Electrical/ charging question

Robert TN Had a very nice 50 mile ride yesterday on my 73 850 Commando. When I left the Battery cold 12.89v, and upon return 12.49v. Just running headlight. Had a small brake light issue,constantly on, just needs adjustment on the switch. Ride was great , no issues. I did disconnect a lead from the rear foot brake switch, half way through ride. (didn't want brake light constantly on, front brake would activate brake light) As I said before, 12.49v on return, fully expected high 12's , 13ish Battery is a new mighty Max, 2 months old. Older Boyer/podtronic set up. When idling at 1200, give or take, with multimeter, about 12.22v and when bringing throttle to about 3 or 4 K it might hit 13k or slightly more, never to 14 or more, then back to 12.22 at idle.
What should a good running Norton (electrical) be showing voltage at idle and what should it be showing at 3 or 4 K?? I may go out later and measure stator and regulator. I have 2 other 70's Kaw triples that at cold, show 12.89v, etc. Once starting at idle, 13k or more and upon adding throttle hitting regulator limit of 14.5 or so. Perfect! Thanks very much for any advice. Robert

Check your battery holds a charge, start with the easy stuff first.

worked on the bike all afternoon today. Adjusted the rear brake light switch, all good now. Been putting off till winter, changing out the battery compartment hold down straps, etc. Decided to do it today. Velcro on bottom of battery and battery compartment. next, single strap (2" wide) over top of battery, and underneath, threaded through a buckle of sorts and cinched down with Velcro. (kinda like tightening a belt with a buckle around battery, and cinching it tight,seems to have worked just fine) Charging the battery as we speak Good CTEK charger. Now all maintenance done, will see what battery looks like tomorrow. Just looking for someone to tell me what a Norton (with good battery) at idle shows on a multimeter, and what one should expect to show at 3 or 4K rpms, considering stator and regulator are good?

My commando at 1000 RPM idle with the OEM charging system and headlight OFF showed 12.4-12.5 or thereabouts, 12.8v at 1300RPM, and rising appropriately with RPM. With a Podtronics "upgrade(!)" the voltages DROPPED by .2V through the entire rev range.

Addressing the output of the alternator and the health of the battery are quite useful but do not address the electrical draw of the DC electrical components (headlight, tail light, turn signals and ignition). I do not find it unusual for these current draws to exceed the charging capacity of an OEM alternator. Many folks upgrade the stator for this reason.

Mexico mike, Tks for the response. mine is a slight upgrade 3 phase unit. I guess the Kawasaki's I own have a much better electrical system? (more advanced) The Norton seems to be very basic? My Mighty Max battery purchase was based on reading a text from Greg Marsh, who used them also. Mine is just 2 month s old, and took many,many, many hrs yesterday to charge to full. Usually past experience is a fraction of that time. Will have to keep an eye on it. I have not the greatest luck with batteries. I usually spend a little extra and buy MOTO BATT MB9u, which, for the most part has been good to me. May look into another soon. Will have to refresh my memory on how to measure the ohm value for the stator, and what figures are acceptable. and measure the regulator. Like another post mentioned, 99% of the time the battery is the culprit. Any advice would be appreciated. Robert

try switching to LED bulbs to reduce draw