Motorcycle Repair: 04 Ultra Classic Voltage Regulator, ac volts, volt ohm meter

Question
Hello Mike,

I'm going to piggy-back onto the question about the voltage regulator.  My Ultra Classic has 39,000 miles on it with the factory battery and regulator in place.  The regulator came apart without much warning and blew it's liquid contents on the front barrel of the engine creating a major cloud of white smoke.  Short story is a small hole burned in the bottom of the regulator back plate.  The bike engine diagnostic light and the battery light came on just before I shut it down, and probably at the exact time it gave up the ghost and exploded on the engine.  I did have a strong electrical burning smell the day before after bringing the bike home from the shop after they installed a new rear tire.  But that was my only recognizable warning that something electrical was wrong.  

You mentioned testing the stator yourself.  I have a volt/ohm meter and would like to know first if I should be concerned with the stator being the or a source of the problem, and secondly how do I go about checking the stator prior to installing my new regulator, which I am doing myself?

An help is appreciated.

Steve in California.

Answer
Any time you have a regulator problem you should test the stator. It might have caused the problem.
To test it, go to the wires coming out of the stator. Do a OHMs test on wire to wire and then each wire to ground. You should get OHMs from wire to wire and no OHMs from wire to ground. Then, start the bike and at the stator wires you should get around 60 AC volts, not DC, at around 2000 RPMs. If the stator does not pass the above tests, then it has to be replaced
Good luck and happy riding
Mike