Brand new battery not charging

[hyergin]

I have a '67 super hawk. I recently put a brand new battery in it. However, the battery seems to be loosing juice. I can get it kick started, but my electric starter doesn't work unless I put the battery on a charger for a few hours. Why is my battery not charging? Does it not charge when it idols? What could be wrong that would not allow it to charge while I am running it, because it seems not to be?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

On an unrelated not....how often should the oil in this bike be changed?

Thank you.

[brewsky]

From your other posts, I would suspect a short somewhere in the harness or somewhere bleeding the juice off.

Also as previously suggested, could be the stator, rectifier, or a loose or corroded connection.

I would replace the rectifier anyway, as they are subject to fail anyway due to their age.

With the ignition and light switches off, disconnect the + battery terminal and check between the terminal and the wire and see if there is any voltage or current. If there is you definitely have a problem in the harness or connections.

If not, you still may have a problem with a component when the switch is turned on.

Check the voltage across the battery while the engine is running, and watch it as you rev the engine.
It should read around 13V or more as it is reved up.

Full power of the alternator is not engaged till the light switch is on.

Download a wiring diagram and trace it down piece by piece.

Oil change interval is 1,000 miles.