correct voltage?
 

Hi all, have had some starting problems and decided i need a new battery as it's 4 years old and not keeping charge too well.
I measured the voltage across the terminals with the bike running and it measured a steady 14.2volts.
Would this be about right?
Cheers

14.2 is about right for a charging battery off a running motor/alternator, although having said that it should drop down as the battery is charged, it is normal for a 12v to show around 13-13.5v when charged.
(not 6 cell batteries as 6 cells in series will only ever give 12v just as 6 cells in parallel will only show 2v)
If your battery is indeed charging which it appears it is it is probably likely that she aint holding her charge for too long and as it is colder now it will definitely become more apparent if your battery is failing... good luck.

Thanks Feck,
I've ordered a new battery and I'll measure the voltage when I've got it on the bike just out of interest.
I was surprised how much harder it was to get the bike to start with a battery that was slightly below par, it gave me the impression that it was flooding.

Any news on this, did the new battery do the trick?

Got new battery and solved the problem, has started first time since.
Till this morning! Started well and i let it warm while getting clobber on when it just cut out. It did start again after a couple of tries and rode fine to work.
Had to leave it at work tonight as it won't fire at all even though it's turning over fine.

Checked ur sparkplug lately?

As noted, this is fairly normal, which means your charging system is fine.

It's worth also checking the voltage with the ignition off, as this will tell you whether the battery is holding the charge that is being put into it. Note that it's not linear (0-12V). A battery with 11V across it is flat, and probably deceased. A fully charged battery ought to have more than 12V across it.

A fully charged healthy battery should even have around 12.7V and it should keep its charge like uberthumper says.

Also check how much the voltage drops while you are starting. It should not drop very far below 10V and then get to around 14V when the bike is running normally.

from the symptoms described it sounds like the old battery was on its` way out and possibly the sparkplug is on its` last legs... well that`s what i get anyway ;)