Bad regulator, or alternator?

I found the problem, but not the cause. See above photo showing fried stator coils.

The cause: minor resistance in your windings causes heat to build up over time... a hotspot. Eventually, the super thin enamel insulation on the stator windings burns away or carbonizes (which conducts). You now have a short to ground, which means your battery does not get much or any power.

That is my theory- but I have not proved it. But I've seen it a lot. Also, vibration can cause the same situation (the full power AC generated in the coils of the stator cause the windings to try to move; AKA "transformer hum". that's why they're potted.)

People send me old parts sometimes... but I've never had a husky stator to tear apart.

So, if your theory is correct, I do not need to keep looking for a short in the wiring -( bike has never blown a fuse)- Just install new stator & do the recommended idle voltage test to see if my reg is good?
I dont mind sending this stator to you, if you want. I will keep pickup coil.

Nope, you found your problem. Sorry, I thought i was clear.

And yep, do the voltage test. like I said before, this does not preclude your regulator being shot (but it's probably okay: our charging systems put out 100% power through the regulator 100% of the time, so there's a good chance it's still good).

Warning: speculative paragraph follows:
a couple of years ago when you indicated your charging system was putting out 13.5v, and I said you had a problem- this was probably it. If there was a minor resistance in your winding(s) at the time, it may have take this long to cause a failure. If so, there was nothing you could've done about it that you're not doing now. It might've cost you a battery, but that's a reasonable trade for almost 2 years.

all fuses are downstream- they're to protect your DC wiring.

I'm hoping this stator will fix the erratic idle & low RPM flameout problem that this bike has always had. As per your speculative paragraph - 13.5 V not enuff to properly operate the injector at low RPM?

no, 13.5v is enough to run everything. It just indicative of a failing charging system. You were actually were running on the battery only for a while (AKA total loss electrical system) and could've dropped down to 10-11 volts before you noticed anything.

I did not mean to indicate that it was the cause of your other problems 2 years ago; however it's hard to diagnosis a major issue when there are a bunch of minor problems (possibly unrelated) also.

Turn your idle up to >2000 rpms.

just to be clear because I tend to add too many details: I really doubt a new stator is going to fix any of your running problems.

(unless your pick-up was failing. hah.)

Update: Found new stator on Ebay for $200. PN 8538730. Checked resistance. Measure .50 ohms on all 3 across wire resistance measurements. ( old analog meter increments only to whole ohm, so not precise at partial ohm measurements). Installed stator & started bike & measure 13.5 v at battery. I don't have a tach, so dont know RPM. Adjusted idle up to a smooth, somewhat fast idle. ( 1700 to 2000 ?) . Now measure 14v at battery . These voltage numbers agree with the WSM, (and thread replies). So, it looks like my regulator is still good. Should I rev it a bit to check how high the V goes?

naw, you're good, however you can rev it if you want to check the voltage at higher RPMs.

but buy a bottom-of-the-line digital VOM 'cause they're cheap.

I'd guess your idle is still a bit too low, but it's closer now. Turn the knob all they way in (count the clicks), then back it out 40 clicks. that should put you pretty damn close.

I put all the plastic back on & took test ride. Starts easy & runs great now. It pulls a lot batter at very low RPM than ever before. I attribute the improvement to both new injector ( installed right before the charging problem happened) , and new stator . I think both were weak .

Thanks for the help, Trenchcoat85 .