check your connectors from the stator to the regulator and the regulator to the wiring harness, then also the connector from the harness to the starter solenoid where the main fuse is. seems like mine has trouble with contact on those three from getting too hot and melting in the past

 

Hate to res this thread with total noobness, but I need to check my bike because I am having a similar problem and I don't want to buy a new battery if I have to.
When I am checking the voltage do I literally just put the test points on the negative and positive of the battery itself?

 

Two checks you can do
1 Check the battery voltage with the engine off - should read around 12.3V +
and yes just put the test points on the battery leads.
2 Put the voltmeter wires on the + and - of the battery with the engine running at >3000 revs. Should read anything from 13.5 to 15.0 Volts.

If it doesn't either your battery is shot, or your regulator/rectifier is fried. In extreme cases, the stator/alternator may have cooked, if the fault has been allowed to run too long, but it's not that common.
(ask me how I know all this)
Hope this helps
(oh and there are no noob questions, the worst mistake is being too proud to ask) We all had to start somewhere..............

 

Ok, I have another question about this. What RPM should I be cruising at when I am riding? I have a daily driver and a race car, so when I am driving around town I am usually in 5th gear in the DD at under 2k rpms....I tend to just take it easy and cruise.
On the bike I am also usually geared pretty high and maybe that is the issue?
Do I need to be cruising above 4k rpms for the bike to keep the battery charged? I think I usually sit inbetween 3 and 4?
Where do you guys cruise at?

 

Alright, and here is one more problem. The bike is REALLY hard to start.
At first I thought the battery was just crap but I let it charge all night and it was reading a good 12.6, but when I click the starter it just clicked once and did the dying robot noise. Then I held the starter and it kept doing it. But the longer I held the starter down the more it wanted to start, until finally after about 20 seconds of constantly holding it down it started...
Checked volts. 10~11 at idle. ~13.7 at 3k rpms...
So what is the issue here?
Let the bike run for a few minutes, playing with the rpms, then shut her down.
Checked battery, 12.6 again. Perfect.
Went to start it up again, had to hold the starter down at least 15 seconds to get it to fire up....
Any ideas?

 

Sometimes when a battery goes bad, it will charge up to the right voltage but won't have the ampacity to start the bike. If your battery is old then replace it. Try jump starting it from a good car battery( with the car OFF! ). If the bike fires right up then the battery is probably toast on the bike. If not then your problem lies elsewhere.

 

Yep, fired right up when I jumped it from my car. Annoying. Oh well, I'll just buy a new battery at the start of next season I guess, since the temps are starting to dip.