Battery / Electric problems

[youdancer]

I have a 2004 500F, which had until a few weeks ago been the most reliable bike I've owned.

Then one morning the battery was completely flat; I can only assume I had stupidly left the ignition in Park.  Anyway, I was parked on a hill and easily jumped and rode to work, trying to keep the revs high, anticipating a 30 minute ride would see me right.  It didn't.  I managed to jump it again to get home and set about charging the battery. 
My 12v Tender Junior seemed happy charging the battery, but after 3 full days I was only showing 7.5 when I tested with a meter.  I tried adding some water to the cells, but that didn't improve the charging. 
I decided to buy a new battery, but unfortunately the company I ordered from had a restocking problem and as I'm leaving the country I had to make a 1.5 hour trip to my mother in laws to get the bike off the street. 
The trip was fine, EXCEPT I noticed that the lights were now no longer functioning.  Rpms (tachometer) had been very erratic on the last rides I'd taken with the flat battery, but the lights had at least been working.  Have I done some damage to the electrics, or can I expect things to be working when I finally get back and install the new battery?  What else should I have done?

thanks in advance for any input

[yamahonkawazuki]

well you were making the electronics work HARD, but lets not go there yet. get a new battery first. remember, first rule in almost all electrical problems is:
K nown

G ood


B attery

[dgyver]

Battery Tenders do not charge a dead battery very well, if at all. They are designed to maintain a charged battery.

They charging system on the bike starts at around 5000 rpms.

[youdancer]

well you were making the electronics work HARD, but lets not go there yet. get a new battery first. remember, first rule in almost all electrical problems is:
K nown

G ood


B attery

I hope I don't learn that lesson the hard way...

[beRto]

As already suggested, the first thing you need to do is confirm that the battery is still good. You can bring it to a shop for a load test (this is often free). If the battery fails, you will need to purchase a new battery