(http://i55.tinypic.com/25gz6mb.jpg)
Apparently once/yr isn't enough... I think I know why it's been hard to start lately.
honestly? only when i have trouble starting the bike....
Never, because after my last battery decided to vent acid all over my frame I went with a maintenance-free sealed battery. HIGHLY recommended change, unless you're looking for a reason to tear your bike down to the frame.
Here's one you could use (http://www.impactbattery.com/brands/motobatt/motobatt-mb16au-sealed-yuasa-yb16al-a2-upgrade.html). It's about twice the cost of a normal battery, but you don't get acid all over if something screws up. I went with a different brand that was far more expensive just because a local store had it in stock and didn't want to push my rebuild back a couple more weeks, but I've seen about 5 different types that'll work as replacements for you.
Yeah, I know everybody's going with sealed's these days. The little tube that vents has always seemed to work well (I'm just always careful it stays connected), and my bat was only like $40, 4 years ago.
When it works well, it's easy. When it doesn't work well, then you're looking at a huge project to fix all of the damage. Worth the extra $60 in my opinion, though I'm glad it gave me the incentive to tear her down to the frame. Black looks much better than that gold color did.
I think it may be time to get a new battery. Filled the old one up, threw it on a charger for a bit (took it up to 13v), and popped it back in. Bike didn't even crank, started on the first pump. Now I'm thinking my fuel pump rebuild/check petcock/etc. starting issues of last winter was the battery. However, IT MAKES NO FREAKIN SENSE TO ME HOW THE STARTER CAN SPIN & SPIN FAST BUT BIKE NOT HAVE ENOUGH JUICE FOR THE SPARKPLUGS!!!! GAAAH!!! [bang]