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long story short.
bike wouldn't start. Got a boost from AMA and ran no problem.
Had battery tested and then decided to replace.
Have new battery installed and she fires right up.

Question is. Can I get away with riding for a couple of days if the charging system is faulty or am I just asking for it.

I haven't had any problems with this bike since I got her about 3 months ago. It's gonna be a couple of days before I can get a meter to test the system and my truck is in the shop leaving me with only my bike for transportation.

It's only about a 10 minute ride to work so I could walk if I have to but I'm fat and lazy and love riding to much to let it go.

P.S.
My baby is an 83 CB 550 Nighthawk

TX
Waylander

Put a voltmeter on the battery.

Everything off, the battery should be 12.6-12.7 volts or so. A little higher or lower is o.k.

Start the bike. Rev up to about 3000 RPM. Voltage should climb and then go to about 14.0-14.5 volts or so. Again, a little over or under is O.K.

If the voltage doesn't climb above 13 volts or goes over 15 Volt, you definitely have charging issues.

ok,

Borrowed a meter from one of the guys from work.
Tested the system as you described but only pulled 13.5 volts from the system. This seems to stay stable at 200, 3000 and 4000 RPM.

I have read from a couple of sites that I should be pulling between 14 and 14.5 volts from the charging system.

Is this something I should be worried about or is it ok as it stands?

tx
Waylander

The fact that it stays the same voltage at any RPM suggests there is something wrong with the charging system I would think.

13.5 is not enough, in my opinion, to keep the battery as healthy as it should be.

Fireguzzi is right. You should at least get to 14 Volts.

I believe your bike has brushed for the field coil. Checking them with also be good to do. Bad or weak brushes don't let the field coil get strong enough.

Even if it turns out ot be the regulator, new brushes and springs won't be wasted.

If you have a permanent magnet type alternator, then therre won't be brushes.

I looked at a schematic and it looks like you should be the brush type.

Thanks for the help guys.

I guess the next step is to determine if it's the regulator or the stator that's the problem (at least according to the Manuel I have)

I guess I will have to spend a few hours troubleshooting to find the fault.

Tx again
Waylander