I go through a battery charge after a 2 hour ride. 74 KZ400

I trickle charge every night. The battery is an older one so that might be a start of the problem, but I am wondering why, after a couple hours, the bike will sputter and lose power above 3500 RPM and my headlight won't work. I will put it on the charger and bam, everything works. Is there some kind of generator or alternator I should try to look and for answers? What kind of battery do you guys use? Mine is a cheap one with liquid cells. Do you guys use gel cell or some other kind of battery?

*SIDE NOTE* bike is hacked up as a bobber so wiring is all a little screwy but it all works the way it should.

You'll need a multimeter to check stuff. It could be that the battery won't charge fully or doesn't hold a charge, or a problem w the charging system. There should be charging system checks outlined in the manual.

Ctek US 0.8 smart charger & a VC97 digital multimeter.
My next battery is probably going to be one of these.
batterystuff.com --- YT12C Scorpion 12v 180 CCA Sealed AGM Motorcycle Battery

Go to www.electrosport.com and find their troubleshooting page, It will show you what to look for when testing for charging problems.

Alright. I'll have to find a manual on the web somewhere. I barely made it home today. Ended up having a top speed of 35 in 5th gear. Couldn't go above 2200 RPM.

Nolando wrote: I trickle charge every night. The battery is an older one so that might be a start of the problem, but I am wondering why, after a couple hours, the bike will sputter and lose power above 3500 RPM and my headlight won't work. I will put it on the charger and bam, everything works. Is there some kind of generator or alternator I should try to look and for answers?.

Yeah......... your alternator/regulator is not putting out any juice.

Nolando wrote: Alright. I'll have to find a manual on the web somewhere.

I thought they had them here?

KZ400.com --- manual

Since you say it's an old battery ,You can also take the battery to an Autozone & they will check it for free
Have you checked the fluid levels in the battery ??
Pete

Fluid levels are good. I work at a tire and battery center so I tested it and came up bad (54 CCA). I bought a new battery at Napa and am letting the acid sit before a charge.

Am I supposed to be looking at the dynamo field coil? I know nothing of stator ignition systems.

The manual will describe a test where you bypass the regulator. This will test teh field coil and stator simultaneously. If that test passes, then you likely need a rectifier or regulator.

Oregonmotorcycleparts.com can help you with those.

Put a new battery in it just so I can get to work. Still trying to find the test for the rest of it. All my parts are in different spots than stock.