Normal
Sometimes a surprise to see how well the bike spins over once you replace a battery you "thought" was still OK. Fast starter syndrome still MIGHT have been part of the cause - it will often clear itself when you try again the next day. Also, there is a chance that you have an incipient starter problem where it MAY be trying to draw too much current. Very often, a new battery will mask the condition for a time. Not saying that it wasn't the battery, just that the fact that it is working now doesn't totally rule out any other possibility.Quite probably, your root cause was a weak battery. I'm pretty sure mine, in my 2011 FJR, would fail a reserve capacity test and possibly a load test but it is working OK for now. It can't have a lot of time left in it given it's age (12 years, 100,000 miles). I carry a portable jump starter on a trip - just in case...I'm not a battery bigot, but given my great good fortune with Yuasa OEM batteries on two FJRs, I'll probably continue with the brand. You can get great (or terrible) batteries from any manufacturer. I've seen dead batteries right out of the box or an open (or shorted) cell within a few months. Some have a high self-discharge rate requiring a battery tender if sitting more than a week and others can sit for weeks (or months) while maintaining strong starting capacity without a tender.I have never used a tender on motorcycle batteries. The FJR has a very low "ignition off" parasitic draw (microamps) and a healthy AGM battery should not have a self-discharge rate higher than a few percent per month. I usually do a top-off charge a couple of times over our 4+ month winter layoff.
Sometimes a surprise to see how well the bike spins over once you replace a battery you "thought" was still OK. Fast starter syndrome still MIGHT have been part of the cause - it will often clear itself when you try again the next day. Also, there is a chance that you have an incipient starter problem where it MAY be trying to draw too much current. Very often, a new battery will mask the condition for a time. Not saying that it wasn't the battery, just that the fact that it is working now doesn't totally rule out any other possibility.
Quite probably, your root cause was a weak battery. I'm pretty sure mine, in my 2011 FJR, would fail a reserve capacity test and possibly a load test but it is working OK for now. It can't have a lot of time left in it given it's age (12 years, 100,000 miles). I carry a portable jump starter on a trip - just in case...
I'm not a battery bigot, but given my great good fortune with Yuasa OEM batteries on two FJRs, I'll probably continue with the brand. You can get great (or terrible) batteries from any manufacturer. I've seen dead batteries right out of the box or an open (or shorted) cell within a few months. Some have a high self-discharge rate requiring a battery tender if sitting more than a week and others can sit for weeks (or months) while maintaining strong starting capacity without a tender.
I have never used a tender on motorcycle batteries. The FJR has a very low "ignition off" parasitic draw (microamps) and a healthy AGM battery should not have a self-discharge rate higher than a few percent per month. I usually do a top-off charge a couple of times over our 4+ month winter layoff.
