+100 on the Battery.Try it first.Check for Corrosion on the  Terminals and the Posts.With Enough Build up on them even a Car Battery would have a Hard time jumping it of without Wiggling the Hell out of them.The guys Jumper Cables may not have been Big Enough (Guage Wise) or one or both of the cables may have been Broken Underneath the Insulation.Usually if the Car is Running when you Hook up the Cables to Another Battery you will hear the Donor Motor go under a load or Slow down a Bit at Idle.When you hook them up you will see the Carge Needle in the Donor Car drop to Charge Mode.IF you hook the Cables up to the Donor Car Battery without the Vehicle Running it will take a while to bring the Bike Battery up enough to start the Bike.Even Longer if the Cells on the Inside are Corroded and won't pick up enough to start if any of the Cells are Broken Loose.(Which can Happen with enough Vibration or Shock from Being Dropped or Betten on.
1st Check for Corrosion on the Terminals and Posts also Check the Level of fluid in the Battery.If its Past the Low Point Add Distilled Water.
2nd Charge for a While.Make sure it is around 2amps.if you have a Charger that goes past 6 or More Amps don't leave it on the Battery too long you'll  "Fry" your Battery.
3rd If the 2 Above don't cure it check the inside cells for Corrosion.It will look like White Scale on the Cells.If they are white or Look to be Broken loose buy another Battery.

I'm not a Full time Mechanic but I did stay at the Holiday Inn last Night.

Quote from: Egaeus on October 16, 2006, 12:12:53 PM
IIRC, the charging system runs at about 14.1 V.

ok. disregard me, i'm an id10t.

Thanks for all your help.

I just read a book that increased my understanding of electricity by leaps and bounds--It's called There Are No Electrons by Kenn Amdahl. 

Chilly

Sorry, late to the thread and don't know if you or anyone mentioned this. Does your battery have the correct fluid level in it? If it is below the red line you'll have to add distilled water before you charge it.

If you need to get a new battery, consider the Walmart sealed one. Do a search for 'walmart battery'. Its $50 now.

As having experienced this myself I'd put a nickle on it being the regulator/rectifier.

Which is not cheap unfortunately.

Quote from: NiceGuysFinishLast on October 16, 2006, 12:11:49 PM
I thought they were 13.8 when the charging system was active, and 12 by themselves?

Isn't this the case?

It is the battery, everyone who said that was the problem was right.  I got a new battery today at a bike shop for 28 bucks and now it fires up sooooo much easier (after i had to pushstart it to charge it up a little).  But now when i just tap the ignition a little it will turn on.  Thanks everyone for helping.  I really thought I had a big problem at first. 

I'm glad the battery fixed it. But you're not done. The GS's charging system is not strong enough to be used to charge the battery, like a car's would be. Get a charger and give the battery a good, full charge. Periodically (like every 1-3 months) charge the battery again to keep it topped off. It will prolong the life of the battery.

For everything you ever wanted to know about your battery ...
http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm
(including why you should follow the steps I suggested).