Another VFR newbie with battery/regulator question

Hey everyone, I have been lurking for weeks and finally pulled the trigger on a yellow 2000 with 27,000 miles. I am coming from Ducati ownership but I'm getting older and have almost an hour drive each way to work so I wanted something a bit more comfortable. I have always loved the VFR and this one already has heli bars plus he just added a Two Bros carbon fiber exhaust (although at some point I will probably switch to a high Staintune - I had them on my last Ducati and love them) My question, the previous owner said that the bike had been sitting for the better part of a year and he believed the battery was bad. With a jump it fired right up. I drove it for about 20 minutes and everything seemed fine, We started it three times after that and each time it required a jump but then idled fine. I got the bike home and put the battery on my battery tender for at least 24 hours, The light on the Tender went from red to green but I still could not get the bike started. He said that he never had a regulator issue but I did notice the battery was not the original - no surprise for a ten year old bike. Should I assume I just need a battery or does it sound like the regulator? I thought the 2000 model was fairly immune t the RR issue? I am fine mechanically but not so great with electrical. My first step was going to have the battery tested at Auto Zone to see if it is, indeed, bad. I just don't want to get stuck. Should I replace the regulator just as a precaution? I hate to spend cash if I don't have to. I do know all about the search function so please no flaming. You guys and girls will probably be sick of my questions in a few weeks. First VFR! First Honda for that matter. I appreciate any advice I can get. Thank you all ahead of time, Rob Primavera

 

Welcome to the peanut gallery!

I know what you're talking about with the getting stuck thing as I had an R/R failure 4.5 hours from home, but was luckily able to get it back. I would probably look for another R/R to carry with you as a spare, at the very least.

Before going all gun-ho with the R/R itself, check the battery as you said, but also check the wiring and connectors. The connectors are known to fail and may be causing the problem, not the r/r. Do a quick search on this site and you will find all kinds of r/r threads. Some have replaced the r/r with one from and R1, so almost anything is possible. Also, check out the VFRness from wiremybike.com

Any who, keep the questions coming, we (well most of us) welcome the questions as we all like to see fellow vfr owners enjoy their bikes as much as we do. As far as owning a VFR/honda, welcome to many miles and years of enjoyment. Aside from the r/r, these things are generally just short of bulletproof.

 

You can buy a voltmeter (digital readout even) from Radio Shack or harbor freight and read the battery voltage (put the meter in DC mode) with the engine turned off and then with the engine running at 2K or 3000 rpm. With the engine off, a charged battery will read 12.5 to 13.5 volts. With the engine running it should read more than 13.6 up to 15V. If the voltage climbs with revs, then the charging system on the bike is good. Replace your battery. To connect the voltmeter, put the red lead to the positive of the battery and black to neg. The meter should be set to read voltage and not amperage . Batteries die very easily without a battery tender type device always charging them. ( The constant charging helps keep the battery from sulfating and disolving the plates.)

 

Thank you all for the advice. Auto Zone said that they could not test the battery. They did charge it and he said it came up to full charge quicker than expected. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. I have a meter so I will check the voltage as suggested as well as the connections. I might just buy a new regulator for piece of mind. I'm not sure. Hate to spend $150 if I don't have to when there are other goodies I'd like to get.
Thanks again,
Rob