83 Nighthawk 550 not charging at all

[bartmuley]

I just bout my first bike, an 83 Nighthawk 550.  If you drive the bike for more than 10-15 minutes or so it drains the battery to the point that it won't restart.  I'm totally new to motorcycles but I've been reading and it sounds like these bikes have a lot of electrical issues.

I've ordered a manual to help troubleshoot but it will take a few days to get here.  Any ideas?  Could it be the stator?  How do I check?  I took the cover off and it's rotating.

  If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

[Laminar]

Check here: http://nighthawk-forums.com/index.php/topic,10751.0.html

[Laminar]

Battery, stator, and rectifier/regulator. If your battery is new and holds above 12.6 volts a couple hours after being taken off of a charger, it's probably good (no guarantee).

The stators and rectifier/regulator units on these bikes go out a lot. One theory is that one part goes out and fries the other (not sure which way it works). Either way, I'd start out with a new rectifier/regulator unit from a place like this.

If that doesn't work, go for a new stator. I had good luck with a used unit from eBay, but there's always a risk that you'll get a bad part.

Search for posts by dragonfly, she had the same situation very recently.