Looking for any cooling/electrical system upgrades

You're right, I didn't check, my fault. I dunno if I missed it in the service manual (I don't do terribly well with books, I'm autistic and a visual learner) or if it's just not there. Regardless, I just checked and sure enough there's a short to ground on the three phases.

 

Ok, at last you have confirmed the Stator is toast.
Just be aware of the very stong magnetic force pulling the Stator towards the Rotor, it can make for difficult removal, and when installing can pull the Stator housing out of your hands, potentially damaging your new housing gasket.

Good Luck Connah, all the Best with everything.

 

My new stator just came in! I'm so excited to put it on tonight. One question though, the 3 phases are supposed to have continuity to each other (and no to ground)... right?

 

Yep this has already been mentioned a few times! Your phase to phase coil resistance will be very low, virtual continuity, BUT you want infinite resistance/no continuity from any phase wire to Ground, being the iron core of your new Stator, or frame/ground when installed in your bike.
Good Luck.

 

I'm so beyond angry right now. Not at any of you, nor the manufacturer, but myself. I was erroneously lead to believe the 6th gen and 5th gen stator were the same, apart from the connector, but that's wrong. I accidentally ordered a 6th gen stator and gasket, and I emailed them asking them to change to a 5th gen gasket (which they did), but did not opt to change the stator since I was told they're the same. My new stator won't fit, and now it's 1:11 in the morning after spending like 4 hours busting off this gasket, and I'm utterly beside myself. I'm gonna try and email the place I bought it from to see if there's anything they can do, but I really doubt they'll let me return, since I cut off the connector and put on my MOSFET connector.
Welp, guess I'll be back two weeks after my next paycheck. I gotta find a new hobby...

 

New stator is in! I didn't have enough time (or endurance, it's 100°F today in NTX) to REALLY test it, but it didn't go below 13.5 on my 20 mile drive! Coolant is still running a bit hot, it was going anywhere from 220-239, but as long as it's not triggering the warning and my battery is staying charged, I'm fine! One problem... despite 4 meticulous hours of gasket scraping, either i missed a spot or didn't put gasket dressing on the bottom, cause its leaking oil! I just put a new gasket on and I'm sure if I try and take it apart after that high temp ride I'm gonna have to scrape it again... Any ideas for how to patch the leak without opening the cover or permanently welding it shut? :/
By the way, here's my old stator

 

Yup, big fan of high tack. I use that stuff on everything, including the stator cover gasket I did 3 weeks ago. I even put some around the rubber triangles that seal off the wire entry into the cover.

 

Educational, reading this thread.
No issues (yet, anyway) with charging on my '00
Interesting to read about the temperatures... Has always made me nervous as hell to see water hit 215, and no fan action at all.
Just did an oil change, and I meant to check the fan for function by giving it 12V directly, got in a hurry and forgot.
Going to hunt in the forums for threads on operting temps and cooling upgrades. I have considered just installing a rider-operated switch.

 

Here's The Update™
New gasket was supposed to come in today, but while eBay says it's "posted", I don't have a tracking number, so we'll see.
I do actually have another gasket around from my first install, but I don't think it's a good idea to use it, since it's all gritty from sawdust and covered in dried sealant. If there's a way to wash it off, that would be nice.
I got a carbon gasket scraper and some Permatex foaming gasket remover, so I'm gonna use that to get this gasket off.

Haven't heard of the High Tack, I'll go get some when I run to go get the M6 bolts. I used Permatex Gasket Dressing & Sealant, I used it on my clutch cover with no issue.

I also see a spray-a-gasket high tack sealant. I assume the jar would be a better fit for what I'm doing, but I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on the spray-a-gasket. I see a tube of high-tack gasket sealant as well, I wonder if that would be better [to apply] than the jar.

I wonder if anyone here is good at CAD, it would be so cool if someone could CAD up some gaskets. I have a laser cutter but suck at CAD, so it would be super nice to just cut my own gaskets instead of paying money every time it fails, then waiting for eBay shipping. Maybe I should use that spare stator gasket (and the clutch gasket I have that got folded in the mailbox, thanks USPS) and hone in my CAD skills.

Other than that, the bike seems like it's running good. From what riding I have done, it's staying charged and I don't think I've seen it go below 13.5 even with the fans on. I'm trying to keep my riding to a minimum, since the oil from the stator cover ends up on the tire, which is a no-no in my book.
The cooling seems a little better, which I chock up to two things
- The extra voltage from a working stator is allowing the fan to spin faster
- I refilled the overflow bottle with distilled water instead of antifreeze
I'm still interested in mounting a fan to the right rad, just for extra cooling power on hot days. I have a whole tub of computer fans, but I wanna find something with super high CFM that'll fit in the (I believe) 20mm between the rad and the engine I've seen online. I also gotta figure out how to mount up a manual fan switch and how to actually mount the fan. I think I saw someone using zip ties, but I don't know how much to trust that.

In the mean time, I've been working on my eBike. Helps with the VFR withdrawal, but it's just not the same.

 

Genius!

 

Just to clarify--
The plan was to get the tube, it appears to be the same material as the can. Was just curious about the usage and application of the spray.
I think the high tack should work better than what I've got though, as it'll be much tackier. The stuff I got was a little goopy. Either WILL seal, but the high tack is most likely EASIER to seal.
As said, I took a test ride, got the info I needed (IE- it's still leaking oil) and my bike is currently collecting dust until the gasket in. All my oil is on my chicken strip portion, and I'm going to look into how to get the oil off without (or rather, minimally) damaging the tire, I'm guessing degreaser and a rag.
I haven't measured the standard bolts that are on the stator cover, but I'm guessing 40mm is longer than the standards? Is the correct procedure
- goop up the engine side
-insert M6 bolts and dowels
- goop up gasket
(and/or?) - probably gonna go with both just to be safe
- goop up stator cover
- slide cover onto M6
- remove M6 bolt with pliers, replace with cover bolt, repeat for each bolt

Apologies if I come off as mechanically incompetent. While I've been disassembling and reassembling things all my life (i get it from my engineer dad), I've only been working on things with engines for 3 years. I was considering taking mechanics as a field of study, but I decided to stick with tech. My brain is wired to work best from hands-on learning, so my mechanics knowledge is all self taught and experienced-based. I come here to make sure I have the right info from people who know this bike better than me. I have a lot to learn, and I'm not good at putting my thoughts into words, so forgive me if I misunderstand or ask too many questions. I tend to have my dad help me out when I'm out in the garage.

 

Just to clarify... I cut the cotton part off a q-tip and use the stick, or am I misunderstanding?

 

Gasket came in! GF expressed interest in helping me work on it again, so I'll come back with the results later tonight.

Would a wooden wide popsicle stick be adequate? I've got a whole drawer full of those. Will practice with some Q-tips just to be safe.

 

It's in!
From all the time it's been put back together, and also the 2 minutes I ran the engine (didn't wanna get it hot just yet, just wanted to get some oil flowing), it hasn't leaked any oil. Tire degreased, chain lubed, I'm letting it rest for a few hours (3, as recommend on the high tack), then I'm going for a ride. Wish me luck!

 

Welp.
It is leaking oil still, but not as much.
I'm genuinely at a loss, I don't know what I did wrong. I scraped all of the old gasket off and used some fine sandpaper to make sure the mating surfaces were clean, put in 5 M6 screws, covered engine and stator mating surfaces in HT, no metal showing, torqued in a star shaped pattern, I thought I did everything correct.
What I DID notice is
- The gasket split after installation, but the split was outside of the mating surfaces. No more Caltric gaskets, I have had no luck with them at all. I'll save up and splurge on a Honda next time. Still, I'm not sure if that would make it leak, since the split is outside the mating area.
- There did look like some abnormal, possibly gouged areas on the block.
Am I shit out of luck? Is it time for me to get a new bike? I am getting quite sick of this, I've had this bike for over a year, and while it's a blast to ride, there's always something broken on it. When I fix something, something else breaks. I love the VFR, but I don't know if I love MY VFR...
I'm utterly heartbroken. Is there any possible ways of fixing a potentially gouged block? I feel so stupid right now.