Motorcycle Repair: 1992 Yamaha XJ600 SECAII electrical question, yamaha xj600, battery connections

Question
Hi Chris,
Bike has all of 14K miles on it. The battery is new last year and seems to hold a recharge or trickle charge just fine. It seems as though the bike doesn't recharge the battery as it should.  I take a lot of short trips (less than 25 miles) on it and have to recharge the battery a lot.  I put a voltmeter on it and as near as I can tell it's doing what the manual says it should be doing voltage wise.  I know it's a turkey shoot but any ideas would be helpful.  thanks

Answer
Hi Jerry.
 Double-check the battery connections and test the output of the stator.  When the bike is sitting at idle, you should be getting between 12.5 - 14 VDC across the battery terminals.  If you are getting anything less then the stator is shot or failing.

 If you are getting correct voltage, then check the battery with a hygrometer.

 If even one cell is bad, then the battery will not hold a proper charge and needs to be replaced before it damages other components in the charging system.

Let me know what you find.
Good luck.
FALCON