I left the key in the ignition and the power on this morning at work, came back at lunch and it was dead. Took the battery to a battery store and had it charged, stuck it back in the bike and it was still dead...no lights on the dash. Checked the fuses, none blown. Any thoughts on what else it could be before I have to take it into the shop? I'll have to fix it at work, I left it in the shed overnight.

can you not try and bump start it and then get out for a good ride on it before you charge it overnight at home?

Is it worth trying to bump start even if there's no lights on the dash giving indication that there's power? The battery was fully charged by a motorcycle shop and put back in the bike.

Did you check the main fuse? The one in the starter solenoid.

I think a flat battery would need something like 4 hours minimum to fully charge? That's with a trickle type charger though....

Is it a gel battery? if the shop used a normal charger for acid batts then it could have gone open circuit.

bikemonkey wrote:Did you check the main fuse? The one in the starter solenoid.

Ah, didn't check the main fuse. Where's it at? I'll need to take tools to work to work on it, what tools do I need to take with me?

You just need to get the tail unit off, then its on the right hand side of the bike (as you're sitting on it) in a rubber boot with a red plug going into the top.

Remove the plug and it should reveal your fuse

And with luck, if it HAS gone, there'll be a spare in the rubber boot. Might be worth taking a 30A blade just in case!

If it's not the fuse, this cold weather sorts the good from the bad batteries....from my experience a battery going bad and goes flat rarely holds charge again...giving it a good charge over night might get you out of trouble short term

As said check the main fuse if its alright then it could just be the battery is totally goosed, if a battery is totally gone it can still be flat after a charge, correct me if im wrong but something to do with warped plates.