As Nigel says, there is probably no smoothing. The voltage will often read low when there is no battery connected.
If the voltage shows up as good when you connect to a charged battery, then it's probably fine.
If you want to troubleshoot, disconnect the transformer from the rectifier. The transformer should produce around 10 - 12 V ac with no load. Between each of the AC input of the rectifier and one of the + or - connections, there should be a diode, so you should get continuity with your meter connected one way, and not with it connected the other way.