since turning off the light switch and putting the original battery in that the previous owner said was shot I've put another 300 miles on it close to home with zero issues and the battery reading in the high 12's when I get back.

the previous owner got back to me the other day and confirmed he did always ride with those lights on but kept the battery tender hooked up when not in use.

I still have an appointment for 5/18 with the indy but I'm hoping to cut down on time spent waiting for parts. I'll do what little stuff I can in the mean time but I'm thinking about ordering the rest of the most likely parts to send in with the bike.. he's never minded and I don't want to miss a single day more than I have to lol..

could a short in the wiring for those lights drain the battery or would it just kill the bike?

I will admit riding around with a spare battery in one saddlebag and a pile of tools in the other is getting old but still beats not riding

 

Man the hits just keep coming with this thing. I took it out the other day To try running with the lights on and see if the issue comes back Or if the new battery did the trick while I wait for the cablesFor my multi metre to do the parasitic drain test And as soon as I started the bike I heard the clunking in the bottom endTalk it out anyway and about 15 minutes laterAs I was slowing downI heard a weird whirring noise And could actually feel the bike Reacting to the noise like it was engine braking. sounded like another gear engaged. I think it quit when I pulled the clutch but it may have just quit about the same time. I was panicking a little praying it didn't lock up and lay down in traffic so specifics are fuzzy. I think im going to try rigging up a safety harness to hold bike if Jack fails and open up the primary tomorrow if I feel better. the mental list of things to try to check out so far is the obvious
compensator
compensator nut
ipb.
the thought also crossed my mind that maybe the starter was engaging on its own and the two problems were related but I remember hearing the clunk at start and shut down that people show in the compensator problem videos.

I'm going to start a separate thread specific to this problem and see what I can figure out before my appointment with the Indy so I have an idea what to expect and can give him a heads up if I'm going to need him to do more than hunt down my electrical problem.