battery draining

[user 16790]

can anybody give me ideas on what would cause a battery to drain when the bike is not in use, I have searched here but can't find definitive answers,
the bike starts ok apart from not firing on one cylinder at idle (to be sorted soon),
I fitted a new battery last year just after I bought the bike and I now know my charging system needs looking at as the charge rate drops when the engine revs, not below 12v but below what it reads at idle (to be sorted soon hopefully),
because of this I occasionally put my bike on an optimate type maintenance charger, it usually has to be on for several hours to show full charge but my problem seems to be that it needs doing a couple of times a week while the bike is not being used,
so what can cause the battery to drain so quickly, I have no extra electrical devices fitted,
thank you

 

[desert_max]

For starters, I would pull all the fuses out of the fuse box under the False tank. Place a DMM in current mode and measure across the two nodes where each fuse was.

Switch off, there should be no flow at all. Unless someone has added a parasitic load like an LED clock or something similar. You can get an idea of just how much current flows with lights, Etc running by turning the switch on and measuring across those same nodes.

If you do see current flow across one circuit with the ignition switch in the off position, you have found the offending circuit. You haven't pinpointed the problem, but at least you know where to look.

If you see nothing there, I have seen solenoids that were a little leaky. Not common, but has been known to happen.

Barring any of that, it's not unheard of for a battery to give up after a short time. Could simply be the battery.

 

[MaxMidnight]

Good advice from Mr desert_max, but as suggested you may not see any discharge.
As you say that the bike is not charging correctly then you should be suspicious of the r/r/ and that it is allowing the battery to leak to earth.

Have a look here, test #4

 

[user 16790]

thank you for the replies, I hope to be able to get on with it in the next week or so, I do have a new regulator to fit but despite my trying to find a non oem one that isn't made in china that I could afford, it says made in china on it, bought in the uk from an american company