NEVER park a VFR at the bottom of a hill.

Flew from Seattle to PDX this morning to pick my Brand New 98 viffer.
Staintune, Sargent, 11K miles some other hoots & toots.
Met Tracy - the seller, nice guy...a firefighter in Portland.
I took a quick test ride - less than 10 miles & I was done for.
Really clean
smooth.
shifts by just thinking about the next gear.

I noticed that the clock was outta whack, but figgered....meh....maybe he wears a watch....
I started it about 4 or 5 times.
We agreed to a price, signed the papers & off Tracy went.
I gathered my stuff together & I headed up the 205 to the 5 & on to Seattle.
As I fired up the bike to head north, i noticed the clock reset to 1:00AM & the trip meter reset to "0".
Hmmmmmm.....i thought. Maybe if you don't set the clock, this is what happens. Maybe Tracy reset the trip meter when I wasn't looking....hmmmmm

Nice ride to almost SEA......little warm but the bike is smooooooth. After about 160 miles non-stop, about 20 miles from home, the last bar on the fuel gauge started flashing.......well I lasted about 10miles, then chickened out & headed for a gas store.
Fueled up & hit the start button.
Nuthin.
Again.
Nuthin. no Juice.

"Ok.......I know this sequence of events........this is what happens right before you replace the dreaded Regulator / Rectifier."
Well - as it happens I parked where i could run down a slight hill & dump the clutch. Started right up & headed home without further drama....or having to start the bike again.
Got home & parked. Tried to start it.
Nope.

I called the seller - Tracy - "gee....never had any problems....yadayada......"

sigh.

SO.....ALL you wrench-tpyes.

There is a chance that the battery was on a charger for quite a while. Maybe it's boiled out?
There is a chance of the obvious.....ded R/R.
Is there a way to tell which is the culprit?....other than changing parts?
I can probably get volt meter / electric meter gizmo if that will allow me to test the system. But frankly, I'm a better rider than a wrench - & i don't ride all that well.
I have changed out a couple R/R's & can manage that.....

Any insight appreciated.

TIA

 

well.... If it was me, I would change the battery. start the bike & put a meter on it & see if the alt is charging. if it is, your golden if not, then look into it. I suppose while your @ it, you can look & see if its got the new reg or not. if not, it seems like a pretty simple insurance policy.

just my thoughts on it.

Bob

 

Before you buy anything, boost the bike to start it and see if it charges the old battery which it probably won't. If it does charge the batter you still may have an RR issue as mine would charge fine and then just quit about an hour into a ride without warning. I would continue to ride until the EFI would quit and leave me stranded. Loads of fun!

The point is that you are probably dealing with an RR unit and the battery is just a symptom. I've had two fifth gen bikes and had to install two RR units, the latter one failed on the ride home from the guy's house where I bought it. What are the odds?

 

2.75

 

You guys crack me up......

"I'd do this & put a meter on it..." or
"Charge it up & check that......"

and I'm like......

let's see........touch the red pointy thing to the red battery terminal.....
set the dial to x1000 or something .........touch the black pointy thing to the frame or the other battery terminal....
You're working with "Bob's home for the terminally (NPI) stoopid" here!

I need to take a beginning maintenance class.

Well.
I do happen to have a spare VFR that these parts aren't busted on.
Maybe I will just swap out the battery & the RR & ride it.
I figger it should work. Unless its the "kind-of a backwards alternator" thing.....

geeze....I was just trying to buy a new bike. Why is this always a "Kit"?......

Thanks for the responses! You guys are great.
I'm thinking it's the R/R too, since a 160 mile ride leaves the battery uncharged.... & I have new one - but I'm not sure what "the new style" means.....

 

I bought my 2001 in September 08, rode it home 150 miles no problems, a week or two later I started having clock problems, every time I cut it off it would reset to 1:00. This is before I read up or knew anything about all the RR problems on these bikes. I went out to auto zone and bought a battery, 70.00 give or take, problem solved. After reading up on the RR problems I had a friend use his Honda parts discount and order me a Honda upgraded spare RR. (about 130.00) I have it bubble wrapped and stored in my seat bag to keep Murphy from visiting me, but when he comes and I am 300 miles from the house, I am ready for him.

I am the same as you, suck as mechanic and only a little better as rider. Save yourself some grief and just go ahead and get a battery and RR ready. Since you already have the parts handy swap out the battery and go from there. The upgraded RR's were made with bigger fins and look a little different than the originals. Some guys put a computer fan on the RR to help it run cooler.

Don't suspect the seller because sometimes it just happens that way.
Tom

 

When you check your battery make sure your meter is on DC volts (probably shows a flat line instead of a squigly one) and the 20VDC scale (or higher). Yes, touch the red pointy thing to the red or positive of the battery. Touch the black pointy thing to the black or negative of the battery.
A good fully charged battery wil read 12.7-13v. If it reads in the mid 12s it is probably ok. A good test then would be to turn on the key without starting it to see what the voltage does. A good battery should stay above 12 volts.
To test the charging system, start the bike and rev it above 2k rpm. It should read 13.9-14v.

It is a good idea to clean, with a wire brush, the battery terminals every year or so and I like to use an electrical grease on as many connectors as I can get it on. I have never had a problem with a greased connector but have had a lot of problems with ones that weren't.

 

Obviously a man to be respected.
Anyone with more than 1 VFR.......:thumbsup:

SO another vote for battery, huh.

Well, like you, on my Y2k viffer, I carry a spare R/R to keep Murphy away.
Sound logic in my experiance.

I can swap the battery out of a currently non-functional VFR & check that.
thanks.......might be a first step.

On a 97 VFR i had, i used a computer fan on the 3rd R/R, and had no further probs.

 

HAHA!
Now THIS I can understand!
Do you write instruction manuals for a living?

Thanks!

bob

 

Damn my friend, you drove right by and didn't stop, and here I have all the fancy gadgets for checking too. Sounds like you have enough good advise though.. so none from me.. great site huh?

 

Ah yes, my Olympic compadre.......didn't even know there was a problem at that point.....
Once i assemble enough parts & pieces ...& get 'em started, maybe we meet up for a little riddie........
Great Site? Oui!

 

Whats ya doing Thursday evening? I should be at a place they Call the XXX in Iss. that night. as it's a PNWR bike nite.

 

gotta like a place that is named XXX!

JK.....

I've been there for "shiney old car night" before. Didn't know there was a VFR nite. I'll try to make it this week.

THX

bob

 

thought you might get a kick outa that.. ^ welcome..

 

Actually I was thinking about going into technical writing. In one of my classes they emphasized the importance about writing to your reader's skill level.

I really get tired of reading manuals written by engineers who can't relate to normal people.

 

you'll get a kick out of this.....

Empowered by your simplistic explanation, i went to Shux & bought the least expensive....er....cheapest multimeter they had - 20 bux.

I came back to the office to test the battery. I opened the package & took out the probes.
red.
black.

there were 3 holes on the front of the meter, 10A, com, V.
hmmmmm....
well how hard can this be?
start at the left.
red in the 10A, black in the Com (like ground, i figger) & set the knob on V DC.
away we go!
i touch the black to the black & then touch the red to the red & there are a couple small sparks, but....how big a deal can THAT be?


what is that smell?

I know that smell.
this isnt good......

sure 'nuff.
the probe wires got REALLY flexible .........& WARM too!
insulation smoked a bit.

Ok. fine. Manual time.

Turns out that I needed to use the V hole for the red lead.

I got just over 12 V cold & 9+volts when the key was on.
tried to start & things just got dim. no sounds. no turning over.
new batt today. started right up.

now we'll find out WHY the Battery wasn't charged up.
either it was the battery
or it was the charging system.

Only way i know to find out is to go for a ride.........
and stop on top of a hill........

thanx 4 everybody's input!

I got wheels again! woohoo!

 

You, sir, are a "glass 1/2 empty" kind of guy. :redface:


Let me share this.

Out of the blue......the seller called today.
He said he felt so bad about me having problems B4 I got home, he wanted to send me some cash to pay for the fix.

U believe that!

I told him that I appreciated him stepping up.
AND that if it was just an old tired battery, I'd fix it & call it good. But if it was an R/R or worse....maybe we'd talk.

what a guy. Tracy. :thumbsup::bounce::unsure::clap2:

Life is good.