ok, I have a relatively new battery that always has to be charged before I ride. To me, something must be draining it down. Are there common problem areas I should look for before I have to tear into it? Thanks

 

How new is the battery, and what kind of battery is it? Any chance its a bad battery? If its a good battery then you should put a voltage tester between the battery leads and see if there is any draw. If there is you need to track it down. Check the key, lights, brakelight, ect. Good luck.

 

"Battery drain" is a common subject here in the Bomb forum, just do a search and see how many responses you come up with. That being said, I can't remember any that actually turned out to be a drain from the electrical system. Thats my recollection of course and may not be absolute but my point is that every case that I know of, the problem turns out to be the battery or charging system failure.
There are many ways to diagnose a "discharge" issue but the easiest way to do it without a meter or other electrical diagnostic tool is just by disconnecting the battery next time you park it and monitor the discharge rate over the same period of time with nothing connected to it. If the battery stays charged over the same period of time and under the same ambient conditions, you will need to start probing with a multi-meter. Many of us have detailed the test sequence for charging and electrical drain problems before. If you do a search on "charging syatem" you should come up with loads of good info.