I have a 98 Honda Shadow ACE VT750. The battery was replaced in May. I cannot get the battery to hold a charge. The starter fuse was just replaced. The bike will not start without jumper cables and when it does I am able to get it to idle for roughly three to four mins without the jumper cables. The bike will then die. When I try to start with out the jumper cables it makes a repeating "clicking" noise. Prior to this I checked the plugs for spark, drained the gas and replaced. Do you have suggestions??

I had the same problem with my 1100 shadow. I charged the battery and it would go maybe 100 miles before it would go dead. I installed a new battery, thinking that was the problem. It still went dead. I then installed a new voltage regulator and checked the stator coil. Stator coil did not demonstrate anything being wrong. The bike would still not show a charge above 12.6 volts. Come to find out the normal charge voltage is suppose to run between 13.2 and 14+ voltage. I still couldn't get it to stayed charged. I finally replaced the stator and I started seeing a charge at 13.6+ voltage. Problem solved with $$$$.

Charge and load test the battery. If the battery sat dead for as little as two weeks , it could be sulfated and no good. If it is a Yuasa battery it only has a 6 month warranty , grab your receipt and race back to the dealer. They will charge and load test it three times . If it does not pass the load test you will get a new battery if it is still under warranty. Grab your voltmeter and unplug the plug with three yellow wires that is coming out of your stator. The three yellow wires coming from the stator should have continuity with each other and no continuity between any of the yellow wires and ground. That is the test for the stator. If the stator is good , the battery is good , then you probably have a bad regulator/rectifier. I suspect you just have a bad battery.