If you need help trouble shooting your charging issue let me know i have had problems with mine but have fixed them plus i am a bike electrical specialist

 

I dont know what i nthe heck is going on but i keep my bike on a tender...Yesterday, I went for a 20 minute ride. Got there and the bike was off for 30 minutes and the battery was dead. I push started it and rode it home, tried to start it and it was dead again. My r/r and battery are about 2 years old. It is not charging at all. Funny thing is, my wifes bike was doing the exact same thing at the exact same time (we were riding together). The only recent changes made to anytihng was that I installed these LED license plate lights that I bought from Ebay. About a month ago, the wife and I took our bikes out for a long long ride around the island, and there were no issues(this was after the led light install) I am confused. Is it possible that those LEDs are drawing too much? I am no electrician, but I have been twisting wires since i was a teen, and I pretty much know what it is to know about it, for the most part. Please help.

 

Led's draw so little, I seriously doubt that is your problem.

I would start testing things out. Start with testing the stator. If that checks out ok, test the battery, if that test out ok, your rectifier is probably bad.

but from your description, that once you push started the bike, it ran.. I would lean more towards your battery being bad. Have it load tested to see. On the other hand, if your rectifier is going bad, it will not convert the AC to DC power and ruin your battery. So, even if your battery is to blame, you may still have a rectifier problem. check everything out.

 

I would agree, CBR's in general have problems keeping regulators working, they overheat to easily you can always go with an aftermarket one for about $100 or so they usually have a safety switch inside to keep the diodes from burning but at the same time your battery is not charging i just put in a new battery in mine and got stuck in some traffic for about 45 minutes then it just died let it cool a bit and push it and it starts right up (sometimes with a push) because if the battery is dead or you regulator is fried no electricity can get from the alternator to anything even your ignition if you push it and it wont start your reg is bad it's not letting any voltage get to the battery but it can still be jumped you just have to keep the rpm's high or it will die (which it will once the battery has no more too) what i did is i cut some holes in my plastics (aftermarket streetfighter set) relocated my regulator put a cpu fan with a high CFM rate either on the regulator or on a hole blowing out to pull in non turbulant cool air also using a aluminum base plate with some thermal grease helps and using a larger ground cable i just went to the hardware store got some 6 gauge wire with 2 eyelets one end to the battery negative and the other to one of the bolts holding your regulator

sorry for writing a book about it there is just a lot to say when trying to fix and or diagnose electrical stuff

 

also if you need a complete service manual for a sc24 cbr 1000f from 89 to 96/97 shoot me an email i have one it has a great step by step troubleshooting for your charging system

 

I have the manual for the 954. Being that I was able to push start the bike, does that rule out the Reg/Rec being the issue? I just replaced it less than 1000 miles ago. Could it be the battery, even though its only 2 years old? I dont know if this matters or not, but when i rev the engine, I see the headlights brighten.

 

i would test your regulator mine did the same when only one diode burns out it can still produce some voltage at higher rpm but not enough to charge the system if you have a multimeter (for testing ohms, volts and stuff) your manual will show you how to test it if not i can tell you which ones to test really easy and i would put your battery on a tender overnight then take it to an autozone (if you are in the US) they will test it for free and they can charge them there too with a smart charger that can charge it in like an hour or so they probably have a meter to test your regulator if you dont have one you can get a really nice one for about $35 at sears from craftsman that will do some cool stuff i work for a harley dealer in Germany (so we work on others too) and i bought my meter when i was in school in phoenix (prior us military) and that sucker has lasted for a good long while


and do you think i could get a copy of that manual (if its digital) i like to collect different ones, you never know when you need it lol i can also send you a copy of mine if you like

 

I dont think push starting the bike rules out anything. Your rectifier could be working just enough to help keep the bike running, but not enough to recharge the battery while your riding. The same holds true for the stator, it too could be working just enough to help keep the bike running.

I would take the battery and have it load tested for sure. Places like autozone have the capability, and will do it for free. It will let you know if your battery cannot take a charge anymore. You may have the voltage, but just not the amps. Its about the easiest thing to check.

Its not uncommon for motorcycle batteries to crap out after only 2 years. They usually last between 3-4 years, ( Im on 5 years right now, (knocks on wood) but can fail sooner. They don't have the life of a car battery. They are small, and have a huge load on them all the time, plus they sit for days to months without being used, which is terrible for batteries, especially if you don't keep the charge up while they sit. However, if after load testing, they find shorteded or dry cells, it could mean the rectifier is not doing its job and ruined the battery.

 

also if you do get a new battery which you have to fill the acid your self keep this in mind you have to fill it just like the instructions say but its not ready to use right after like many stores say you have to charge it to full before using it because once you put a large load on the battery (starter motor) it will have a memory imprinted in the plates and will never charge over that amount if you have a tender let it sit on the charger till it stops on its own a 100% charge is at least 12.7 or higher (with the key and lights on) any lower and you just shafted yourself a full charge for good with that battery so pay close attention to the style of battery you get

 

also regulator and rectifier are the same (regulator regulates voltage output of the alternator, rectifier converts ac voltage to dc voltage) so you don't get them confused