What to do?

Joker0524

Registered
2006 LE, went for a ride thursday with a coulpe of friends and at the end of the day my bike would not start, had to push start it. I think I might need a new battery. My question to ya'll is why did my battery not get charged while riding? Changed out my battery with a friends battery and it started right up, no problem. Also it has been on a battery tender for weeks, but I have not started it in awhile. Any suggestions?
 
I would say it was at the end of it's life span. 4 years is about all you can really expect out of a battery (2 years out of a cheap one). You can take it to an auto parts store (O'Reilly, Auto Zone, etc..) and have it load tested, but if it's OEM and 4 years old, I'd bet it's beat.
I'd say your charging system is in order as the bike runs and the lights work with a dead battery. You can check it with a volt meter, should be putting out around 13+ volts (do a search on it for exact readings, there's some threads on charging systems around).
 
with my herd of bikes i go through a few batteries a year.

the reason your bike didn't charge the battery, is because your bike will not charge a battery. it will produce enough spark to keep it charged, but usually not enough to charge a dead battery. time for a new battery. 2-4 yrs is about average battery life.
just all part of regular maintenance.
 
i have an 06 with the stock battery and no problems yet but it may also have something to do with how the battery was taken care of before you bought the bike. i don't doubt that its just the battery. easy fix.
 
I'll put a buck on the charging system (rectifier or stator), borrow your mates battery for a coupla days see if it stays charged, if it does you know its your battery, if not its your charging system.
 
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