrosion within your connections/harness, aftermarket higher wattage lights, accessories, improper auxiliary charging or jumping, etc.

You can investigate or ignore it. But if you encounter a dead battery within a few weeks and return with "Its a new battery, I don't understand?" you will be pointed right back here. 

[jakjac]

I bought the bike last year with a weak battery, I'll see if I can find my multimeter.
It's a huge change with the new battery, the bike is running way better, beyond just starting a lot easier.