Alt.check?

Is there a way to check and see if the alt. is putting out voltage with a multimeter? The bike is a KZ650B1.I put a new battery in it, and got about an hour running time and dead battery. Can it be checked at the connector that is at the end of the wires coming out of the gearbox cover?

The 1977 KZ650's have a pretty complex charging system. I think your bike is a 77.

The first test is to measure the voltage on the battery at idle and at higher rpms. It should get to around 14 volts as you rev it. When you rev a bike, if the charging system is dead, the battery voltage still goes up slightly at higher RPMs. This is because the ignition uses less power at higher RPMs. If the battery only goes from 12 to 12.5v as you rev the motor, I'd say the charging system is dead (or not connected properly).