alternator

was riding my bike in factory setup and did not have any problems. for now... recently my battery lost power, and after charging could hold power for 1-2 days. and I couldn't start bike with starter, only kicker. my first thought was no charging and today I checked alternator wires. multimeter...

I want my bobber to have no Yamaha logos or script on it. Does anyone know where to buy a smooth alternator cover? What can I use to remove the "Yamaha" from the clutch cover without gouging the snot out of it? What can I do for plain points covers ?

Just got out my new trusty Harbor Freight digital caliper http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47256 and pulled my brushes out to measure them . Inner was 10.72 mm and the outer was 14.41 mm. How long do these last? Bike has about 16000 on it. The manual says new...

- interesting article about diagnosing charging system issues

Is it ok to soak this and the rotor in degreaser and brush if off? I'm doing a complete rebuild for the first time and don't want to screw it up.

Has anyone ever done the conversion to a permanent magnet alternator? I've heard of people using the alternator off of an RD350. I know there is a good write up here http://www.xs650.org.au/Technical%20Info/Alternators.htm but has anyone here done this?