[JBz]

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just replaced a stator on a customers 84 1200. it charged fine at first but after 30.2 miles it quit. Checked the regulator. it appeared to have fried the plastic plug at 2 of the yellow wire connections there. Put in in a known good regulator. no go. Checked the 3 yellow wires at the regulator connection. All 3 wires grounded and low ac voltage. Im probably going to have to eat this job . I hope not .I guess its poorboy time. I can probably fab my own parts as I have a lathe and mill and welders. ill go to pick n pull and look for a alternator. Any help on dimensions or pictures would be welcomed. Thanks JB

 

[exavid]

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Sure sounds like one or more stator windings overheated and melted the insulation on the wires. Real PIA sure not making a dime on that job. It's a pity you will never be able to convince the customer that the failure was due to something you didn't have anything to do with. I've been there too, that's why I've been selling off all my shop stuff and used parts.

 

[JBz]

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ya i told him no guarantees on the stator as far as labor goes other than the RM one year exchange on the stator but he hasnt picked it up yet and im busted .I was hoping to get paid monday.I went through this entire bike front torear, fork bushings, belts, steering bearings , new springs rebuilt shocks ,a good used final drive, tidied up all thecobbled wiring from the fan switch to the trailer hitch that had been on itetc etc. Nice riding bike for 129,000 miles but .....30.2 miles test ride and..... He did give me some parts money but. .......I dontplan on pulling the engine again. Just sulkin i guess . I think ill go for a ride. JB

 

[exavid]

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I know somewhat how it feels after I replaced an engine in an 1100 that needed a new oil pump shaft and waterpump only to get it all buttoned up without installing the swing arm boot. Believe it or not there was no way I could get the boot in without pulling the final drive or engine. I decided that pulling the engine loose and a bit forward was the lesser of two evils in getting the boot in.

 

[Uncle A]

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I know how you feel.
Have there been many problems reported with the RM stator, or just luck of the draw?

 

[nobbie]

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Uncle A wrote:

I know how you feel.
Have there been many problems reported with the RM stator, or just luck of the draw?

I wasn't happy with the reg /recRM supplied either.

 

[53jimc]

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Like you said, probably po boy time. My stator was replaced by PO last sept, but it seems iffy. When it fails, and I know it will, I'll put the external on it.
Good luck with whatever you do, may the forces assist you.
Jim(inSC)

 

[deblak]

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Hello JB, sorry to here about the stator. I replaced my stator last spring and so far so good. I used an electrosport. I herd somewhere that RM just resells electrosport. If mine goes out again I will do the poorboy. Good luck with it. Dwight

 

[JBz]

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Im wanting to doubt that RM sells Electrosports but what do I know Dwight maybe so. I know RM advertises on ebay . Some auctions say they ship from California. Some auctions say from Canada. I ordered the one from California 3 available to get it quicker. I got the UPS tracking number shipped from Canada. When I called them and asked about it they got irate and asked if I wanted a refund. I said YES and thenhe told me they sell a cheap stator at a cheapprice, dont worry about it, its just a old motorcycle. I said a few wordsabout there business policy but didnt swear. He then told me where to put it, called my momma a name and hung up on me. I hit redial right away and got a lady. She wouldnt transfer me to the guy and said Im sorry but I got another call and cant help you now.10 days later I got it. Personally it seems like maybe they might be playing gamesmaybe trying to put the hurts onElectrosport who is based out of California. I doubt if they will give me a refund and Im not pulling it out. I says develeped in the USA on the box but probably made in China with aluminum magnet wire. It looked rough from the get go as ive messed with winding coils with magnet wire on homemade wind generators and never seen fuzzy tthings on my magnet wire.The laminations were also rather rough like the center hole had been turned on a drill press with a wood rasp. I know laminations are hard to machine but it was rather rough. The stator ohmed out OK so I put it in. I know I wont buy from them again. JB

 

[chesterwgunn]

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This is the alternator I used..Nipondenso something or other??

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Alternator-Worldwide_5844096-P_11_R|GRPALTSAMS_539232417___

 

[JBz]

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chesterwgunn wrote:

This is the alternator I used..Nipondenso something or other??

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Alternator-Worldwide_5844096-P_11_R|GRPALTSAMS_539232417___

Thanks Ive been doing some more reading on this. I rode over to pick n pulland found one on a 3 cylinder 93 suzuki swift I ll borrow some change from my gal and get it tomorrow. 30 day guarantee but 17 dollars plus tax and recycle fees and make my own brackets and pully. I got to gocheap on this .Poorboy with poorways all the way right now . Any body got a good used rear tire to get me to Montrose.. JB

 

[deblak]

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I am not sure about what I heard but who knows. The one that I put in was blue and was coated very good. The metal was laminated and I had to take my dremal and open the middle up a few thousands so it would go in. Is electrosport any good? I paid $128.00 for it. Dwight

 

[2slim]

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Had almost the same thing happen to me. I replaced the stator
in a ladies 84I, back in 2006, with a stator from RM. Wired it direct.
Bench tested the regulator. Checked good. She drove it a 130 miles
and the stator burned up.

Totally bummed. Checked the regulator again and it showed shorted.
Either the stator was defective or the regulator was weakened by the first
stator going out, even though it checked good, so it died finally and wiped
out the new stator. Who knows.

Well I ended up buying the bike from her for 2200 and installing Dupli-Tech
alternator conversion kit on it. It is a nice bike in very good shape and it
included a color matched cargo trailer. She wasn't going to hold me to a free fix,
she just wanted out.

It is now a very nice, dependable 84I. My main everyday and touring ride.

 

[awfar]

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I just lost my second(!) RM Stator; first failed just after warranty was up, and second a little more IIRC. I did the work myself.

The RM Stators are well made, the second one being better. But that doesn't mean they can hold up to the rigors of the GL1200. Someone mentioned the rough interior, but that is knurling procedure to reduce the interior dimension, make better physical contact with the mounting. Their technical service was anon-technical and unhelpful, and cost me 20 bucks for a 15 minute call to Canada.

I cannot tolerate the look of the external designs; and I do not wish to remove my cruise control to fit one.

I have been doing very technical research on the subject and there are known distinct failure modes in this design including electrical, mechanical, electrodynamic, and thermodynamic. Now the question is just which one(s), or other issue, is causing the failures. I have ideas based on my measurements and prefer Occams Razor.

For me, I have been called a bulldog on such technical issues, not a compliment, but I am POed. This fall I will implement some of my theories. Maybe I won't and never buy another Honda after all the crap I have went through with my GL1200A. My dad is not happy with his later and newest Goldwings either (I sez stop buying them!)

But if someone is in the midst of swapping stators for the Nth time, and would wish other approaches to maybe maximize possible success, contact me. I hope someday, someone will work out a permanent, long-term fix for all the GL1200s that are soon to be or are survivors.

 

[dingo]

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Watching this thread reminds me of all my difficulties thus far...Seems I am on a 3rd Stator and 2nd reg/rec in 3 months on my 1200 85 ltd. But on that note I can say quite happily after 3 months I have yet to have the bike started and driven it since..yes its still broken..lol..But for the person who is out of pocket or on the hook for repairs,I have spent I think to date now almost $4000. in 3 months and stil no bike..so...things could be worse..thinking now I am going to buy a scooter and call it a day on motorcycles...

 

[sprite123]

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awfar,
I don't understand when you say you can't tolerate the look of an external alternator. I fitted one to my GL1200 and my mate's and you wouldn't know they were there unless you spotted the glimpse of the pully through the air intake on the side cover. I can live with that if it means the bike works. The loss of cruise control- well fair enough- but from the above it seems you're not going to cruise far without a reliable stator anyway!...Steve

 

[exavid]

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dingo wrote:

Seems I am on a 3rd Stator and 2nd reg/rec in 3 months on my 1200 85 ltd.

You seem to be cursed on the stator for some reason. I had a fairly high mileage '86 SEI that still had the original stator. It's hard to figure why one will last a long time and another go bad. I really can't imagine what's happening to your bike to have thatmany failures. It sounds to me like there's something wrong with the repairs being done on your bike. Surely a failure in less than 30 days ought to have some sort of guarantee. I wonder if they are installing the wrong stator and regulator, the LTD and SEI have higher wattage stators and regulators than the standard 1200s. Putting the lighter duty stators and regulators into the fuel injected bikes would put them under a lot heavier electrical stress than they are designed for.

 

[Jluvs2dive]

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That really sucks JB!! I've donethree 1200 stator jobs now, and no way would I want to do any of them twice. :shock: I used Electrosport stators on two of them, and if they don't look like this, they are not Electrosport.
http://www.electrosport.com/products/product-detail-416.php I was impressed with their quality. The one I didn't use an Electrosport stator on, I didn't buy the stator. That one is still working fine a year and 1/2 later though. I don't know where it came from. Sounds like the poor boy conversion is definitely your best bet. I haven't done one of those yet, but I think I probably will the next time I have an 'opportunity' to do a stator job.

John

 

[gah-99]

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I just completed a Poorboy Alternator on my 1200. I was able to get a low mileage Nippondenso alternator out of a 1991 Geo Metro. It tested good at the local auto parts house, however after the riding season it is going to get an overhaul.


The Poorboy kit was not in my opinion a easy bolt on kit, it took quite a bit of tweaking to get every thing to fit the wayI wanted, That being said the kit is well put together and compete. Understand that space is very tight, I am guessing it took me about 5 hours for the wiring I run the alternator out put though a 50 amp resetting CB, and field power though a relay, and 25 hours from start to finish. If I did another one I think I could do it in 15 hours.

That all being said would I do it again, and would I use a Poorboy kit? Yes and yes, Donald was very quick and clear answering my questions before and after I purchased the kit and that adds value to the kit.




I am not affiliated in any way with poorboy, just myopinionbased on my experience with the convert ion

Used alternator $35.00

PoorBoy Kit $230.00

Odds and Ends $50.00



13.2 volts at idle Priceless



Regards



Garry

 

[JBz]

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I went ahead and made the kit myself as I dont haveenough funds. It took some time to machine the parts and got it on there.I did a nice job and the lower fairing only needed about a 1/8 trimmed about a 1/4 inch long for the fronr pulley.Unfortunately the alternator from picknpull wasnt any good. No cash refunds just credit and no more there. Some are close but close dont work on this. So I went to another picknpull in reno and the geos and suzukis were all stripped. I went to speedway salvage in fernly this morning and got one but not the right one thinking it was the built in regulator so I swapped that out.. Anyway after about 3 days of junk yard scrounging, 2 days of machine work and fabing and a lot of sweat and blood I still dont have a working alternator. I got it to where I can take these things apart , diode plate, regulator etc, brush pack etc with a leatherman if I have too. If you going to go poorboy I would get a brand spankin new one for about 129.00 plus shipping online. A rebuilt here is 99.00 dollars and a 45 dollar core. and takes 2 to 3 days to get and its rebuilt. Most of the one I took off and apart the brushes have grooved the commutator pretty good and the brush packs dont appear to be a napa item and the regulators possibly shot. On some the regulators look real close but dont fit. If the heat shield has 3 screwsholding it on odds are it will fit. If the heat shield has3 studs and 3 ity bity nuts it wont. JB