Battery Voltage

[PaulSmith]

Thanks for the replies and advice. The voltages were all with the battery off the bike.

I put it on the bike again, and of course, it fired up immediately.  I went for a long ride.

After 10 days not riding, again, it started instantly - just in the garage, didn't ride it (bloody rain again!). Then 4 days later I tried again and it tried to turn over and started clicking. Same at each attempt.
Terminals and connections were all tight. At this point I decided it was time to get a new one.

The problem is, this is my second battery in the 3 years I've had the bike. OK, so the first one was in the bike when I bought it - and it had been quite difficult to start from the off, but I rode the bike through winter, too. I reckon the battery it came with was not up to the job. I just got rid of it about a month ago - shame, as I hadn't checked the spec before chucking it. My concern is that the next battery will go the same way.

I blame my wife for wanting to get a car, and then, despite promises to the contrary, refusing to get on it after we got the car

Actually, I blame the idiot bimbo who knocked us off it and knocked Mrs JD's confidence with it to make her want 4 wheels.

You still don't know if the battery was at fault or not. With the battery connected, measure the voltage across the terminals every few days. If it goes down measurably, you have a wiring issue that changing the battery will not fix.