[Gkannon77]

How many volts did the battery measure? If you turned the key on and had lights & then hit the starter button and everything goes out i'm betting the battery is toast. Can you put the battery on a real charger?

Bingo. I never claim to know or understand anything electric, other than electrolytes

And hence, when I tested the battery with a multitester and it showed 11 volts, and then even trickle charged it and still got nothing, i scratched my head. I used both a solar trickle charger and a 2/4/6 amp charger. I even tried using the charger as a external battery source for jumping, to no avail. (I remembered reading here years ago not to jump a bike with a car battery, although I'm not so sure doing what I did was any different...in hindsight).

So I concluded it wasn't the battery and had it taken to the shop. The owner there is a cool dude. Called me back later to tell me it did have 11 volts when testing, but then dropped to 0 under load. ??Didn't know that could happen. Kinda makes testing the battery moot, from my POV. Anyways, thanks all.

TLDR: Battery was dead enough (cells?) for complete electrical failure (light, horn etc..) but still tested at 11 volts. Battery replaced and all is gravy.

[loneraider]

++++1
The same thing happened to mine yrs ago as it would show a voltage
but under a load it would just tap out! Bought a Yuasa battery and
have never looked back. I also use a trickle charger In the winter months to keep it maintained. Glad you got it resolved.

http://www.atbatt.com/yuasa-ytx14ah-bs-powersports-battery.asp