Hi, Im on a trip, now in central Turkey heading to Iran, and having some problem which I think may be a faulty battery, or something eating up the battery and looking for some advice as Im not very good with electronics (ok, Im actually very bad with them!!)

The bike is a DL650 Abs K7, and here´s whats been going on (and we´ve ridden some 4200kms so far, and this problem aside, it runs just beautifully and perfect)
- After a cold night, hard to get started, been a few times we´ve had to push it to do that
- After several times stopping the engine and going again, like riding in town, it might get a bit hard to start, but usually manages to do it on its own.

I had a "Suzuki" alarm unit with immobilizer fitted, but I took it completely out when this started. Does not seem like it was the answer, as Ive ridden +1000kms without it now and still have this problem.

The headlights also have an extra switch to put them on/off (just in case in some areas they dont like keeping them on for daytime), the earth wires have been cut & routed into the same switch, but I cannot understand how this could be the reason. I could try to restore it back to the way it was originally, if needed.

Other than these 2 mods, the electrical system is in totally original state. And before these modifications there were no problems, but this could be just co-incidence (the nighttime temperatures in summer were much higher, etc).

The battery´s been metered twice along the way, they said its "maybe a bit weak", but giving almost normal readings, and the current rises with the revs like it should (to around 14.5 volts or something like that) so it looks like the alternator and regulator are working ok. If they werent, I suspect we couldnt have come this far. Metering the battery right after riding might not reveal its actual state as it has just been charged, while riding.

It feels theres a significant difference, how fast it will turn the starter, depending on whether I have the headlight swithed on or off. Much easier to start when off. The LCD area in the center of the instrument panel also goes blank, when theres problem to get enough power to start.

Suitable batteries will be tough to find around here and will probably cost a bit, and wont be a Yuasa like the original, thats why I could use some convincing, that its actually the battery that is faulty, and not replace a totally good one only to see that it wasnt the answer! But Im heading further east, and this item will be even harder to find over there, so I will probably try to find a new battery now.

Somebody told me (in Greece), that there have been a lot of problems with this bikes battery, but so far I havent heard of one single case myself, so I dont know if I believe that, probably not! I had an SV650, which I think had exactly the same type of battery, and never had any problems with it in over 4 years.

The answer could be so simple, that I just have a faulty battery, which wont store the current anymore, especially when it gets cold. Then the new one will be the cure. But with electronics, you just never know, so I´m wondering, if anyone has experienced anything similar with their DL650? Any experiences or suggestions are very welcome!