Lighting quick battery discharge

[pherthyl]

Hi everyone.  Just a couple weeks ago I bought an 89 GS500 (my first bike!).  It had obviously been a bit neglected, but I got a great deal on it (1200CAN) and it ran great for the first couple weeks.  I was reading through the Clymer manual and checking/adjusting things as I learnt.  Well today I wanted to go for a ride and nothing turned on when I turned the key to on.  No lights, no nothing.   So off I went to buy a multimeter, and sure enough, the battery was completely drained (3.1V!).  I pulled the battery out and two of the cells were ok, 3 were way low (like 1-2 inches from dry) and one was high (1/2 inch above the top line). 

So that explains why nothing worked, and I am going to buy some distilled water and a charger to see if I can rescue the battery, but it seems very strange to me that it went from perfectly fine to completely dead in 2 days.  Last time I started it two days ago, the battery seemed very strong.  It started the bike in no time, and didn't sound labored at all.  So my question is, how did the battery commit suicide so quickly?  If it was the acid evaporating, wouldn't I notice it getting slowly weaker instead of this sudden death?  I'm a bit confused.

Thanks,
Leo

[Egaeus]

There is a key position beyond lock that turns the parking lights on.  It's easy to select by accident, and will drain your battery.

[pherthyl]

Ah, that makes sense.  I didn't notice any lights on, but that must have been what happened.     Thanks!