Now a battery issue...

[menage et trois]

Things are looking so bright for me.

Picked up 08 speedie on Saturday, ran great. Rode it on Sunday, ran/started with no issue.

Today, after swapping out M4 exhaust and replacing w/stock (new bike, need emissions, etc). The only thing I did this morning was unbolt stuff then bolt other stuff. So when I was done, I wanted to at least see how the bike was going to idle with incorrect ECU mapping. Bike wouldn't start. Lights dimmed quickly, tach did it's reset thing then whatever electrical noise that occurs when you turn the ignition to 'on' happened. Tried again and it does the same thing. REad a couple of threads on battery issue and someone posted that the batter should be at least 13v. I checked mine and it's at 11.75 just sitting there, then drops to 10.8 or so with key turned on then down to maybe 10.5 when ignition clicked to 'on'. The guy I bought it from said he hasn't really ridden much in the last year. Which leaves:

1. is battery toast?
2. could the guy have charged the battery enough to last me a day or two w/o me knowing there could be a battery issue?

[DRJONES]

I'd put it on a battery tender for a couple of hours - it'll start right up soon thereafter

[oldndumb]

Lets hope that it will charge up and hold the charge.

Points to consider is that the battery could have lost some of its capacity by going flat several times, or by being flat for an extended period. The other consideration is that your bike charge system might not be up to spec. My bet is on the battery.

In either situation, the Charging System Diagnostics - Regulator/Rectifier Upgrade in the stickies at page top is the best reference and tutorial you will find for this subject.

[DEcosse]

Yes, your battery sounds like past its best. As OnD suggests, typically if left to fall below a given threshold, they will never properly recover to adequately hold a charge.
Worth trying a full re-charge to see what happens of course

When you select a replacement, you get what you pay for generally with batteries! Go for quality.
Yuasa, Deka & SVR are among those that impress me.

Battery Tender & Optimate are also good investment for maintaining. Mine is plugged in as soon as it goes in the garage.

[menage et trois]

Originally Posted by DEcosse

Yes, your battery sounds like past its best. As OnD suggests, typically if left to fall below a given threshold, they will never properly recover to adequately hold a charge.
Worth trying a full re-charge to see what happens of course

When you select a replacement, you get what you pay for generally with batteries! Go for quality.
Yuasa, Deka & SVR are among those that impress me.

Battery Tender & Optimate are also good investment for maintaining. Mine is plugged in as soon as it goes in the garage.

Thanks for the replies. I have a charger, but I don' think it's 'trickle' enough to leave on for long. The lowest setting is 12/v 2amp, which is good for charging but not leaving on. I wanted to do that earlier but needed to get to sleep (work nights). I should be asleep now, but the mind grows restless again, so I'm going to go hook it up now and let it charge a couple hours, then retry.

Update: will be needing new battery, soonish. Charge has taken hold (so far) and it started right up. checked voltage while running and it was at ~14.4. Still a below 13v w/key out, but it's still charging. Now I just need to get it re-mapped for the stock exhaust then inspected. Thanks for the help