I'm asking this question because although there is an abundance of electrical advice here it's geared to the DIYer, which I don't think I will be when it comes to electronics.
QUESTION: What to PAY for someone else to do as preventative maintenance on a perfectly functional 2000 VFR with 11K miles?
I'm looking for 1) what I can do myself that is idiot-proof with a voltmeter and maybe some butt connectors, and 2) what is worth paying someone else to do that won't run over $300 to protect the VFR from electrical problems?
I want to ride and keep the DIYing to a minimum, but I also want to keep the VFR bulletproof.
Thanks in advance
Also, any experiences with failures in 2000-01s and at what mileage would be helpful.
Installing a new wiring harness is very easy and should take no longer than 20 minutes or so. I'm also sure if you buy the parts someone will help you install or provide you with the needed guidance. If you insist on paying someone I would think $50 (plus parts) would be fair price to pay someone. Did I mention how easy it is to do yourself?If you decide not to replace the wiring harness I would at minimum keep an extra R/R under your seat and perhaps install a cheap voltmeter on the bike so you can constantly keep an eye on the voltage while riding. I say just try to do it yourself. I've provided the links below for the harness and the installation instructions and also replacement R/R. You can do it and we are here to help!!!
I appreciate it. I'm generally cheap, but I'm willing to pay for what I can't do well. Can't argue with 20 minutes. I'll take a look and see. I need to read more to learn what I'm dealing with in the first place. Last (only) electronics class was 10th grade 20+ years ago.
Last year a fellow member rode his bike 400 miles round trip to help me with my headlights . . . as Rollin mentioned, there are surely some members near you that would be glad to help you out. The added benefit is having seen it yourself, you'd be in a better position to understand any malfunctions that might crop up out on the road. I installed the VFRness on my 5th gen, and it was very easy - following the directions, just match up each plug and you're good to go. You might also PM Tightwad and ask him what he might recommend for electrical maintenance.
I have a '98 that the R/R died at about 10,500 miles. -- So, I'm thinking that first - do you have a voltmeter? If you dont they are cheap, it worth it to get one. Harbor Freight - around 10 bucks. Take a data point and get a reading at the battery with the bike running at idle and at 5000 RPM. Not hard - postive to postive and negative to negative. I would do this 1st. Oh yeah, charge up the battery beforehand.
I'm with the rest of the people here DIY isnt that hard. Can you take the tail body off? - It comes off 10 minutes tops. The R/R is on the left side of the bike. If you do have to change it, and want a no hassle plug and play, I agree will the guys here and get a VFRness and if you need the R/R get it from wiremybike aka tightwad. Its basically unbolt, disconect old, plug in and bolt up new. Some wire ties on hand would be a good thing too.
As everbody says - talk to tightwad, he'll help out.
Just some info - I thought I heard the '00s-'01s had less issues than the '98s - '99s on the electrical front. (Please correct me if I am wrong.)
I have a '98 that the R/R died at about 10,500 miles. -- So, I'm thinking that first - do you have a voltmeter? If you dont they are cheap, it worth it to get one. Harbor Freight - around 10 bucks. Take a data point and get a reading at the battery with the bike running at idle and at 5000 RPM. Not hard - postive to postive and negative to negative. I would do this 1st. Oh yeah, charge up the battery beforehand.
I'm the rest of the people here DIY isnt that hard. Can you take the tail body off? - It comes off 10 minutes tops. The R/R is on the left side of the bike. If you do have to change it, and want a no hassle plug and play, I agree will the guys here and get a VFRness and if you need the R/R get it from wiremybike aka tightwad. Its basically unbolt, disconect old, plug in and bolt up new. Some wire ties on hand would be a good thing too.
As everbody says - talk to tightwad, he'll help out.
As stated above, get with tightwad for specifics on that year model. Also, do some searching on the forum. There is a ton of information on here from some very smart people. I just went through the entire charging system on my 98. Very simple to do. Not sure if the 00 is that different but the main things to take care of on the 98 are: stator, RR, charging system harness upgrade, and if needed, orange ground block modification. If you have a small micro torch and can solder it is very simple to hardwire the system. I went that route because I did not want to take the time to periodically clean the terminals. Maybe the following link will help you.
I've read that in 2000 they added a sensor wire to the regulator which increased reliability.
I'm at 78,000kms on the original regulator and no problems.
I've checked the connectors that are reputed to show overheat symptoms when you're having problems and no sign of trouble.
Can anyone with more knowledge expand on the problems they've had specifically with a 2000 or 2001?
BC
On edit, shamelessly stolen from another much less fantastic website:
The purpose of the "voltage sense" wire is to provide feedback from somewhere other than the internals of the RR.
With two brand new RRs, one with this wire and one without, the results should be exactly the same. i.e. the same voltage across the battery. As the electrical system ages, however, and the connectors corrode, the RR without the voltage sense will only be reading its own internal voltage and will not "know" there is a problem. The voltage across the battery will now be less than the voltage inside the RR because of the losses in the ageing/corroding connectors etc. The voltage sense RR will be reading the actual votage across the battery and will "know" that some of the juice is being lost in the wiring. It will therefore crank up the output a little to compensate.
So, the voltage sense is there to ensure that the battery gets charged, even as the electrical system heads for retirement.
This has a very important "side effect". The non-voltage sense RR will not increase the output, so therefore it is sinking more heat within itself. Heat will cause it to fail. The voltage sense RR will be increasing the output and so less heat is sunk in the RR and it lasts longer.
This is one of the reasons why the 98/99 VFRs, which don't have a voltage sense wire, chew up more RRs than the 2000/2001 bikes, which do have the voltage sense. The other big (the biggest) improvement between the 98/99s and the 00/01 bikes was increasing the size of the connectors & wiring.
As of today already having funky electrical stuff. Blew right rear turn signal bulb (or at least it ain't working) and FI light sometimes does not go off and can't start the bike (so far just turning ignition off and back on addresses this). Does this sound symptomatic of anything?
As of today already having funky electrical stuff. Blew right rear turn signal bulb (or at least it ain't working) and FI light sometimes does not go off and can't start the bike (so far just turning ignition off and back on addresses this). Does this sound symptomatic of anything?
R/R time! ------ok chances are..... Do the quick voltmeter test at the battery to see whats going on. --Its possible it could be something else, but R/R is always at the top of the list.
Also its worth it to go get your battery load tested. The battery must be in good shape for the system to work well.
So the bulb issue was my fault. The connection disconnected because I broke the part dealing with the limited wiring during my tailight modulator install. The FI light thingy only happens maybe once every 20 starts, but I'll keep and eye on it.
Tightwad has been fantastic, including letting me change my order after I screwed it up. On the way VFRNess bundle, Lascar voltmeter, symtec grip heater and stebel nautilus with wiring kit.
I'm going to need a lot of help, but there are clearly great guys/gals here for support.
Thanks. I'll sure I'll post pics/video of my work.
Got the VFRNess in with the fusebox and switched connectors. Got it running with heated grips, 12volt outlet and voltage monitor (shared with 12volt outlet switch).
Thanks
VFRNess from top
VFRNess - Top View
VFRNess and wiring from left VFRNess - Left View 2000 VFR VFRNess to hopefully prevent electrical issues
End of thread · 12 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 9 Apr 2013
