Hi all,

Havent really ridden the bike since autumn, short of turning it over each month over winter.

However, this weekend the bike was really struggling to turn over. I tested the battery with my voltmeter before I tried to start the bike and got a reading of 11.4 volts, so needless to say that it would not turn the engine over when I tried to start it. Only buzzed, and the headlights were very dim.

So I used the jump leads and my spare car battery and it started first time. Took a reading when the engine was running and got 14.2v which is apparently normal(ish?). Anywhere from 14.2 to 14.7v indicates that the alternator is charging the battery when the engine is running?. I shut it down after 15 minutes.

I took a reading about ten minutes later and that battery was reading 11.8v, which is way too low.

Weather hasn't been that bad, not too cold or too warm.

I think that all of this shows that the battery is destined for the big battery place in the sky. To be fair, the bike is still on its original battery(2008 model) so I`m guessing its time for a replacement .

However, here`s my questions -

• Which battery is recommended amongst you all - Are there any specific brands to go for/prices to look for?

• For some reason I seem to remember somewhere seeing/being told that if i remove my battery to change over to another, my immobilizer kicks in, settings are reset etc? Is this true? I'm thinking no, as people remove batteries all the time long term over winter for trickle charging and remove to install power for GPS etc. Apologies if this is blindingly obvious but would be handy to have a clear answer. Electrics are not my strong suit, I'm more a mechanical type.

Andy