Motorcycle Repair: voltage regulator, heritage softail classic, stator

Question
I have a '88 Heritage Softail Classic, Took off this morning, got about a mile and the voltage regulator started smoking and I shut it down and let it cool abit and ran it back home and it started smoking again. I should also note when I took off, I could tell it was sputtering abit. Is this just the regulator or a coil problem? Would appriciate any help, Thanks

Answer
The coil does not have anything to do with the regulator. You neecd to do a OHMs test on the stator and a AC volt test on the stator. If the stator tests ok, then the regulator is bad. If it tests bad then you need to reoplace the stator
Good luck and happy riding
Mike