Tear them down and build them up

[thecamelman79]

NICE Paint Man!
gotta ask though what are those crash bars off of? I like the shape.

[the108penguins]

Thanks. The crash bars came with the bike, I'm not sure where the PO got them.

[cywelchjr]

First make sure the battery is FULLY charged, that means most likely overnight on a slow charger.

Then, with VOM in hand on DC, check the voltage with everything off. It should be at LEAST 12.5v, then start the bike, and check the voltage, make note of it, then rev the engine up to 3000 RPM and check the voltage, make sure to hold it there for a minute or two.

If the voltage doesn't come up to 14.5 to 14.8 volts at 3000 then the charging system is not working. The process to troubleshoot it is in the shop manual available from cbug's site.

Recheck all the connections having any connection to those white wires or the regulator and make sure their good and clean too, as that can cause trouble for you. The most common failure is the reg, but go through the troubleshooting process to make sure. And it's not unusual at 30 years of age that the stator coils resistance is just a little high (just a little though, like just outside the book tolerance), the field coil should come pretty close to spec if it's good though.

[the108penguins]

ok I've put a full charge on the battery and tested it and it's holding fine at 12.6v With the bike on, the charging system is putting out 14.8v at 2000 RPM. The thing is whether it's putting out any current.

[natemoen]

In the manual there is a diagram that shows how to hook an ammeter into the system to check.

[cywelchjr]

However, basic electronics says that if your getting the voltage with the bike running and the headlight on it IS putting out the current. Current flow is a matter of resistance and voltage, and with a specific resistance and voltage you WILL get a certain amount of current flow.

[the108penguins]

so I checked the reg/rect according to the manual procedures. In one direction between the terminals I got about 2000 ohms, and the other direction gets nothing on all of the connections that they said to test. The voltage is around 14.5-14.8 when the bike is running so I know it's putting out the right voltage.

What I'm starting to think is that I didn't connect something when I was putting it back together or I crossed some connectors somewhere. Even if the battery wasn't holding a charge the charging system should keep the bike running right?

[the108penguins]

I'm still having electrical problems but here is what the almost finished bike looks like. though it is still missing the muffler (it's on now) and pods.

[crazy steve]

Y'know, I wasn't so sure about that red frame, but assembled it looks pretty sharp. The only 'fault' I'll find is to tie it all together I would have painted the front fender to match also, but that's me.

Looking good!

[paulapalooza]

Wow, I think it looks great. I have been looking forward to seeing it all together. I actually like the look of the front fender being chrome still, and in my opinion if the chrome is in good shape then keep it!

Good work!

[daveyg]

That looks awesome! Great job!