Motorcycle Repair: shouvelhead, ac volts, clutch basket

Question
I have a 76 shovelhead on a 96 softtail frame.about a year ago my battery started dieing all the time so i put it in the shop.everplace i took it to did other stuff to it but fix the problem.so i put it up till now.i decided to pull the voltage regalator and noticed the plug to the stater was pretty bad as if it shorted out.i want to try to replace it myself to avoid a runaround at a shop.how hard of a job is it and where should i start

Answer
First, you need to determine if its the stator or the regulator.
You need a OHMs meter and a AC volt meter to test the stator. Test the plug ont he stator for short to ground with the OHM meter. If it passes then start the bike and at the stator you should get around 40 AC volts at 2000 RPM. If the stator passes both tests then the regulator is bad. If it doesnt then the stator is bad.
To replace the stator, you need to remove the primary cover, the motor sprocket as well as the clutch basket. You then have to loosen the starter from the inner primary and remove the jackshaft. the the inner primary has to come off.
If you are planning on doing the work yourself, I would suggest getting a service manual so you have somthing to follow. It has great blowup pic to follow
Good luck and happy riding
Mike