Motorcycle Repair: Yamaha Charging system, scycle, salvage yard

Question
I have an 1986 yamaha virago 700 it has a chaging problem i checked the voltage regulator as the repair manual said to do so it checked bad so put a new one on and still have the same problem. i checked the stator and it also checked good as far as i can tell could it be a bad rotor? or something else any advice would be appreciated thanks, Aaron

Answer
Try this to start with. Use a volt meter and check battery charge with bike off. Start the bike and check charging voltage at idle. Now rev the engine and hold rpm at 3-4000 rpm you should get about 13.7 to 13.9 volts. if not you may have a simple problem. Check the battery with a load tester to see if you have a bad cell and need too replace it.If it shows good and you have replaced the voltage regulator,worst case is you may need a stator. Each leg from the stator puts out about 15-30 volts so all three are converted to 12 useable volts to charge the system.If one leg is weak it may drain any power its trying to make. The other part of the charging system is the flywheel and the magnets which can get weak but this is very rare. Some times the stator will ohm out ok by the book and still be bad,the problem with electrical parts are'nt returnable after purchase.Check with a salvage yard first to save money on this part. Maybe Steve'sCycle Salvage in Tifton Ga. 1-800-622-9253.They have about 7 acres of new and used parts.