@JenC mentioned that dealers don't always charge batteries properly at pdi and that's what got me wondering if that could be what is causing these problems with new bikes and new batteries as well. The guy who sold me my Yuasa laid it on pretty thick that it's essential to give the battery that initial charge if you want it to work properly.
Well, Bike was taken in this morning and when it was plugged in nothing was showing up as a fault yet the bike still wasn't starting. By 2pm the guys found the fault. It turned out to be a fuel pump lead that wasn't fitted properly in the factory i.e. it was connected sometimes and not at others. The pump wasn't able to prime the bike when switched on. They have had to order a new lead for me and have in the meantime let me have another 15 bike to play with (one which has been run in. I am totally content now that the problem turned out to be a minor one albeit annoying to me. Should get my own back in a couple of days
I used to have this problem on my 2010 MTS and found a lithium battery was able to cope with being left for a lot longer (months) and always managed to start the bike. In fact it started it far quicker than the fully charged original ever did. contrary to common belief the lithium battery seems to work fine in freezing conditions.
Haijui Li-Po SPS. you will need a Lithium battery optimiser as well. the best one I found was the Optimate Lithium. a normal charger/optimiser will cause the battery to explode. I think the Battery cost about £200 and the optimiser cost about £120 so it's not a cheap solution. extremely light though and a lot easier than telling the wife to go on a diet if weight is a concern. (Just in case she reads this; for the record my wife does not need to go on a diet).
