R/R issue: Compufire, ElectroSport, Ebay, or Other?

[Sojourner]

NOTE: I have not went through the troubleshooting guide yet. Why? Because my bike left me stranded at work and it's still currently parked there.

I have a GS1100E that I recently picked up. When I bought it the PO had it sitting in the garage for a while (~months since early season), and he had it hooked up to his charger. Took it out for a test drive and parked it. No problem. Paid him for it and drove it the short ride home. The next day I tried to start it and the battery wore down quickly and it never started. So I bought a charger/trickle, took the battery out of the bike, charged it up to full, and put it back in. The bike started right up with plenty of... Umph? So I simply thought it was the battery had never been fully charged. I hoped on, rode it the 8.5 miles to work, and parked it in the parking garage. Left it for a couple of hours, and then fired it right up and drive a <5 miles to a Dr.'s appointment. After the appointment it fired right up and I drove it up to our corporate offices about 25 miles away. By the time I got to the office the battery was dead as a doornail.

Now it could very well be the battery, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's the charging system. I am heading up to get the bike shortly and when I get it home I fully intend to run through the Stator Paper's fault finding chart. I'll be sure to post my results afterwards. In the meantime, I was thinking of how much this could cost to replace and which route would be the best option given differing scenarios. If it turns out the be the R/R should I go the Compufire route? What about the R/R that ElectroSport makes? Is there a performance or piece of mind difference between the two? Would it hurt to just go the Ebay route? My fear there is that an Ebay unit could be DOA or on it's last leg when I get it. While money's not a huge issue, the SWMBO did just gave up her career last month to be a stay-at-home Mom to our 8yo and 5yo, not to mention she's not a big fan of motorcycles...

So I'm basically bracing for the worst and doing some internet window shopping at the moment. It could be the battery, the stator, or even the R/R. Which reminds me- the R/R on my '80 E is bigger than some of the ones I've seen pictured on here, and silver to boot. I suppose it could have already been swapped out for a non-OEM unit? I'll be sure to attach a picture to my reply just in case.


Thanks all!

[Toasty]

Do the stator tests and see what the issue is, it's pretty easy. I was having so many stator and r/r issues on my bike and I ended up breaking down and buying a Ricks stator and Compufire, it was EXPENSIVE but now I'll never have to worry about it again. You probably won't need to do anything more then a good stator (not electrosport) and a honda r/r though.

[OldVet66]

You already know the answer, that you will not know the answer, until you go through the stator papers, It could be anything you mentioned. If it is the stator, I believe Ricks is the best, closest in detail to the OEM stator. The ElectroSport R/R is no better than the OEM unit, but their stator is fine, I have one in my bike. CompuFire is most likely the best R/R, but also the most expensive. I'm a believer, but time will only tell because they are relatively new to the scene. This winter mine will be two years old. If your battery is boiling dry from over voltage, your stator is also very suspect, or the stator was never changed and could have finally failed for the same reason after your present R/R was installed. My OEM stator lasted one year from the installation of the CompuFire. It was damaged from over voltage from the previous OEM R/R, but still tested good at that time, so I didn't change it. I changed it for a ElectroSport stator, and it has been fine. The Ricks stator has the OEM wiring and wire bushing in place, so there isn't any additional work to install it as with the ElectroSport.

[JEEPRUSTY]

Compufire...

[Eric]

I think it really comes down to how much you want to spend. A used Shindengen should work better than the stock R/R. I've heard lots of good things about the Compufire, so when I rebuild my bike over the winter, it's on my list of parts to buy as I want it to be as reliable as possible.

[rustybronco]

Get a used Honda R/R off Ebay.

[Sojourner]

...I want it to be as reliable as possible.

That's kind of my thought as well. Around here I've got about another month to two of riding season left. If I went used or whatever it would be sitting there in the back of my mind even next season. I think I'll just save my money and go with a Rick's stator or a Compufire regulator, whichever the need may be. Actually, I might just end up doing both by winter's end. I bought my bike for cheap and ANY riding I get out of it before winter is kind of gravy. I won't really trust it until I have some down months to rebuild this or flush that. In short- I trust my own wrenching more than I trust anything the PO told me.

Still at work and the battery is still charging under my desk. I'll let you know my test results sometime this weekend. Thanks again for all the replies and advice.

[Homie]

We all know that the charging system is the "achilles heel" of the mighty GS. It's weaknesses and failings are well studied and documented throughout this website. Besides the usual suspects (stator, RR, and battery), the one that is much more insidious in nature and thus often overlooked, are the various connectors in the system. They wear, loosen, oxidize, increase in resistance, overheat (sometimes to the point of partial melting) and ultimately impede voltage flow as time goes on. BEFORE you start spending money on stators and RR's, do yourself a favor and go through ALL of the various connectors in the system. Make sure they are all clean, tight and protected with dielectric grease. It can be a pain, but it will ultimately save you a lot of frustration when diagnosing the entire system AND they could actually be the source of your problem.

[Remington44-77]

Don't forget the ground cable, pull both ends loose and take a look at it. If you see green corrosion anywhere, then save yourself some time and replace it

[justin caise]

I'm still having problems with mine after going through the connections - is there a ground cable under the cover for the stator? I thought it was grounded by mounting to the engine casing but I've not been under there in a while...

And Sougerner - SWMBO?

[Remington44-77]

Yes, the battery ground to the engine casing cable can be a headache. Its deterioration usually isn't obvious. You may need to cut into the vinyl cover to find the corrosion. Mine looked good from the outside but in the copper was tons of corrosion.
Electrons mostly travel on the surface of their conductor, so if there is green stuff in and between the individual wires of the cable then, most likely, the ground cable has a high resistance and will cause charging and running problems. If there is corrosion in the wire at either terminal end, then probably there is corrosion in the cable itself.
Another clue is lumps in the cable. Check this by feeling the cable. Slide it between your fingers. A good cable will feel smooth.

[rustybronco]

Electrons mostly travel on the surface of their conductor,

The depth varies depending on the material the conductor is made from and the frequency being carried. For all intents and purposes, it doesn't apply to DC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect

[Sojourner]

SWMBO = "She who must be obeyed", aka the wife.

[posplayr]

The depth varies depending on the material the conductor is made from and the frequency being carried. For all intents and purposes, it doesn't apply to DC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect

I agree that skin effect has nothing to do with corrosion in wires. The DC current passing from wire to connector and back to wire causes a corrosion build up at the junction between two dissimilar metals. As an example for a Copper and brass junction where the copper wire and the brass crimp are joined. Neither electron flow inside of the wire or inside of a contact will cause corrosion. It is the flow across the junction that causes the corrosion. A similar/related effect can be seen at a car battery terminal.

[Sojourner]

Well I went the "the wife prefers piece of mind and just told me to get it all new" route. Compufire on order, Rick's stator on order (via BikeBandit) along with exhaust wrap, fork gaiters, a new new slip-on muffler, OEM exhaust gaskets, and a ton of other bits and pieces. My wife rocks.