Battery Charging \ Running problem

[michaelr]

Ok, here is the issue I had today, any help is greatly appreciated....

About a month ago I replaced the battery, (charged it etc...). The Rode it for about an hour, then after it sat for about two weeks it was dead again, charged the battery again and it fired right up... Rode it for about 30 min, parked it for two days, fired it up and rode it for about 20 min - then it started running sluggish and I noticed (when I saw my reflection in a window) that the headlight was barely lit up and was flickering with the idle, but even revving the engine would not "brighten" the headlamp. The horn would not work either (actually it did beep, but it was so quiet you couldn't really hear it over the engine \ street noise). Took out the battery and charged it again, rode it for about an hour with no problems.

The next day (today) I rode the bike for about 45 min and the bike died while riding it. Pulled off the street and could not get it to start, even push starting it.... I dis connected the battery and was able to get the bike to start.... then things got even more weird... Trying to limp this bike home after I got it started, anytime I turn the throttle the bike would choke and nearly die, but if I let off and turn up the choke it would idle fine, but again choke if I try to apply gas... so I turned the choke all the way up and let the engine rev, slooooowly release the clutch, get up to speed and shift into 2nd, 3rd, and managed to get home...

Without the battery connected the headlamp was very dim, the horn did not work, and the bike would nearly die if I tried to use the blinker...

This bike has never had a problem before, ever...

I do not have a test meter (I'm going to go get one), but does this sound like it a voltage regulator issue?
Should the bike run like normal if the battery is disconnected?
Any other things I could test to isolate this?