81 GS450L RR Questions

[Guest]

First off Hello everyone, I am new to the forums here but was recommended by a couple friends (climbnpeak and skuld), and the information found here has already been very helpful .

Now my question, I know what a Regulator/Recitifier is and what it does but owing to the fact that my stator recently failed (i have already ordered one up and read up on how to replace it, many thanks to Bass Cliff). I have been getting some feed back that I should look into replacing the stock ones with either a Honda RR or another aftermarket RR. What would be the advantages of doing this? I have tried to do some online research but I haven't found any clear indicators of what the actual advantages are to replacing the stock RR. Would you guys be able to enlighten me or point me to some online resources which could clarify this for me?

Thank you in advance for any assistance with this.

[tom203]

First off Hello everyone, I am new to the forums here but was recommended by a couple friends (climbnpeak and skuld), and the information found here has already been very helpful .

Now my question, I know what a Regulator/Recitifier is and what it does but owing to the fact that my stator recently failed (i have already ordered one up and read up on how to replace it, many thanks to Bass Cliff). I have been getting some feed back that I should look into replacing the stock ones with either a Honda RR or another aftermarket RR. What would be the advantages of doing this? I have tried to do some online research but I haven't found any clear indicators of what the actual advantages are to replacing the stock RR. Would you guys be able to enlighten me or point me to some online resources which could clarify this for me?

Thank you in advance for any assistance with this.

The Shindengen R/R's found on many bikes, snowmobiles, atvs- probably first used on Honda bikes in late 70's- is a more reliable unit than what came stock on Suzukis. Members have had good luck with these. They have a "sense" wire to better monitor things. Very common on ebay, for less than $20. A member here used to sell them, but sadly has dicontinued doing so. Also , search for "Compufire"- a more advanced R/R- pricey, but looks to put a lot less stress on the stator.

[Skuld]

The Shindengen R/R's found on many bikes, snowmobiles, atvs- probably first used on Honda bikes in late 70's- is a more reliable unit than what came stock on Suzukis. Members have had good luck with these. They have a "sense" wire to better monitor things. Very common on ebay, for less than $20. A member here used to sell them, but sadly has dicontinued doing so. Also , search for "Compufire"- a more advanced R/R- pricey, but looks to put a lot less stress on the stator.

So, is that the only advantage of switching the R/R out to an aftermarket one, is to lessen the stress on the Stator?

Thanks.

[Flyboy]

In a manner of speaking, I am no guru in the dark art of things auto electrical, but as I understand it, it is all to do with heat generation, the stator puts out somewhere between 60 - 80 volts, the RR's job is to cut that down to a useable 12V, now imagine a hose pipe with the tap full open, you now restrict the end of the hose to get a trickle, the water backs up, creating pressure, it is something similar, even with all the lights on, the bike is still not using all of the available current, so it backs up causing "pressure" in this case heat.
This is why most of the time failed RR go hand in hand with cooked wires, heat is the enemy.
Somehow, due to its design and bigger cooling fins, I guess, the Honda regulators control this a lot better, keeping things cooler.
As I said, I am no guru on this stuff, but that is sort of how I understand it, I have no doubt, those who do understand this stuff will jump in here quick enough to put me straight.
Posplyr is the guy who knows this stuff backwards.

[Skuld]

In a manner of speaking, I am no guru in the dark art of things auto electrical, but as I understand it, it is all to do with heat generation, the stator puts out somewhere between 60 - 80 volts, the RR's job is to cut that down to a useable 12V, now imagine a hose pipe with the tap full open, you now restrict the end of the hose to get a trickle, the water backs up, creating pressure, it is something similar, even with all the lights on, the bike is still not using all of the available current, so it backs up causing "pressure" in this case heat.
This is why most of the time failed RR go hand in hand with cooked wires, heat is the enemy.
Somehow, due to its design and bigger cooling fins, I guess, the Honda regulators control this a lot better, keeping things cooler.
As I said, I am no guru on this stuff, but that is sort of how I understand it, I have no doubt, those who do understand this stuff will jump in here quick enough to put me straight.
Posplyr is the guy who knows this stuff backwards.

Sweet, I totally appreciate your comment Flyboy. It's definitely helpful.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Woody,

In a nutshell, the Honda regulator/rectifier units we have grown to love are more robust than the stock Suzuki units. They stand up better to the heat generated by the r/r unit as it shunts the extra voltage to ground. (The extra energy must be given off as heat.) There is a list of compatible Honda r/r units in the Electrical section of my website.

Anyway, let me dump a TON if information on you, and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[tom203]

So, is that the only advantage of switching the R/R out to an aftermarket one, is to lessen the stress on the Stator?

Thanks.

Yes, but it also controls the battery voltage better- you don't want the R/R trying to charge the battery to 16 volts or your battery will have a short life.

[Skuld]

Yes, but it also controls the battery voltage better- you don't want the R/R trying to charge the battery to 16 volts or your battery will have a short life.

Excellent. Thank you!

[Steve]

..., I am no guru in the dark art of things auto electrical, ...

Ahhh, ... LUCAS.

.

[Flyboy]

Correct Steve, and the very reason the poms serve warm beer, all the fridges are built by Lucas.

[pete]

Welcome to the forums Woody! You came to the right place

Everyone above has done enough answering... I got nothin' to add, and wouldn't have been anywhere near as helpful anyways...

[Woody]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and plethora of information . I do have one further question though, from looking at the wiring diagram and reviewing a stator replacement that BassCliff had posted a document. 2 of the 3 stator wires goes directly into the R/R but the third one goes all the way up to the headlight switch?.?. Then travels all the way back down to the R/R. When i do my stator replacement can i just send that thrid wire directly into the R/R or is there some reason that Suzuki decided to send that wire on a magical journey?


For those members who are more intimate with my bikes wiring harness i am talking about the W/G wire that saunters its way up to the Lighting Switch where it magically becomes a W/R wire, which slowly makes it's way back home to the R/R.


Lastly on a personal note i have thrown up a few pics of my baby, i think you might even see me in one of those if you look hard enough .

[Steve]

..., from looking at the wiring diagram and reviewing a stator replacement that BassCliff had posted a document. 2 of the 3 stator wires goes directly into the R/R but the third one goes all the way up to the headlight switch?.?. Then travels all the way back down to the R/R. When i do my stator replacement can i just send that thrid wire directly into the R/R or is there some reason that Suzuki decided to send that wire on a magical journey?

That "magical journey" is actually there for a reason.

Back in the day when the headlight switch was actually able to controly the headlight brightness, one phase of the stator would be disconnected from the charging circuit when the headlight was turned off. Some guys see the stator wire going to the switch and (incorrectly) assume that the headlight runs on AC current of about 70-90 volts , but there are actually two separate circuits that are controlled by that one switch. One is the stator wire, the other controls power to the headlight.

Yes, you can wire all three stator wires directly to the R/R, but I would recommend using the headlight as much as possible. I believe your bike still has a switch, but it is blocked so it can't be moved. You can remove the tab that locks it in place so that it will work, but most places require an operating headlight, so it's probably best to just leave it alone.

.

[Skuld]

LOL I can say that he already did that tab removal steve LOL. =^.^=



This is a picture of his wire-harness. Meow!

[tom203]

LOL I can say that he already did that tab removal steve LOL. =^.^=

While he's installing the replacement R/R, fix the poor grounding issues between it and the battery- at the very least run a solid wire connection from R/R ground point to battery negative.