Motorcycle Repair: charging system, ac volts, digital meter

Question
i have an 86 flst. i replaced a battery with a bad cell. i put in a brand new battery and rode for approximately one hour. the bike stopped running like i turned off the ignition. i thought maybe i fried the new battery because it acted exactly like the one with the bad cell. i got the bike home turned on the ignition and got some power. i put it on the charger and it came back to a full charge. i suspect the rectifier. it is an 86 and i believe its the original. can you advise me on the best way to troubleshoot this problem. i have a digital meter and know how to use it. i just need some advice on how to proceed. sorry for being so long winded. thanks

Answer
What you need to test is the stator. Unplug the regulator and at the prongs for the stator, od a OHMs test from one prong to ground and then the other. You should have no OHMs. Now test prong to prong. You should have OHMs. Now start the bike and at the prongs you should show around 60 AC volts at around 2000 RPM. If the stator fails the above tests then its bad. If it passes then the regulator is bad. there are time when the stator goes out and burns up the regulator so they could both be bad
Good luck and happy riding
Mike