Battery issues

I have an 05 Sportster 1200c with a potentially major problem: The batery doesnt like to stay charged. For the past few months the battery would drain quickly. The last time I rode to work, I had to pop the clutch to start it because the battery drained in the few hours I was at work and wouldn't take a jump. When I got home I took out the battery to charge it and the negative terminal was melted. It's possible it was just the battery, but I'm hessitant to just go out and get a new battery if there is a possibility that there might be a larger problem.

yup what they said, bad connection(loose, dirty, corroded) = high resistance = high heat = melted terminal on ground side and yes check out your system for potintial problems also

usually if it was a short to ground on the pos. cable the the+ terminal will fry, after that any thing else that draws current and shorts outwill let the smoke out of the weakest area, if a wire is loose between the last draw point and the + terminal you might not charge which with your bike should indicate on the indicator probably a light and have intermitant problems, a direct short from the alt. will usually fry the alt. and or wire from it a voltage reg will usually effect the posotive side of the system low charge, high charge, and a bad ground = no charge also.

Ditto on what everyone else said. I would start with bad or corroded connections. The ignition switch on my 02' Heritage fried this past summer. One of the lugs was melted right off the switch. Spent 3 days with a volt meter tracing down all the wires on the bike. Turns out the wire going from the ignition switch to the fuse block, and then on to the starter was corroded inside the insulation for about a half inch back from where it plugged into the switch.

The corrosion inside the insulation created enough resistance to melt the lug and switch housing. Bought a new switch, cut about an inch of wire off, put a new connector on and problem solved.