Charon
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I suppose it is possible the new batteries were never properly charged before they were installed. New batteries, including sealed ones, need an initial charge. They will usually tell you to use a low-rate charger for ten hours or so. I have not used a Battery Tender, but they are fairly highly recommended. Since I have the equipment to do it, I would use a voltage and current limited charger, setting the voltage to 14.4 volts and the current limit to C/10 (1.4 amps). The battery will charge at 1.4 amps until its terminal voltage reaches 14.4, and then the current will taper off. If you have a way to monitor current, wait until the current drops to C/100 (140 ma), and you can consider the battery charged. A truly well designed charger will control the current until the battery reaches the desired voltage, then control the voltage and allow the current to drop, then when the current drops low enough the charger output will switch to a trickle charge, maintaining about 13.6 volts.
You also need to check the charging system with a digital voltmeter. As stated above by PTRider, once the engine speed increases to well above idle the battery voltage should approach 14 - 15 volts. Another easy method is to locate the bike somewhere you can see the headlight shining on a wall. As you increase the engine speed from low idle the headlight should brighten. If it doesn't, the charging system has problems.
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