Won't start hot, loses power, battery won't keep charge

[ilyena]

Hey guys! I have a 1978 GS550.

I just bought her a few months ago. I took her for a ride the other day, stopped for gas, and couldn't get her cranked back up. She was running pretty hot. The lights were on, she was trying to turn over, but the engine wouldn't start. I had AAA come by and recharge the battery, and she cranked up after a few tries.

On the ride home, I noticed she was losing power around 5000 rpms, when I slowed at a stop sign, she turned off, and wouldn't crank back up. I had the battery recharged and was able to drive her back home. Same thing happening. It seems like the battery just didn't have enough power to start her back up, but I'm not sure why she quit on me, or why the battery was losing charge.

Honestly, I don't know enough to be able to know what I should look for, and the shops around here won't work on older bikes. I just had the battery replaced, and I was told I should look into new points soon.

Would new points fix this problem? Is this just a hot start issue? Is there something else going on that I should look into?
Any help pointing me in the right direction would be fantastic.

[ilyena]

Should also mention, when I took her to the shop for new tires, they also replaced the spark plugs, and checked the compression (compression was fantastic).

[1_v8_merc]

You have a charging problem.

You have a bad Stator or a bad R/R.
(actually I think the first gens all have the Rectifier and Regulator as separate units)

You need to go to Basscliffs page, and run some quick electrical tests, you'll need a voltmeter.