A short story

A short story: thought I'd take advantage of a break in the weather to test ride my new Ikons. A bit of a hard start and it didn't sound too happy warming up. Headed out and stalled at the end of the lane. But I restarted and proceeded up a long hill with no problem. A few miles later it was clear that it wouldn't take any load and I turned back for home. Too late. Half a mile and it totally quit. Fortunately on a rare section of road with a bit of a shoulder. Looked over everything and found naught. Turned on the ignition and 8.5v on the gauge so clearly battery had given up the ghost.
Well it was long push uphill on turf and I was clapped at the top. Bumped it several times on the downhill it finally woke up and I made it home.
Here is the punchline: haven't touched the battery in YEARS. Pulled it out, multimeter said 8 volts...and the sticker on it said 27July10.
What a POS. Only lasted TEN YEARS.
I was lucky to get home and had to laugh!

You got off easier than @Tornado ...

Is it still under warranty

Just curious, don't you have a working 2MC capacitor?
My B40 starts easily and runs without battery.

Mike40M said:

Just curious, don't you have a working 2MC capacitor?
My B40 starts easily and runs without battery.

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Do bikes with electronic ignition still start by capacitor only?

SteveC said:

Do bikes with electronic ignition still start by capacitor only?

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The B40 has a Boyer Mk4

Looks like I better get that bit sorted! Another piece that is 46 years old.

With a 2MC even if you cannot kick it into life it will bump start with a suitable hill. But you must pull the fuse so the juice the alternator makes goes into the 2MC and not into the battery. My battery failed high resistance on my B44 at night, good voltage but no amps, took out the fuse and 2 kicks later on my way with full lighting. I fit modern equivalents to the 2MC, which do not go off so quickly with age, to all my bikes as insurance against battery failure.

I use a very small 12 volt battery on my race bike and run it total loss. It is a pity Norton got so clever with the Commando engine and removed provision for the magneto. I've got a new battery sitting on my shelf. But because my bike is in bits, I have not put the acid in it. As soon as I fill it, I will have to start trickle-charging it. I have been thinking of buying a solar-powered charger, but they are about $80. The battery costs about $10. So it might be cheaper to buy a new battery every time I use the bike, and never start the bike at home.