Motorcycle Repair: bikes engine dies, charging system, voltmeter

Question
QUESTION: Hi! i have my kawasaki gpx400 1987. It was stock for almost 3 months. I cleaned the carb, changed the oil and spark plugs. I was able to use it but after 20mins of driving it turned off gradually.  I waited for 2 hrs and the engine start again, but when i turned it off it wont start anymore.  I cleaned again the carb, i have notice that when i pulled out the spark plugs it was wet.  but when i check it, it was still working coz it still spark. what most probably be the problem?

Thank you in advance!!!

Andrew

ANSWER: I would start by putting a voltmeter on the battery to check its condition. You may have a marginal battery or a problem with the charging system. Your battery should hold 12.5v for a few days when fully charged.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: do you mean that the problem would be under power? my voltage regulator or rectifier is malfunctioning and was already fix but i noticed that there is one wire from the connection of the rectifier that seemed to be shorted. what shall i do then?

Thank you very much!

Answer
Yes, you need to measure the voltage while the bike is running. It could be that there is not enough juice to run the ignition properly which is why you are getting wet plugs and why it dies. A battery's measured voltage will drop when current is drawn from it so measuring the voltage while the bike is off is not a good indicator.