My 1972 Combat sat in the garage for about 9 months without so much as a second look from me (I know, tragic). Anyway, last weekend I dusted her down, drained the oil from the sump etc and she fired up fourth kick. Once warm she was ticking like an old clock.
Following a ride on Monday evening, about 30 miles, I decided to check the battery and noticed it was all but dry. I should say it was flat when I dusted the bike down but as the bike's been rewired with modern 'black box' kit it started no problem. I topped the battery up (with tap water) and charged it for 24 hours.
Coming back from the fire station last night (I'm a retained fire fighter) she conked out whilst sat as a traffic light and wasn't so keen to restart until I turned the lights off, at which point she started immediately. Once back in the garage I did the following.
1. Engine off, ignition on, lights off, press horn - loud
2. Engine off, ignition on, lights on, press horn - click
I'm thinking, and hoping, this looks like a duff (through abuse) battery. Would any sparky's agree?
cheers
Dave
Tap water for the battery?…
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No doubt Martyn The main q…
No doubt Martyn 
The main question I have (re horn not working when lights switched on etc) is, does it sound like a done for battery? The multimeter reads lots of Volts....
d
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Empty out all battery flui…
Empty out all battery fluids and dispose of properly, refill with battery acid, recharge, then try again
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Tap water will have done t…
Tap water will have done the battery no good. It's probably not worth messing about as you'll always suspect the battery, just treat yourself to a new one, They're only about 25 quid If you avoid motorcycle dealers and high street motor accessory shops.
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I'd forget the wet batter…
I'd forget the wet battery option; it's the 21st. Century now. Go for a sealed AGM type and forget about drying out and topping up. We have discussed before on this forum the even newer lithium iron phosphate types, e.g. Shorai. Recently I have talked about these with Norton owners who are using them and they are very happy.
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Many thanks all. I think t…
Many thanks all. I think the dry option makes the most sense and I'll treat the old girl to one, after all, there's no point having fully modern electrics and connecting it all to a cheapo wet battery
Thanks for everyone's help!
d
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Tap water for the battery? Should be distilled water or battery acid surely.