Electrical problems

If the stator is good - which it appears to be, from your readings, then I’d recommend a replacement of the reg/rec with a series MOSFET one that will help keep the stator cooler:

That’s a really interesting thought and I shall defo check those but once I got home, there was no juice at all in the battery to crack the starter motor…. Which is why I ruled out fuel issues. Due to the time it’s been standing, I considered things like blocked fuel filter, dodgy fuel (but I fuelled up at 2 shell stations) and bunged up injectors due to lack of use but always came back to electrical issues as the cause due to the flat battery when I got home

No I haven’t- always relied in the early years on dealer service. Would you mind pointing me to a thread with some knowledge and know how? I reckon I might just do these and the breather hoses at the same time anyway….

Some good advice here but either you have two separate issues - battery draining and a fuel issue - or it's electrical only as you first suggested. Unless you feel you may have drained the battery by the multiple starts?

wigginsjp wrote: Drain the tank and remove it. Cheap hand suction pump does the job.

If you can get a spare fuel return line off ebay complete with the line break connector then you can use this to drain the tank. It's what I do and it's so easy.

wigginsjp wrote: Take out the fuel pump from the base of the tank and then you will see the inline filter and on the base plate is a black plastic cover. Remove the cover and you will see the tea bag style filter.  Clean that with fresh fuel and a tooth brush. Replace the grey plastic one with a new OEM one.  Refit and torque bolts down to specification. Don’t use a silicone sealant at all but it’s worth replacing the rubber OEM gasket.  AP sell the parts online.

If you are going to do this I would get the upgrade kit AP have just created that replaces the in-tank fuel lines with ethanol resistant hoses. Comes with new filter, sealing ring etc. Almost twenty years and the ethanol attack and it's only a matter of time before they fail. I'm planning to do mine over the winter. 

There's a video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNz39qsqoP8

Kit here:  https://www.apworkshops.co.uk/v990-fuel-pump-upgrade-kit.html

wigginsjp wrote: The breather hoses are under the tank. Unscrew the nipples and ensure they are free from dirt. A small drill cleans them out but take them out first.

AP Video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-RNzdHILFU

Just so I am clear on the procedure. Turn the ignition on, leave for 15 secs min, turn off, remove key with out firing the bike up? 

I doubt this is your problem as it won’t drain a battery on a running bike, only when parked up but it won’t hurt to try. Yes your right on the procedure 

Key procedure done twice to make sure.

All 3 stator phases measured and all register 1.2ohms

Rev to 5000 rpm. Battery voltage 13.99v

Headlights and instrument cluster show steady light and doesn’t get brighter or dimmer when revved

Left to idle for 5-10mins until hot- battery voltage 14.04v

Fans now regularly kicking in - battery voltage 13.75v when fans kick in

At no point do I get any fuel starvation or lumpy running.

Turn off and leave for 2 hours without trickle charger on. Battery voltage 13.2v

Having googled the amp strain test Griff recommended, I can’t do it. I believe I would need to take the relevant fuse out of the position, then read the current passing through that circuit. The fuse is rated at 15A and is fuse D which includes the speed sensor, fuel pump, relay, starter and lamda probe. My multimeter is rated max 10A so this is getting beyond me.

Nothing from tonight gives a clue and I can’t replicate the problem in the garage. So the next step is to ride local circuits within 5-10m of the house for an hour to see if it happens again. Then as soon as it does, get a multimeter across it to see what the battery is like and whether I am getting a charge from the reg rec. My working hypothesis is that the key procedure wasn’t done for the trip and so with approx 5 hours of riding when the dash was pulling 20x power, it was enough to slowly drain the battery to the point it wasn’t sparking or driving the fuel pump leading to the cutting out. If I can’t trigger it with 60-90 mins of riding locally, the problem has gone away…. Potentially 

If the problem does reoccur, we are back to hypothesis 2- excess current being drawn by the fuel pump as it’s having to work harder when it gets really hot, which then drains the battery. Then I am off to a local friendly mechanic with decent tools and experience to see if we can do the amp strain test.

Either way, the tank will be coming off some point soon to do fuel filters. It’s just whether I need to do that now or an over winter job.

There is a general consensus here for checking fuel system. So it’s gonna go on the list. I need to get a hand pump and new fuel can from screw fix to do this - so it will be a few days or so before I get organised enough to do this. I will do as suggested and check breathers and check the adapters on the base of the tank.

If I drain the tank into a new can, it will be new fuel but will I be able to spot any water? Are there any tell tale signs? 

I did fill up twice in the trip with fresh fuel so would that 150 or so miles not cleared the tank of any water? (Prob not doing the bike much good)

FYI the bike was static for a year and so I did check oil and coolant levels (it had oil and filter change only couple hindered miles ago) brakes, but didn’t check plugs or for mice! 

Will also read up in the manual and look for the solenoid one in the rear seat unit. If nothing else it’s another check, clean and reconnect to make sure

Siphoning the tank went ok other than the odd splash of petrol and next I lifted the tank. I had a perfect wooden block to hold it upright. The new fuel Jerry can is a green plastic jobbie so I gave up trying to see whether there was any water in the fuel I had siphoned out.

So it May have been as simple as the blocked nozzle. I am going to do the filters and pipe kit over the winter as a precautionary measure but the next job is to fill it up and take for a ride to see if I can replicate the problem. If not, hopefully it’s job jobbed. Thanks for all the advice