when to switch to synthetic

[RM]

>>BTW: They have a stator up grade which increases out put by about >>50%. Anybody know anything about these up grades? >Yes, they either fail, or create weird electrical problems. Several >adventure tourers have had issues with their Electrex stators.

...and, correct me if I'm wrong, none of them have been able to say anything about the system other than "my battery went dead". No resistance readings on the stator windings, no voltage readings on the three-phase output, no checking for R/R shorts or opens. We know nothing about those failed Electrex installations other than the fact that they didn't work or quit working shortly after installation. Not to discredit the Electrex "victims", but without more data I cannot declare with confidence that the Electrex products have problems. RM PS. NASA is hiring Rush Limbaugh to help with the shuttle investigation since he's so good at finding fault with the left-wing...

[Thomas J Komjathy]

I thought there was an initial problem between the "Electrix" stator and the stock voltage regulator/rectifier. Last I checked, they recommended using there VR/R, but a 50% increase seems far greater than what I've been told by other sources.. TK

----- Original Message ----- From: "RM" To: "Zachariah Mully" Cc: "Ken Clark" ; "KLR List" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2003 3:05 PM Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] Electrex > > >>BTW: They have a stator up grade which increases out put by about > >>50%. Anybody know anything about these up grades? > > >Yes, they either fail, or create weird electrical problems. Several > >adventure tourers have had issues with their Electrex stators. > > ...and, correct me if I'm wrong, none of them have been able to say > anything about the system other than "my battery went dead". No > resistance readings on the stator windings, no voltage readings on the > three-phase output, no checking for R/R shorts or opens. > > We know nothing about those failed Electrex installations other than the > fact that they didn't work or quit working shortly after installation. > Not to discredit the Electrex "victims", but without more data I cannot > declare with confidence that the Electrex products have problems. > > RM > > PS. NASA is hiring Rush Limbaugh to help with the shuttle investigation > since he's so good at finding fault with the left-wing... > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

[Zachariah Mully]

On Thu, 2003-02-06 at 15:05, RM wrote:

> ...and, correct me if I'm wrong, none of them have been able to say > anything about the system other than "my battery went dead". No > resistance readings on the stator windings, no voltage readings on the > three-phase output, no checking for R/R shorts or opens. > > We know nothing about those failed Electrex installations other than the > fact that they didn't work or quit working shortly after installation. > Not to discredit the Electrex "victims", but without more data I cannot > declare with confidence that the Electrex products have problems. > > RM

I don't know about you, but I would consider a stator swap evidence of failure. And not that I am necessarily rabble rousing here, but people *have* had trouble with it in the most unfortunate places. On the other hand the stock stator/rectifier system doesn't seem to have any issues. For me to make an upgrade I'd have to weigh the advantages against the possible reduction in reliability. If I were going on a long distance tour around the world, I wouldn't go near a perfectly good KLR electrical system with any Electrex stuff. Besides, has anyone measured the actual output of the system? Just wondering if their 280W claim is accurate. Dunno if it's worth $400 for suspect power output. Z DC A5X A11X From: Combat_Tourer To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_klr650] Help in Antigua - Final Date: Sun, 24 Nov 2002 00:10:28 -0000 Thank you to everyone who posted a little while back when I asked for help in resolving an electrical problem I was having in Antigua Guatemala. I got the KLR fixed. The problem, as I had been warned prior to installing it, was the failure of an ElectrexUSA stator. I'm still a little pissed about it as it cost me more than a week of downtime and around $400 to fix! But, I'm back on the road hailing from Costa Rica!

[RM]

On Thu, 6 Feb 2003, Thomas J Komjathy wrote:

>I thought there was an initial problem between the "Electrix" stator and >the stock voltage regulator/rectifier. Last I checked, they recommended >using there VR/R, but a 50% increase seems far greater than what I've >been told by other sources..

There *is* a problem with the Electrex stator and stock regulator combination, but this isn't news. The stock regulator likely does not have the reserve capacity to handle the stator's higher output. RM

[Zachariah Mully]

On Thu, 2003-02-06 at 16:11, RM wrote:

> There *is* a problem with the Electrex stator and stock regulator > combination, but this isn't news. The stock regulator likely does not > have the reserve capacity to handle the stator's higher output. > > RM

And they've admitted that pre SVT and Dash Weeks electrex failures their rectifier did have problems and they did fix it. But according to one of Dash's posts, Paul @ ElectrexUSA said the stock r/r would work fine, but I have no idea if he's the one to listen to about such things. Z DC A5X A11X

[Thomas J Komjathy]

Didn't someone on the list work with them to come up with a good reliable combination? Anyone, anyone, Bueller..

----- Original Message ----- From: "Zachariah Mully" To: "RM" Cc: "Thomas J Komjathy" ; "Ken Clark" ; "KLR List" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2003 4:15 PM Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] Electrex > On Thu, 2003-02-06 at 16:11, RM wrote: > > > There *is* a problem with the Electrex stator and stock regulator > > combination, but this isn't news. The stock regulator likely does not > > have the reserve capacity to handle the stator's higher output. > > > > RM > > And they've admitted that pre SVT and Dash Weeks electrex failures their > rectifier did have problems and they did fix it. But according to one of > Dash's posts, Paul @ ElectrexUSA said the stock r/r would work fine, but > I have no idea if he's the one to listen to about such things. > > Z > DC > A5X > A11X > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

[RM]

On Thu, 6 Feb 2003, Zachariah Mully wrote:

>I don't know about you, but I would consider a stator swap evidence of >failure.

Might Electrex have had a batch of defective G35 stators lying around from which all of our fearless adventurers got their units? It's within the realm of possibility when you consider that this isn't a high volume part. Was Electrex given the opportunity to examine and replace the suspect parts? I think they had Van Twyver's stator at their facility back when I had my setup installed and it tested good. The reason we didn't place his old stator in my bike is because there *was* a fitment issue that involved the mounting bolts (they weren't long enough). They ended up installing a newer G35 that was constructed with one less plate.

>And not that I am necessarily rabble rousing here, but people *have* had >trouble with it in the most unfortunate places.

I don't deny that. Electrex doesn't seem to be getting any useful feedback from the KLR community other than "your stuff sucks." They noted the installation difficulty involving the spade connectors not being included with G35, they noted the fact that the stock R/R mounting bolts are just barely long enough to mount it to the fender, and they noted that the newer G35 with one less plate needs to be supplied for our application. What they still don't know is why the list community (myself excluded) can't seem to get their stuff to work and keep it working. Are the windings suffering from vibration-induced fatigue? Is the wire insulation not holding up? Is the R/R failing? Are the wires leading out of the engine cover getting damaged during the install or are they too weak to begin with? These are all possibilities, but until we can put our finger on something, the system will never improve. Electrex is not very big company and they cannot realistically own a fleet of bikes for testing, which is probably one of the reasons why they had me supply my bike as a tester. The parts had already been tested on an "A" model KLR but the guys in Oceanside wanted to see what we were bitching about so they did it again. 28k miles later, the system is still going strong.

>On the other hand the stock stator/rectifier system doesn't seem to have >any issues.

Other than needing more output. A problem with which the Electrex setup may or may not help significantly.

>Besides, has anyone measured the actual output of the system? Just >wondering if their 280W claim is accurate. Dunno if it's worth $400 for >suspect power output.

With a 100W high beam, a Gerbing liner, the fan running, and the normal complement of lights, you need somewhere around 3500-4000rpm for charging to begin. I'll have better numbers later when I hack up a cheap DMM and stick it under my map pouch window. Bottom line - We cannot say with confidence that the system is faulty, but we also cannot say with confidence that it is NOT faulty. RM

[RM]

On Thu, 6 Feb 2003, Zachariah Mully wrote:

>And they've admitted that pre SVT and Dash Weeks electrex failures their >rectifier did have problems and they did fix it. But according to one of >Dash's posts, Paul @ ElectrexUSA said the stock r/r would work fine, but >I have no idea if he's the one to listen to about such things.

I don't know what time-frame that was, but it was probably before they worked on my bike. Paul saw for himself the instability of the stock R/R with the Electrex stator. RM

[Ken Clark]

Happy Trails recommends the upgraded regulator/rectifer. Ride Safe Kenn RM wrote:

> On Thu, 6 Feb 2003, Thomas J Komjathy wrote: > > >I thought there was an initial problem between the "Electrix" stator and > >the stock voltage regulator/rectifier. Last I checked, they recommended > >using there VR/R, but a 50% increase seems far greater than what I've > >been told by other sources.. > > There *is* a problem with the Electrex stator and stock regulator > combination, but this isn't news. The stock regulator likely does not > have the reserve capacity to handle the stator's higher output. > > RM

[Svantwuyver]

Keep in mind that Electrex makes a lot of unsubstantiated claims. They have nothing that proves their claim of 280 watts. They used to claim 100 watts more than stock which was total BS. Ask them for a voltage/current/RPM graph or anything that proves this number isn't hype. When I installed the Electrex stator, it could NOT even keep my battery charged. Electrex blamed it on the KLR's marginal wiring. I put the stock stator back in and use heated grips and a vest. The battery is now 5 years old and still starts the bike just fine. I'd steer clear of their hype and stick with the stock. Learn to live with its limitations, at least the stock stator works. -svt- ================================== Happy->trails site, there is an Electrex stator/rectifier combo for $350 that increases the output to around 280 watts. Has anyone attempted a stator upgrade and what was the outcome? What about reliability? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com