OK first off, I just bought a new battery for my bike, because thats what i believed i needed. I was riding today and while im actually moving or if i rev my bike it seems fine but when got to my house and let itsit there for a few seconds, it died and all my dash lights were super dim. if i try to "crack" the throttle it sputters a little and then revs. So im thinking its the alternator based on my experience with cars. Would i be right to assume this, or does anyone else have any other suggestions? If it is the alternator can anyone tell me where on the bike it is and how hard it is to change?

Im curious about the petcock for the gas tank. i ran out of gas the other day and tried to use the reserve but there wasnt any gas in it either. Someone i work with said you have to fill the reserver by opening it when you get gas. Is that true? And which way on the petcock is reserve and which way is the regular on position? my bike doesnt have the dummy sticker. Im pretty sure the arrow part should be up...

 

Ok so in follow up, is there even such thing as an alternator on our bikes or is it the regulator thing that charges? im just really confused and i wanna get back to riding.

 

<scratches his head>
do your lights come on? and do they dim when you try to start up the bike?

 

my lights come on now, because the bike sat for awhile and the battery had a chance to charge up again. but i havent started it cuz i figured it would just hurt the battery.

 

could just be a bad battery.. were u trying to start it up over and over? that will drain our small batterys really fast, shouldnt be the regulator if it charges if it sits awhile.. thats my thought however. i'd clean your connections and make sure your fuses are sitting right

 

Yes bikes do have an alternator which is also called a stator. The also have a Regulator/rectifier which regulates the voltage. My guess is that one of the diodes in the regulator took a crap so it is only charging at half of what it should. When the bike is sitting there idleing it is not putting out enough voltage to keep the bike running and thats why it will run like crap. But at higher rpms the bike should run great. Get a voltage meter and check the voltage when the bike is off and when it is running and let me know what you find. It is either the regulator or the stator but chances are its a regulator.