R / R Question

I read on here that when the charging system shows a low reading under 5k RPMs, it's an indication the R/R needs replacing.  Is there a definitive way of knowing it's this and not the stator?  Also, if I order an R/R from the dealership now, will it be better than the one they originally put on the bike?  I thought I read somewhere it would be.

I frequently go on long rides (I just got back from a 1,400+ mile journey) and would certainly not want to have problems out in the middle of nowhere.  I started having problems about 40 miles from home (on the way back.)

Thanks.

Can you describe what the problem was. I've had my R/r die on me and you can definitely tell if it's the R/r or the stator that's starting to go.

About 40 or so miles from home, I pulled over to gas up and, when I tried restarting my bike, it wouldn't start.  There was no burning smell and no indication something was about to go.  The lights on the dash were weak and I couldn't hear the fuel pump prime.  The bike was just, .....dead.  Since I've got roadside assistance on my insurance policy, I called the number and they sent a flat bed over.  We took my bike to the nearest Honda dealership where I had it checked out.  They told me the charging system was giving a low reading under 5k RPMs and the culprit was likely a bad R/R, stator or both.  Neither part was in stock.  To make a long story short, they got the bike running again and told me to keep the RPM's above 6k on my way back.  I followed their advice and made it home.  Once I got home, I shut the engine off and tried restarting it.  No dice.  It was dead again.

FYI, I have a two year old Shorai lithium battery and my bike's got 53-54k on the clock.

stator the exact same thing happen to me two years ago. I had been riding all day pull over to fill up and bam no start.

I've actually had the same happen to me, but I knew it was happening because the lights on the dash were acting up and I lost the tach and speedo. I was riding for a good hour or two at least.

here is the test proceedure, thanks to tightwad and his website/store wiremybike.com.

http://www.wiremybik...ting-p-805.html

Thanks for everyone's input.  I can change the oil, spark plugs, brake pads, etc. but when it comes to the electrical system, I prefer not to mess with it.  It looks like my bike's going to the dealership.

Thanks for everyone's input.  I can change the oil, spark plugs, brake pads, etc. but when it comes to the electrical system, I prefer not to mess with it.  It looks like my bike's going to the dealership.

I encourage you not to do that.  I am a mechanical midget and fixed mine with little angst.  If you can follow the testing procedure and figure out if your stator is good or not, then great.  I chose to just replace both the stator and R/R because I was lazy and didn't bother to learn how to test them (and had little confidence that I would come up with an answer).  The stator is relatively easy to replace.  The cover on the left side comes off easy and on the center stand almost no oil comes out.  You just need to take your time scraping off the old gasket material, and replace with a new one and some high temp gasket goo over the rubber boot for the wires.  I bought some cheapo long bolts to fit the stator cover bolt holes and cut the heads off, then threaded them in.  That makes replacing the cover simple since there are strong magnetic forces that are acting on the cover as you are placing it.  Also helpful is to attach a fish wire to the old stator wires BEFORE you remove the old stator so that you can pull the new stator wires back through the bikes mid-section...It is still a little bit of a struggle due to the large white connector on the OEM stator, but taping up the connector helps it slide through.  Some here will tell you to go with different R/R but I went with the OEM and everything has worked perfectly for over 20k miles.  I also replaced the battery at the same time as it was not new and heard that the battery many times is toast when the stator and/or R/R are bad.  Hope this helps...

Easy to do and could save couple hundred dollars.

The R/R is way too easy to do to pay someone else.  The Stator is only marginally more difficult.  I would encourage you to do it yourself!  If you aren't up for it you can bring the bike up to my place in Little Elm and we can knock it out.

The R/R you get from the dealer will be the same that was on it initially...for the same money (or less) you can get a good MOSFET R/R.