always hard to start (she breathes fire and demands miles as a sacrifice)solved

[darrsi]

That sort of voltage drop while thumbing the starter is to be expected. I don't think that, or the fact that you are having to run the starter for a long time before the engine fires, indicates a duff battery. Quite the opposite in fact.
I'd be more suspicious of the mixture. Are you applying choke before trying to start? My Fazer starts readily without choke in warm weather... in cold conditions it needs it, but it has to be applied first. Weirdly, if it doesn't fire up without and then I apply choke, it just floods.
So, if you've not been doing that, give it a try. If you have been, make sure your choke cable is working i.e. pulling the little bar at the top of the carbs that actuates the four choke plungers.

He's touching 9 volts and you don't think there's a battery issue at all ???  :lol