anyone have hard starting issues?

07 Swing with over 20,000 miles.

I was having trouble getting it started if it sat for a bit (couple of weeks).  It would SLOWLY turn over and sometimes start.   Hit it with the trickle charger and it was better but not like a couple of years ago.

The battery was 5 years old so I picked up another (230 CCA.  not Yuasa though!) from my local battery shop.   And I'll be damned if it is still acting the same.    Kind of lethargic turning over.   I can hit it with the trickle charger and it will start okay but it's not like it was a couple of years ago.

Anyone have similar issues?

For one, the "new" battery could be bad.   It does happen.

Any other concerns about the starter motor itself?

Hi,

Fully charge the battery and then put a meter over it.

Look for the volt drop on the meter when you thumb the starter, but sounds like it could be duff.

A fully charged battery should read 12.5 - 13V and rise to ~14+V when running on fast idle. If you’re not starting off with 12.5 - 13V (key OFF) there won’t be enough of a charge to crank the Starter and power the ECM. So do hook up a volt meter to the battery terminals for a proper test.

You might want to take the battery back to the retailer or an Autozone, etc to have them do a load test. 

One way or another, as JaimeB said, you’ve got to start out with a fully charged battery.

On most motorcycles a good battery voltage under cranking load is 11+Volts, a weak/old/neglected battery may start bike at 10-10.5 under load, but ??.,  The engine may turn over good, to weak for FI, ECM or ignition required voltage. BTW a new battery is just that, new, not necessarily good !!, nowdays with enviromental concerns batteries come preloaded with electrolyte and sit on shelf for ..., I had new batteries flatline after a 2 hour ride   safe keep your warranty docs.

OK. Here's my 2 cents on this subject.
I bought my 08 SWing March of 2014 from my sister in FL and trailered it home to Princeton, MN. The battery that was in it was totally dead so I bought a cheapie off Ebay. I figured if it lasted one season that's OK. And it did only last one season. So, I purchased a Battery Tender Lithium Ion battery from Amazon and installed it. It's been in the SWing ever since with no problems. During the winter I put it on the charger about every other month just to keep it charged. This is the Lithium Ion and the battery I replaced. This year I bought another Lithium battery just in case I start having trouble with the original one. So far So good but it's ready to go. The Lithium battery only weighs 1.75 LBS too and comes with dense foam self stick pads to take up the extra space in the battery compartment. It is smaller than the original.
One other thing. I talked to Deltran about their Battery Tender Jr. charger. They have one specifically for Lithium Ion batteries but the person I talked to said the Jr. charger will work just fine and it has. Plug it in, hook it up and it charges and turns off once the battery is charged. I've had the charger as long as I've had the battery.

The debate between lead acid and lithium 12 volt batteries has been around for a while, yes lithium has definite advantages, but also some disadvantages, the most significant is cost, even though lithium has come down significantly, they are still aprox 50% more than a lead acid and cost is why most vehicles use lead acid, if it works why fix it ?
Side note, I use lithium batteries extensively in my RC models extensively and they are great.
I think the OP should try jump starting the scooter with " NOT RUNNING CAR" battery, if it works get a new battery or if not ??,  IOW needs to find out what the problem is 1st.

Did you charge the new battery before putting it on the bike? They should be fully charged before first use.

Best ride every day===get replacement battery OEM from Honda Dealer or try Batteries Plus. 3 years is what life I expect from battery---remembering SilverWing has no kick starter or push start ability.

Thanks for all the input gang! I took the new battery back up to my shop and said this thing is worse than the 5 year old battery it replaced. The guy put his meter on it and it was down to 10volts (it discharges quickly apparently. lol).
Then says "I bought this shop about a year and a half ago, and the sticker on that battery was from the old owner" meaning that battery they sold me had been sitting around for 2 years or more before I even got it. LOL.
He gave me a new one and all is well with my Swing.
Thanks again for all of the input.