Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: two motorcycle problems, sudden jolts, kawasaki 440

Question
Bike make: 1980 Kawasaki 440
problem 1.
i just put a brand new battery in my cycle less then 2 months ago and started having problems starting it (and weak headlights) the battery wasn't dead but it will oddly not hold a charge over 10.6 volts what could cause my battery to die so  quickly? *water lvls in the battery are just fine* and what steps can i take to prevent it from happing agine?
problem 2.
when i ride my cycle i experance sudden jolts and losses of power when i roll on the throttle *I'm suddenly gaining and losing power makes the bike quiet jerky*problem persists even after the cycle has had time to warm up**, the bike has new points and condenser *less then 2 months old* and new spark plugs *less then 6 months old* what could cause this?

Answer
It is hard to say, but the problems are probably related. Even one loose or grounding wire somewhere can cause all sorts of wierd electrical problems. My guess is the problem is with the charging system. Have the battery tested to make sure it isn't bad, then carefully go through the entire wiring system checking for loose connections or bare wires. It could be as simple as a bad battery connection at the terminal.

Pat