Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Battery woes

Don't rush out and buy a new battery - chances are your battery is fine.

Your bike is an EFI. The computer requires 11.6 volts minimum before it will let the bike start (unlike carbed models which will start of the battery regardless of the charge - as long as there is enough charge to turn over the engine).

So if you only do short trips or irregular trips then your battery is not getting much charge. I work very close to home so my '09 does a lot of starting and not much charging. My solution is to use a trickle charger (battery tender) one night a week.

On the other hand - if your battery gets a lot of charging time but is still unreliable you might want to check your earth connections and if they are fine then maybe you do need a new battery.