My SF also doesn't start like a Jap bike, although it always starts within a few seconds. More confusing is the following. Battery full charged, I go for a spirited ride with the tach rarely below 5 grand, bring it back home and hook up the battery tender and the green light will flash for 6 hours, which means it is charging. I can't understand why it would need to be charged.
So, I take it to the dealer and he calls up Battery Tender and the dude says that's normal. When the green flashes that means the battery is at least 80% charged and the charging rate automatically reduces as the battery gets closer to 100% charged. Well, that makes sense, except when I do the same with my ZRX, the light only flashes for 20 minutes.