battery dead?

[03svrider]

ok, stop me if you heard this one. no, don't. you have. i put an electrosport r/r in my 81 gs450l because it kept blowing fuses. it doesn't blow fuses anymore and the other day i took it on a 200 mile ride. the night before i hooked up the trickle charger just in case. the whole trip was fine with no problems. in the two days following the trip i rode the bike to and from work, for a total of 60 miles. on the way home the second day it started to kind of die coming off lights so i thought it was fuel and turned the petcock to res. when i stopped and turned the bike off and i tried to start it again the battery wasn't strong enough to crank the engine so i bump started it and rode home with the lights off because i thought since the battery was so weak if i kept the lights on it wouldn't run when coming off idle when there was not a great deal of voltage charging from being at low rpms. well it ran fine on the way home and i turned the light switch on and off at high rpms while cruising, the bike didn't seem weak like it did when starting from idle before. was i correct in thinking since the battery was so weak that was why it was almost stalling when starting out from idle and it ran fine at high rpms because the battery was receiving a charge? when i got home the voltage with the lights on at idle was 10.11 and without the lights at idle 11.30. while reading voltage i kept it at 5000 rpms and the volts gradually and steadily increased (like the seconds on a stop watch but a little slower) to 11.59 and further if i hadn't let off the throttle. it seems to me the battery is getting charged but not holding it, so it is no good. does that sound right? i did go through the stator papers but assumed it was charging since the voltage was increasing steadily at 5000 rpms. i was told here that the old r/r could've been pushing out too much juice and blowing the fuses. since it no longer blows fuses with the new r/r i figured that problem was solved. i have been watching the battery's voltage like a hawk since getting the new r/r and on a daily basis commuting and not giving the battery the ol trickle it loses .02 to .05 volts a night. IS the battery no longer able to hold the charge properly? i figure when starting the bike it saps some juice from the battery and is replaced when charging while cruising at 5000 rpms. thanks for reading this mess of words. i hope i've made enough sense for your valued opinion.

[Grandpa]

I'm sorry, but I stopped reading after a couple of lines. My eyes were hurting. Can't (and won't) get used to this new style of "writing".

[twistedwankel]

Your stator is junk.

[bonanzadave]

My eyes were hurting.

Mine too. Did you say you have a good battery ? Good or not its not gonna charge unless your pushing at least 14vdc. Inspect and clean all connectors then go through the Stator Papers. Good luck.

[03svrider]

sorry about the length of the thread. how would i know if the battery is no good? as i said the bike is charging it at 5000 rpms. maybe just not fast enough or strong enough? where would i attempt to get a reading to see how much the stator should be putting out?

[nabrams]

1. 11.59 DC voltage at battery terminals at 5000 RPM? - Should be 14 to 15.
2. What is the AC voltage coming out of the three combinations of stator wires? If you don't understand this question then you've got to read the stator papers very thoroughly.

[03svrider]

thanks. i'll look at the voltage on those wires when running at 5000 rpms.

[03svrider]

thanks. i'll look at the voltage on those wires when running at 5000 rpms.

what should the stator be putting out and where can i get a reading?

[nabrams]

You've got to set the multimeter to AC and you should be getting above 50 volts AC between any two wires coming out of the stator (there are three wires). You really need to read the stator papers carefully - it will be clear then.

[03svrider]

thanks again. if it's the stator's not charging enough i'll just keep topping off the battery until the winter to replace the stator. i plan on doing a clutch and wheel bearings then so i might as well save it all for one shot. even though i'll get an allen head bolt kit for reassembly i don't want to mess with phillips head case screws twice.