[quickthrowaway]

making this not for myself, but for my dad.

In October of 2020, my dad was given my tio's 1996 Honda Magna. It had been sitting in a shed uncovered for a long time. My tio said he had the magna taken to a shop to get it running again. We do not know what was done, or when it was taken to the shop. It continued to sit in the shed till my dad signed the slip. The battery was replaced and the bike was turned on as soon as it rolled off the trailer. Immediately, we noticed gas leaking from the fuel line. The clamp was tightened and the leaking stopped. The oil and coolant were changed following that. Afterwords, the bike ran normally and my dad began taking it out for a whirl atleast once a month.
Fast forward to November of 2021. My dad took the bike out for a 20 mile night ride and came back with an atrocious sulfuric smell. When he hopped off I noticed smoke flowing out from under the seat and removed it to reveal a cracked battery. We replaced it again with a TPE DLF14-BS.
With the bike being run more often now than ever in its lifetime, more issues have arose. My dad once went out for a cruise and the bike got stuck in 1st. He had to pull over to bring it back into neutral. It was brought back home and it was not ridden the rest of the day.
The battery is also dying quickly. He had it sitting for a week before attempting to start it up and the battery read 0.0. Its charging in the bathroom right now.

Me and my dad don't know **** about bikes. We're both taking it as a learning experience and we're stupid eager to find out what the hell is wrong with this thing. Can anyone help?

INFO:
battery 1 unknown brand.
battery 2, bought from walmart- lasted for 13 months.
battery 3, TPE DLF14 BS- still being used.
we live in deep south Texas. there is nothing protecting the bike from the unpredictable weather despite a breathable waterproof cover. in the summer, the heat index often gets above 110°.

 

[NickyMum]

First thing you should do is to buy an Official Honda Motorcycle Service Manual for your year and model bike. There's a section with a guide on Troubleshooting problems. You can pick up a used Manual at half the cost of a new one at www.abebooks.com Using the Manual and this Forum you should be able to find solutions to most any problem you're having.

 

[Easy Rider]

First thing you should do is to buy an Official Honda Motorcycle Service Manual for your year and model bike.

While that's not a bad suggestion, necessarily, it won't help much without some basic test equipment......like a multi-meter to see what is happening to the battery and charging system.
It also won't help a person who doesn't know or understand the basics of gas engines.

Sorry I missed the original post somehow.
Are those batteries you have been buying a sealed AGM motorsports type.......or a cheap lawn mower type ?
What you really need is someone who DOES understand the basics of vehicle engines.
Or another trip to a qualified shop.

 

[-Nate]

So, you asked a question then split or what ? .

 

[hogcowboy]

So, you asked a question then split or what ? .

That's what it looks like. Joined 3 months ago and last signed-on 3 months ago. That pretty much says hit and run poster. He probably got the answer he was looking for on some other forum where he made the exact same post. It's the shotgun approach.

 

[Easy Rider]

So, you asked a question then split or what ? .

Apparently.
He hasn't been back in the last 3 months.
Happens all the time.
I don't understand it.

 

[-Nate]

Oh, well .

I like finding old Hondas and helping them come back to life .