Having subscribed to Cycle World since 1962, HotRod and other GearHead publications since the 50's I've read many battery related articles. One theme that is common in them is that if you install a battery right off the shelf it will never achieve more than 80% of its rated capacity. Topping it off first with a good quality charger will guarantee 100% performance and longer life. Nothing is harder on a battery than sitting around on partial charge. We also covered this in electronics school.

 

A lot of great replies, I fit into a lot of these possible problems. My bike does have a alarm, and since September all the riding I'm doing except a couple of runs are fast around town runs, used to do 2 60 mile runs a week. I now use my bicycle for most transportation because of health reasons. Hopping at this point that me not topping the battery off and the fact of having a alarm with it sitting for 17 days it just got the perfect storm. Will be keeping the tender on it after a test period to see if it can keep a charge.

 

Yes, well you are the one I was speaking of in my other post. I knew it was 20 something, (miles or minutes), and I thought it was to have the engine above the 2500rpm's.

 

New Battery should be about 12.8 v or 13 volts at full charge. A new battery at anything less can use a tender.

 

If this was true my bike would never start. My bike is how I get to work and in the winter that is the only time it is started (no long drives). I live 10 miles from work. I never use a tender and it always starts right up.

 

After all the information provided here and starting it 2 days in a row with no problems it seems fine. I really do think when I bought the battery it didn't have a full charge. I rode it a fair amount but less then 50 miles at a time the let it sit. Heck It could have been as long as since Xmas but I'm not sure. My problem was with the tender and expecting it to put enough of a charge to start it in a hour or so and didn't know any better. * hours on the tricle charger and 6 on the tender and so far it working the way it always has. Thank everyone for all their help. I bartend for a living and have never really done any mechanical work so the info I get here helps a ton. My biggest fear it phucing my bike up LOL.