I have a 1996 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic that is not charging the battery.?

1996 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic, I left the ignition on and drained my battery, i charged the battery but now it does not hold a charge. I replaced the battery and the new battery does not hold a charge.How would I check the Motorcycle charging system?

If you can start the bike? With it running take the ground or negative cable off the battery. If it still runs it's the battery ; if not it's the charging system

Multi meter.Test at the battery with the engine running. Charge should show something around 14 volts.Walmart or Auto Zone will do it for you.Check the condition of your battery cables. The negative sometimes corrodes where it bolts to the engine. If its dirty or corroded, there, the battery won't charge.

My 2001 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic did exactly the same the same thing!! After going through 2 batteries&doing all the testing, charging etc, etc, I found it was a faulty rectifier&regulator (parts were around $100--beats going thru batteries and/or having to push-start the thing to go anywhere)

First make sure your new battery is fully charged. Most new batteries need to be charged before use. The exception would be gel cell batteries. Always charge the battery out of the bike, or with the cables off. Use a trickle charger. Verify the battery is charged and good using a load tester. (Any battery store or service station should be able to do this for you.) I have seen many new batteries that are no good. Also clean your cables and make sure all the ground wires are connected.Once you have verified that you have a good battery, put a volt meter on the battery and run the bike. Voltage should range from battery voltage (12 or 12.5) at an idle to 14.5 at 4,000 rpm. If the voltage drops when you run the bike, you know that there is no charging output.If you have a weak charging system, you can check the actual amperage rate if you rig up a special cable to your tester so you can run it inline while running your bike. You would need an auto type amperage gauge and some cable. If your voltage test shows only battery voltage, then you can probably skip this.The next test is the alternator output. You test this with your tester in AC mode using the three yellow wires coming out of the alternator/stator going to the regulator/rectifier. I don't have the manual for your bike, but I think it is a minimum of 50 volts AC while running at 4000 rpm. With the ignition off you can also test from wire to wire for a broken or shorted circuit.If your alternator voltage is correct and your battery is good, then by elimination you have a bad regulator/rectifier. Good luck in your fight against the prince of darkness!