it's a constant clicking noise.
regulator/rectifier, starter & batt are all brand new.
wish we had a local motorcycle recycle yard.

 

if its clicking constantly, I would lean towards a bad battery, or bad connection. Your starter is not getting the voltage or amps it needs for what ever reason.

If your bike was seeing 17-18 volts as stated before, there is a good chance your battery is fried. it will show good voltage when you test it, but there will be weak cells in the battery. Overcharging the battery even for a short time will ruin it. It may still show 12-13 volts, but the amps the battery puts out will not be enough to start the bike.

First thing I would do after you are positive the battery is ok would be to make sure all of your connections are good. Follow your battery cables to their connection points and make sure they are tight. Even remove them and make sure they are not corroded. If they look good, try running an additional ground wire from your battery to the chassis. Also check your battery cable for kinks or breaks of any kind.

 

commonly when the reg/rec goes bad you can fry some wiring actually inside the shrink wrap. so you may want to pull back the covering for the wires leading away from teh reg and just double check those and make sure there isnt any damage