Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I just got my bike and its a bit older. ('93 Seca II)
When I was looking at the bike, the previous owner said the battery was old and wouldn't hold a charge, so all I had to do was get a new battery and I would be golden.

So I took it home, got a new battery and was far from golden.
The bike still won't hold a charge, despite a brand new battery. The next thing that I think of is a problem with the charging mechanism. Aparently there are two parts that make up a motorcycle's "alternator:" a stator and a regulator. I am going to take it to the mechanic on friday and have him check it out. I want to use this as an opportunity to learn how to perform maintenance on my bike. How tuff would it be to replace the stator or regulator myself? Should I just let the mechanic do it?

Also I wanted to take it in for a general tune-up, but want to learn how to do this by myself. I have a feeling that the previous owner didn't do any maintenance in the year that he owned it. What do you guys do for "general maintenance?"

Thanks in advance for your help.

When I bought my vulcan it had a charging problem. It turned out to be a broken wire that went to the regulator. Acid from the bat had corroded the wire in two.

Gen. Maint.
I change oil at about 1500 miles and check water and oil levels.
My lifters are self adj.
Cam chain self adj also.
I have no chain to bother with.
I will start to check air pressure more regular.

Mr_Salad wrote:I want to use this as an opportunity to learn how to perform maintenance on my bike. How tuff would it be to replace the stator or regulator myself? Should I just let the mechanic do it?

Depends how mechanically inclined you are. The best bet if you plan to do it is to buy a factory service manual, a clymer or a haynes (in that order of preference). Replacing hte regulator is easy, you unplug the old one and plug in the new one. The stator is more of a piece of work and requires going into the engine. It's doable but I'd put it at a 7 out of 10 on a difficulty scale for someone who has never touched a motor before.

Of course if it's your stator and you want to save money PM me and I can walk you though it (I live just south of D.C.)

Hey Thanks for the offer. Yea, I plan on getting a repair manual for all of the work that I do. As far as my mechanical inclination, I am an engineering student with no real mechanical experience. I have rebuilt and rewired my electric guitar though. Not quite on the same scale as a motorcycle.

I plan on taking the bike in to determine the problem. Based on the report, I am going to decide what I want to do myself and what I want the mechanic to do. Should be quite a learning experience.