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I went on a short trip last weekend to see a friend in St. Marys, Ontario. It was a beautiful day for a ride - sunshine, blue skies, not too hot, little wind. I decided to stay off the freeway and enjoy some country roads. The bike was running very well and I was enjoying the ride. About 1 hour in I noticed that my high beam indicator seemed dimmer than normal, but I attributed it to the bright sunshine. Well, in hindsight that should have tipped me off. A short time later I stopped to make a right hand turn at an intersection in Komoka. I activated the turn signal and the bike died. I pushed the starter button - nothing. So I got off and pushed it around the corner, then waited for traffic to clear so I could push it into the parking lot across the road. The lot was sloped so I was pushing my 500+ pound bike up hill. Not fun. I then parked it, sat down to catch my breath and proceeded to try and figure out what the heck was wrong. It seemed obvious that the battery was not charging, which surprised me because it had been working beautifully for the past couple of weeks. I removed the seat and air box so I could check for loose connections but everything was good. So I reassembled, got all my gear on and tried to bump start it. I was about 100km from home and 100km from my destination so was pinning my hopes on the bump start. If that didn't work I'd have to call CAA and get a ride. Well, after a few tries it started. I put the kickstand down to ready myself and of course it died again. So I tried again and was able to get it started after a few more tries. This time I made sure to keep the throttle opened up higher than idle. Problem not solved, but at least I was moving again.
I cautiously continued on my route which eventually took me down a 4 lane road on the west side of London, with busy Saturday morning traffic and plenty of stop lights. I had my phone installed with a RAM Mount so I could use the GPS. Well, after taking off from a traffic light I moved my hand to flip down my visor and in the process clipped my phone and sent it flying over my left shoulder. All of this happened in slow motion; I can still see it flipping end over end through the air. So I uttered several curse words and turned into the nearest driveway. Of course the bike died immediately, and I had to wait for traffic to clear before I could cross the road and try to retrieve my phone. I spotted it lying in the centre lane but the light for approaching traffic just turned green so it was a race to pick up the phone before the cars crushed it. I must have been quite the sight in full gear sprinting down the road, but I managed to grab in in time. I was expecting the worst - shattered screen, etc., - but amazingly enough it was almost untouched! The case had a scuff on one corner but was fine other than that. And it worked - and continues to work - just fine.
So I made it back to the bike and bump started again and carried on to St. Marys. I kept the idle up each time I stopped and used hand signals for turns. The bike died within 2 seconds of me stopping at my destination. I was quite relieved to have made it and really enjoyed the cold beer my friend handed me upon arrival. I later did a more thorough investigation but still did not see anything obvious, so I charged the battery and left the bike to enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Sunday morning the bike started just fine. I gassed up and this time took the freeway so I wouldn't have to make any stops along the way. Again, no turn signals, headlight on low beam, and cell phone in my pocket this time. I made it home uneventfully, but the battery was almost dead.
Yesterday I was able to dig into it and found the problem: pinched stator wires. I replaced the stator cover gasket last week. In the process of reinstalling the sprocket cover, which was removed so I could get at the stator wires, I pinched them, effectively grounding them out and preventing the bike from charging.
So I dodged a bullet and thankfully got the bike started and kept it running, but had a much more "eventful" weekend trip than planned!
I cautiously continued on my route which eventually took me down a 4 lane road on the west side of London, with busy Saturday morning traffic and plenty of stop lights. I had my phone installed with a RAM Mount so I could use the GPS. Well, after taking off from a traffic light I moved my hand to flip down my visor and in the process clipped my phone and sent it flying over my left shoulder. All of this happened in slow motion; I can still see it flipping end over end through the air. So I uttered several curse words and turned into the nearest driveway. Of course the bike died immediately, and I had to wait for traffic to clear before I could cross the road and try to retrieve my phone. I spotted it lying in the centre lane but the light for approaching traffic just turned green so it was a race to pick up the phone before the cars crushed it. I must have been quite the sight in full gear sprinting down the road, but I managed to grab in in time. I was expecting the worst - shattered screen, etc., - but amazingly enough it was almost untouched! The case had a scuff on one corner but was fine other than that. And it worked - and continues to work - just fine.
So I made it back to the bike and bump started again and carried on to St. Marys. I kept the idle up each time I stopped and used hand signals for turns. The bike died within 2 seconds of me stopping at my destination. I was quite relieved to have made it and really enjoyed the cold beer my friend handed me upon arrival. I later did a more thorough investigation but still did not see anything obvious, so I charged the battery and left the bike to enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Sunday morning the bike started just fine. I gassed up and this time took the freeway so I wouldn't have to make any stops along the way. Again, no turn signals, headlight on low beam, and cell phone in my pocket this time. I made it home uneventfully, but the battery was almost dead.
Yesterday I was able to dig into it and found the problem: pinched stator wires. I replaced the stator cover gasket last week. In the process of reinstalling the sprocket cover, which was removed so I could get at the stator wires, I pinched them, effectively grounding them out and preventing the bike from charging.
So I dodged a bullet and thankfully got the bike started and kept it running, but had a much more "eventful" weekend trip than planned!
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