Motorcycle Repair: no spark could it be the coil or the rectifer?, volt ohm meter, rectifer

Question
Hi i got this bike form my dad it is a 1974 honda elsinor mt 250 it hasnt been ran in a long time for the fact we couldnt get spark..im finally messing with it and i was wondering how to test the coil or the rectifier,what does the rectifier do? and would it need a good battery to run?

Answer
Zack, the battery has to be fully charged for the bike to run.  The alternator puts out AC voltage and the rectifier converts the AC current to DC current.  The rectifier can be checked with a volt ohm meter.  If you check continuity one direction it should have continuity but reversing te leads it won't have continuity. There's not a good test at home you can run to test the ignition coil. A Honda dealer can test a coil for you.

Regards
Rich