Hi guys,
This morning, my big lady decided that I would go to work in my cage and certainly not on her back. Last time that I rode her was last Friday night and all was fine, except that I noticed that the led on the back on my RH mirror did not work anymore. So on Saterday night, I checked the light problem and found 2 broken wires. Repaired them, problem solved. I let the switch on maybe a total of 4 or 5 minutes(engine off), just the time to check for power and then switch back off. Went to start this morning, she was cranking, but slower than normal and rapidly, the cranking speed went down. I did not insist and did not have time to check it right away, so I jumped in the cage and went to work. On my return tonight, I removed the seat and jump started her from my non running car. She started right up. I let her run for 3-4 minutes, then I hooked my voltmeter to the battery posts. Reading: 17.9 V. I turned the key off and tried to start her again and she started just fine. I guess I'm off for a new battery. (Not sure about the age of this one, as I'm not the original owner) My question is: Is it normal to get a reading like this on a discharged battery? I know that a normal charging voltage is around 14.5 V, but does it get higher when the battery gets low? I'd hate to buy a new battery and then fry it with an overcharging alternator

Thanks for any advice!