Birdie, this is the link Ducati 748 / 916 Starting / Starter Upgrade Kit | eBay Taff, if you check the voltage with the battery fitted and the engine running, run it for as short a period as you can to prevent doing any further damage. If the generator and reg rec are working you should see the voltage go up to approx 13.5 on fast tick over. Either way you have a resistance problem which caused the overheating. Report back the voltage readings.
If the reg/rec has failed, forget putting one of the standard crappy regulators on it. Get a MOSFET regulator from a later Jap bike, they're much better. Google it or look on Ducati.ms, its been discussed to death and there are plenty of guides. I'd still upgrade the wiring, and might as well to the battery leads whilst your there!
Andy, got the battery off the charger this morning, checked it at 1330pm and she was showing 12.78v, checked again at 1800 tonight and it was still 12.78v, got it back on the bike to check if the regulator was working, started her up and on fast tickover it was showing 11.5v at the battery, so do you think the regulator is ok andy?
I've gone through the thread....have you checked the output from the reg/rec as per the manual? Certainly sounds like the battery is shot.
+1, Thicker gauge, heavy duty wiring will make a big difference to starting, my 916 spins over much faster and starts much easier with upgraded cables (even with increased compression) but the motoelectric kit is very expensive for what it is...
Taff, battery voltage good but regulator voltage bad and almost certainly shot, lets hope the generator is OK.
