NEED BATTERY HELP!!!!!!!

[WCU_V_Twin]

Hey Everybody.  I've been a member of this board for a while, but haven't made a post in a while.  Anyway.....  my battery has finally died; dead as a door nail.  I need some help.  I can't jump my bike or charge it for the next few days, but need to use my bike......, and I need to use it like 30 mins. after I get home from work today.  If I try and get a "maintenance type" battery from somewhere locally today, I'm going to have to charge it for how many hours?  If I try and get a sealed battery (from Wal-Mart or where?), will I be able to install it relatively quickly?  Please tell me what model #s and brand batteries I'm looking for.  I can't believe I got myself in this mess.  But this is what happens when you try to get over three years out of a motorcycle battery.  Thanks for your help in advance.

[Cal Amari]

ANY battery you buy is going to need to be charged at about 1/10th the amp-hour rating; the stock GS battery will require charging at ~1.0A for ten hours to be fully charged. If you charge it much faster than that (IOW, at a higher amperage), you'll be boiling off the water in the electrolyte, and you can ruin the battery by overheating it and warping the internal plates.

The best advice I can give you is to contact a local dealership that has the right battery (for example, a Yuasa YB10L-B) in stock; pay for it on a credit card, and ask them to charge it right away. Tell them you'll be in to pick it up before they close for the day, then get there before they lock the doors. I wouldn't trust any Wally World nit-wits to do this right, or to have it ready when you arrive. Talk to the service manager when you call the dealership, and explain your situation and time constraints, and I'll bet he'll be more than willing to help you.

You could also call a marine (boating) supply store, if there are no dealerships close by with the battery you need, on the off-chance that they might have one in stock that they can charge for you during the day. If still no joy, call motorcycle accessory stores (like Cycle Gear), and if you REALLY get desperate, you can try the local autoparts stores. Some of the larger chains carry generic motorcycle batteries, though I don't know if you'll find a suitable battery for your GS in such a place. Lastly, go to a Sears or Wal-Mart on the way to work, buy the battery there (I don't know the Sears or Wal-Mart part numbers, but they should be able to cross-reference the Yuasa number for you), buy a MOTORCYCLE battery charger, then fill and charge the battery at work. Any battery sold by Sears should include a container of electrolyte to fill the battery with; I have no idea how things work at Wal-Mart.

Whatever you do, do NOT try to ride off on a battery that hasn't been properly charged, unless you think running out of electrons in traffic is an experience you've been missing out on...

Good luck with this; others might have different advice, but I think you've really got some work ahead of you, no matter how you handle this... FWIW, I've been in the exact same situation three times in the last 20+ years of riding, and the dealerships haven't let me down yet.