I killed another battery. The first one I understand, original battery to the bike, wasn't putting it on the trickle charger etc. hey I am new at this stuff. Yesterday however came home, was 104 outside, and let the bike sit outside the garage with the ignition on a bit too long and ran down the battery. My wife parked the car so close to the door, I had to move it. I procrastinated for a while and 40 minutes the battery was dead.
I tried putting it on the trickle charger over night, but still cant get enough juice to crank her. The battery is only 2 months old. Do I have any hope, or do I need to replace it again.
Is there such a thing as a buzzer to remind you that ignition is on, but bike not running?

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Ride History
2005 DL 650
1989 TREK 850 Mountain Bike
1974 SCHWINN BANANA SEAT (probably worth more than the wee now, oh well)

Perhaps you could cobble together an external low oil pressure siren from a heavy duty equipment outlet (John Deere or Cat dealer). That, hopefully would make you aware that the key is still on. It should be fairly easy to rig up a pressure switch and a relay and some kind of noise making device. Perhaps a back up alarm or some such thing would work....
I guess the little wee red light is too innocuous and an audible alarm might be more useful.

If the ignition is on, the lights are on. What more do you need? Or was the ignition in park?

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Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
Nicknames for posting ease on my part, Vee = all DL1000s. Wee = 2004-2011 DL650s. Glee = 2012+ DL650s

wasn't on park, but I have done that too, I have tried to get in the habit to check the tail before walking away. Not sure why have a park light that drains the battery fast and makes the bike inoperable as a result. any way to disable this?

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Ride History
2005 DL 650
1989 TREK 850 Mountain Bike
1974 SCHWINN BANANA SEAT (probably worth more than the wee now, oh well)

If your battery is two months old, it should not be dead. Trickle chargers are not meant to charge a completely dead battery. I don't use trickle chargers. I bought a good quality digital automotive battery charger that has multiple charging ranges and can be used safely with any kind of battery.

One scenario for ending up with the ignition on but the engine not running is the habit of using the kill switch to shut the engine down. The only time I use the kill switch is when I am stopped on a hill in gear and I want to leave the bike in gear to keep it from rolling away. Stop using the kill switch.

P.S. my wife uses the kill switch all the time (they taught her to do this when she took her riding course) and it drives me absolutely nuts. She'll be standing there taking her helmet off and the bike is sitting there all lit up. And then later, she can't figure out why the bike won't start - the kill switch is still off ...

P.S.S. If you happen to have an after market battery such as an Odyssey (probably not for a wee, but...) it states right in their owners manual that Odyssey batteries that are fully discharged require 4-10 amps to recharge and trickle chargers can only maintain a charged Odyssey battery.

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2009 DL650 ABS (with touring kit)
2004 Honda ST1300

Does the key even come out with the ignition in the on position? If so, do you not take your keys with you? Seriously, I never thought this would be a problem. I can understand leaving the parking light on as that's one small click past lock, but leaving the entire system on... I don't get it.

Using the kill switch is not a bad thing. The reasoning here is instilling muscle memory that if you ever need to kill the bike in an emergency, the muscle memory is there to do it without thinking.

Not sure how you could rig up an audible buzzer when the key is always in the on position while the bike is running.

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"The first five days after the weekend are always the hardest."

-- My wife

I do what GlenT does, never use the kill switch. Run switch is always on and I use the ignition key to turn the bike on and off. I got into this habit early because it's a waste of a motion using the kill switch, and could drain your battery.

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DL650K7
XL1200N (Sold)

I dont see how not using the kill switch has to do with draining the battery... Just sounds like a bad habit to not use it. Taking a hand off the bar while stopped to shut the bike off means you arent in full control of the bike making a safety issue. It just seems (more or less) that he for got to turn off yhe bike because he got side tracked in his drive way.

A battery will drain completely if you leave it on to long reguardless of age. If its 2 months old just charge it up and you are good to go.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Motorcycle.com Free App

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'07 Yamaha Vstar 650 (sold)
'09 Honda CBR600RR (sold)
'12 WEEEEEEEstrom

If he forgot to turn off the bike, then either it stalled by itself, overheated or ran out of fuel. Or, he turned the key off and then turned it back on???

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2009 DL650 ABS (with touring kit)
2004 Honda ST1300

I use the kill switch as the shut off - always have and always will no matter what bike it is.

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Suzuki v-twin: 06 DL650 - no shaft or dual exhaust??
Kawasaki v-twin: 00 Nomad (03-03) T.P.O.S.
Honda v-twin: 86 Shadow 1100 (89-03/17/2013)
Yamaha v-twin: 84 Virago 500 (87-89)