Battery Dies Quickly At Idle

[WestCoastCafe]

Ok another stupid question here. Just finished putting my bike back together, it starts and idles very nicely now, worked out all the other issues. I gave my battery a full charge, then started the bike and let it idle for maybe 2 minutes, tried to put it in gear and the engine cut out. After that long the battery didn't even have enough juice left to turn on the digital speedo. So is my battery done or have I not connected the alternator/charging system correctly? Does it even charge the battery at idle?

*it also died immediately when I tried to put it into gear, could that be related to the weak battery at all

 

[Big R]

What bike?

Most likely it stalled going into gear because of cold / sticky clutch plates, or your clutch cable is out of adjustment, etc.. I wouldn't be concerned with that yet. Do you have a multimeter? That will be needed to diagnose any electrical issues....

 

[WestCoastCafe]

no multimeter, and the clutch cable could definitely be adjusted wrong. Im more concerned about the battery draining so quickly right now though.

 

[Big R]

Well, any "good" battery can run a stripped electrical system for a little while. Google total loss race motorcycle for more info there. So I think that your battery either isn't as good as you think, or there is a major current draw somewhere.