Dead battery within a year?

Check your connections, battery first, then to earth, solenoid and starter. If they are even a smidgeon loose they will draw additional current.

Chris_ said:

Well hooked them up and still no firing, its turning over well enough just won't spit into life, thinking maybe solenoid now but that was only put on last year.

Click to expand...

Possibly now flooded. If it's cranking at normal speed turn it with no fast idle and throttle wound fully open. Soon as it catches close the throttle (and refasten your eardrums). Only if it's cranking properly though, a half shagged battery will contribute to the sprag going pop.

HTH

If the batt is below a certain voltage it won't push out any spark at all............u have not said how long your batt has been left before you stuck it on charge for 2 days............to be honest m8 if your leaving ur bike unstarted for long periods leave the battery on the optimate ............it will only draw any current when the batt dips below a certain level and dosn't use much leccy!!!...............mind you by what your describing it sound like shagged batt!!

Just a quick thought reference your last comment. Is your tilt switch loose or fitted ok? Also from experience, if your bike doesn't start on the choke(I know its not technically a choke) after a couple of seconds then its best to leave it a minute then try again and if it still doesn't then you need to leave it for a few minutes and then use the no choke open throttle method and unleash hell

The following extract might explain what you are experiencing : Full article here : http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/corrosion_shedding_and_internal_short

Lead-Acid Battery > Internal Short

The term “short” is commonly used to describe a general battery fault when no other definition is available. As the colloquial term “memory” was the cause for all battery ills in the NiCd days, so do battery users often judge non-functioning lead acid batteries simply as being “shorted.” Let’s take a closer look and see what a shorted lead acid battery truly is.

The lead within a battery, especially in deep-cycle units, is mechanically active and when a battery discharges, the lead sulfate causes the plates to expand. This movement reverses during charge and the plates contract. The cells allow for some expansion but over time the growth of large sulfite crystals can result in a soft short that increases self-discharge. This mechanical action also causes shedding of the lead material. On a starter battery, the shedding is manageable because the lead plates are thin and the battery does not go through a deep discharge. On a deep-cycle battery, on the other hand, shedding is a concern.

As the battery sheds its lead to the bottom of the container, a conductive layer forms, and once the contaminated material fills the allotted space in the sediment trap, the now conductive liquid reaches the plates and creates a shorting effect. The term “short” is a misnomer and elevated self-discharge or a soft short would be a better term to describe the condition.

“Soft shorts” are difficult to detect because the battery appears normal immediately after a charge and everything seems to function as it should. In essence, the charge has wiped out all evidence of a soft short, except perhaps an elevated temperature on the battery housing. Once rested for 6–12 hours, the battery begins to show anomalies such as a lower open-circuit voltage and reduced specific gravity. The measured capacity will also be low because self-discharge has consumed some of the stored energy. According to the 2010 BCI Failure Modes Study, shorted batteries accounted for 18 percent of battery failures, a drop from 31 percent five years earlier. Improved manufacturing methods may account for this reduction.

Another form of soft short is mossing. This occurs when the separators and plates are slightly misaligned as a result of poor manufacturing practices. This causes parts of the plates to become naked. The exposure promotes the formation of conductive crystal moss around the edges, which leads to elevated self-discharge.

Lead drop is another cause of short in which large chunks of lead break loose from the welded bars connecting the plates. Unlike a “soft” short that develops with wear-and-tear, a lead drop often occurs early in battery life. This causes a more serious short and is associated with a permanent voltage drop. The shorted cell may have little or no charge and the specific gravity of the electrolyte is close to 1.00. This is mostly a manufacturing defect and cannot be repaired.

The most radical and serious form of short is a mechanical failure in which the suspended plates become loose and touch each other. This results in a sudden high discharge current that can lead to excessive heat buildup and thermal runaway. Sloppy manufacturing as well as excessive shock and vibration are the most common contributors to this failure.

Chris, I've had battery problems since I first got my RSV Factory. Had all the stories from the dealers.

I live in central London so no garage, and leaving on the optimate isn't an option. I can though do a charge overnight on the pavement outside the house. I've found everything is OK as long as the bike isn't left for more than 2weeks. After that the battery seems to be in decline.

I've kept my old VFR and tend to use that in bad weather, so each winter there's a few weeks when the RSV is under the cover. After this the battery is gone, so new one goes in. I have found though that once out the bike the optimate 4 can recover the battery so I now swap between batteries.

I will bet you can fix that battery with a old charger and not any optimate junk charger...many batteries get trown away becuse optimate chargers that dont do they jobb correctly.

Chris, all this will be down to lack of maintenance from a previous owner I guarantee. They're quite a canny bike I've found. I've had 2 milles now and found them both to be very reliable but I enjoy maintaining them which I don't find a chore. Yes the electrics are slightly iffy in places but nothing drastic. The only issue is if you have an alarm fitted and like you say leave it for 2 weeks or so then you will have bother starting it, but if you know that then you can work around it.
I went around Europe last year with 9 other bikes, most of which were the latest and greatest jap litre bikes. Myself and a couple of the others including a ducati 748 were the only bikes NOT to have bother and we were riding in rain alot!

To me you've identified the problem in your last post. You say when the battery is off the bike the optimate recovers it well. So I would now be thinking your circuit is grounded/earthed slightly.

Here's a few things to check before you sell the bike

1) Can't remember if you've already done this but check your main earths to the frame (right hand side near to where the tank hinges up) and one on the engine but can't remeber where. Even if they look ok strip them apart and put them back together dry, no wd40 or gt85 as this can be an insulator.

2)Pull all the plugs apart on the rear right side of the bike, under the mesh side panel. Look inside and if they are furry or corroded use a fine screw driver or brass brush and clean the up. Pull them in and out a few times to make good contact. Remember no wd40/ gt85 or other aerosols.

3)Next get a multimeter and WITH THE BATTERY REMOVED check your negative side from your battery main strap to the earth points you can see like the engine, frame, starter etc and check it indicates low ohms (over such a short distance I would guess it would be under 1 ohm)
Then check your 12v side with the aid of a drawing to make sure none of that is 'shorting' where it shouldn't be.

I'm fairly confident it will be something inexpensive and simple to fix. My money would probably be on a duff multiplug etc.
Shame you didn't live closer, I love a good fault to get to grips with.

Good luck, Dave

Hard to say but probably not. You'll know when it's gone because you'll imediately say WTF was that! I've had a couple milles and so have a few of my pals and the engines are noisy. Almost everytime I switch the engine off I'll hear spring like clonk but that's just the sprag stopping any kick back like it's meant to.
When starting if the battery isn't tip top then it won't engage the sprag clutch properly and thats when you get premature wear and failure. These engines need freshly charged batteries as they are such a torquey lump to turn.
If the engine is turning over quickly ie not laboured and you know your battery is fully charged then you need to be looking at fuel and electrics. If the fuel pump is heard priming when you turn on the bike and you can smell fuel from the exhaust then it's getting fuel.
When you had your plugs out you could have tried it against a negative ground to see if it sparks but be careful if the other plug lead is still attached to the corresponding cylinder as this could ignite any fuel in the cylinder and take your face off!!

It's hard to get a feel for a problem without seeing your bike but I would be looking at connectors, starter connection and brushes etc.
Not wanting to patronise you but if you measure your battery voltage with a MULTIMETER and not a specific battery tester you know that if it says 12v or so then it's f&cked! With a multimeter you need 13v + for it to be in a fully charged state

Cheers Dave

Does the starter motor sound and feel like its turning the engine or just spinning up? Got to say it is begining to sound like your sprag could be shot by what you've said.
If you're reasonably mechanically minded then there's plenty of info on here and AF1 about how to replace it.

Sorry if this has already been said but, Make a new (thick wire) earth to somewhere solid on the engine. Keep the old earth but bolt in another. Don't rely on a jump start/croc clip earth.
Worked for me when I had the same symptoms.