On the way to the Chinese place, felt the bike stumbling and decided I needed fresh fuel, so I stopped at the gas station. $1.73 worth of 89 octane later, buttoned up the gas tank and switched her on, tried starting--
First problem, starter was trying to drag bike forward, as if the clutch were not fully disengaged. Put bike in neutral, tried again...crank crank crrrrrrrannnk....
Short form: ended up having to push-start the damned thing because there wasn't enough in the battery to turn it over. Came home--and it tried to die at the stop sign!--parked bike in garage, and took car to get food.
This is a new battery, bought late last May for crying out loud. But then, as that post mentions, I haven't completely checked the rectifier; the battery may not be charging.
Of course, the other thing to consider is that I never did plug it in overnight this year, either. I had set it up intending to do so, but then Mrs. Fungus wanted to go out for dinner, so I put 'er away; and when I went to use the bike it started fine, so I stopped thinking about it.
Perhaps it's time to think about it, at least a little. Eh?
Anyway, after getting home with the food I put the bike on the charger, and I'll leave it sitting out with the charger going overnight and see where that leaves us.
(Sadly, the flip-flops I bought at the same time I bought the battery have died the death. I tripped over a doorsill and pulled the thong right out of the sole. Argh.)
Plus side: looked over parts on eBay, and if need be I can get a new rectifier for a bit more than $20 shipped. Then I bought a battery hold-down strap (missing from my bike) for the princely sum of $7.50 shipped. That'll let me put the battery cover on, so my white battery won't be visible and the thing will look less ghetto.
Still wanting to take the thing to a dealership for a tune-up, adjustment, and carb sync. No idea when we'll be able to get around to that one.
And that's about all I have to say about that right now.