First ride of the season and the side of the road.

[trmoyer]

I have to say it’s been pretty much a trouble free 5 years. But today, the first ride of the season we made it 22 miles before rolling to a stop on the side of the road. I put a new battery (always on a Tender) in it a couple weeks ago when I changed the oil getting things ready for the season. Five years ago I upgraded the RR with an FA020AA (kit) from Jacks and life has been pretty good considering the age of the bike. So later I’ll unload it from the trailer, charge the battery, run “the drill” and see if the stator gave up or if the RR had enough. The RR was HOT when I put my finger on it lol, yup I did that……… 

[mello dude]

Interested in what you find out.... Before you put the battery on charge... what voltage does it read?

[Worfje]

Sorry to hear!

Maybe check your fuses as well, if not already part of 'the drill'.

 

[trmoyer]

2 hours ago, mello dude said:

Interested in what you find out.... Before you put the battery on charge... what voltage does it read?

It’s so flat it didn’t show anything on my Fluke, 0.0vdc……. 

[Terry]

That sounds like a broken battery, not just flat. Maybe an internal break. Even a "flat" battery should show some voltage.

[trmoyer]

30 minutes ago, Terry said:

That sounds like a broken battery, not just flat. Maybe an internal break. Even a "flat" battery should show some voltage.

I’m hoping this. It’s taking a charge now but time will tell and once I check charging while running with the R/R disconnected. If it’s a bad battery I’ll swap it out. I deal a lot with Interstate so figured I give it a shot, an AGM dry version adding the solution before installing letting it set and then on the Tender for a couple weeks or so waiting for time to ride. 

[trmoyer]

Ok, quick update. I tested the RR, it’s junk & smelled burnt, initial tests of the stator were promising with resistance and nothing to ground but……… running VAC is a bit low. At 1900rpm it’s running 10.8-11.0vac and at 5000rpm it’s running 33.6-35.0vac. I’m ordering an SH847 and will be looking for a shop to rewind the stator.

[mello dude]

Curious... how many miles on the bike and also miles since the R/R change? Yours is the first ever heard about the FH020 giving up ghost...

-I'm running the same 6ish years and its still fine. 

 

btw - suggest you add a digital voltmeter up front to monitor while you ride. 

There's lots of choices... 

[trmoyer]

2 hours ago, mello dude said:

Curious... how many miles on the bike and also miles since the R/R change? Yours is the first ever heard about the FH020 giving up ghost...

-I'm running the same 6ish years and its still fine. 

 

btw - suggest you add a digital voltmeter up front to monitor while you ride. 

There's lots of choices... 

 

32,250 miles on the bike

13,200 miles on the FH020AA 

 

I wasn’t expecting a regulator issue that’s for sure. The battery was 5 years old when I replaced it a couple weeks or so ago. Maybe a combination of a slowly failing stator and an older battery the RR wasn’t happy. The battery has always been kept on a Tender when not ridden and was still “ok” but I know with its age it was a matter of time. 

[TimC]

Sorry to hear about the failure.  Heckuva way to start your riding season.  😞

 

The battery in my BMW is dying.  (I've already bought the replacement, just need time to install it, as it's a real pain to get to on my bike.)  I'm thankful to have a voltmeter built into one of the gauges - though I added that gauge, because the bike didn't come with a tachometer, and that gauge includes the LCD where the voltmeter and other information are shown.  Having dealt with an electrical issue or two with my old VFR, I don't think I'd ever want a bike without a voltmeter now, whether it's built in or I add one myself.

 

I hope you can get everything sorted and be back on the road quickly!

[trmoyer]

2 hours ago, TimC said:

Sorry to hear about the failure.  Heckuva way to start your riding season.  😞

 

The battery in my BMW is dying.  (I've already bought the replacement, just need time to install it, as it's a real pain to get to on my bike.)  I'm thankful to have a voltmeter built into one of the gauges - though I added that gauge, because the bike didn't come with a tachometer, and that gauge includes the LCD where the voltmeter and other information are shown.  Having dealt with an electrical issue or two with my old VFR, I don't think I'd ever want a bike without a voltmeter now, whether it's built in or I add one myself.

 

I hope you can get everything sorted and be back on the road quickly!

I’ll probably be adding a small volt meter this time, I considered it 5 years ago but just couldn’t be bothered lol. So maybe this time….. 

[Lorne]

You should also check your starter relay(adjacent to the battery) and all its connections. Remove the rubber boot to get a good look at all the wiring terminations. Charging power from the rec/reg gets to the battery via the starter relay.

[trmoyer]

2 hours ago, Lorne said:

You should also check your starter relay(adjacent to the battery) and all its connections. Remove the rubber boot to get a good look at all the wiring terminations. Charging power from the rec/reg gets to the battery via the starter relay.

That’s a good idea. Thank you! 

[Gaz66]

Hi.

It's an urban myth that keeping a battery on a tender is good practice, batteries don't respond well to being charged 24/7 & never use a car charger, you'll wreck any bike battery.

Use a bike specific charger only & top up charge once a week (overnight) if bike's not being run regular.

It's good practice to add a fresh heavy gauge battery to chassis ground, this alone will improve things massively, also completely bypass the bikes loom & wire stator direct to R&R minus the shitty 3 pin plug & wire R&R direct to battery, you'll have little to no running /charging issues.

 

 

[trmoyer]

1 hour ago, Gaz66 said:

Hi.

It's an urban myth that keeping a battery on a tender is good practice, batteries don't respond well to being charged 24/7 & never use a car charger, you'll wreck any bike battery.

Use a bike specific charger only & top up charge once a week (overnight) if bike's not being run regular.

It's good practice to add a fresh heavy gauge battery to chassis ground, this alone will improve things massively, also completely bypass the bikes loom & wire stator direct to R&R minus the shitty 3 pin plug & wire R&R direct to battery, you'll have little to no running /charging issues.

 

 

I hadn’t considered changing / upgrading the ground cable, I’ll look into that. When I replaced the RR five years ago I used the kit from Jack @ Roadstercycle, it’s a nice set up. As for tenders it’s a motorcycle small battery specific Tender, used them for years with no issues. The battery I took out was 5 years old and where I live 5 years is good considering the winter and not being ridden all the time. 

[mello dude]

While I have bought several R/Rs from Jack, I never cared for his harness stuff, the stator connector and especially the circuit breakers thing. 

Always got the do my own thing with solid fuse holders and either very heavy duty butt connectors or solder for the stator hookup and 10 ga wire all around. 

[rc24dk]

On 5/18/2025 at 12:39 AM, trmoyer said:

It’s so flat it didn’t show anything on my Fluke, 0.0vdc……. 

0V on the battery terminals I would suspect either a measurement error or a short circuit.

Did it accept charge?

One thing that could drain the charge is if the starter solenoid hangs.

[trmoyer]

RR in hand, next be the stator. Finding a place to rewind it in a reasonable amount of time is a challenge so I’m gambling on a Rick’s but will still send the original out for rewinding and keep it as a spare. 

[mello dude]

Its been a few years, but have used Custom Rewind in Alabama in the past. The owner has MS and cant talk so his daughter was helping the last time I used them. 

Business is done all by phone call. 205-798-7282 --- I dont know if they are still in business. 

 

Some guys have changed over 5th gen stator and flywheel to 2003 and later parts. I think VFRcapt is one. 

[vfrcapn]

Yes, 2003 or later stator will bolt in to the 5th gen, with the same '03 or later flywheel. Flywheels are relatively cheap on eBay.

[ggathagan]

11 hours ago, mello dude said:

Its been a few years, but have used Custom Rewind in Alabama in the past. The owner has MS and cant talk so his daughter was helping the last time I used them. 

Business is done all by phone call. 205-798-7282 --- I dont know if they are still in business. 

 

Some guys have changed over 5th gen stator and flywheel to 2003 and later parts. I think VFRcapt is one. 

Well, as of 10 months ago, Custom Rewind was still in business.
That's the date of the last review on Google maps.
A Google map street view of the address (2014 Pratt Hwy. Birmingham, AL 35214) shows what appears to be a derelict building, but it doesn't have to be pretty.

[trmoyer]

Update. Pulled out the old stator and it has been set aside until I have time & place to have it rewound. Made a mounting plate for the RR and tested things. AC and DC voltage looks good. Now the weather has to get its act together and do some riding.  

[Ughandi]

That stater looks ~KRISPY~

[Gaz66]

Anybody come up with a workable solution to cool a stator on a 5th Gen?

[Terry]

My FSC600 scooter had a small oil jet aimed at the stator which I assume was there for cooling purposes (but it still burnt out the stator). The photo below shows the gallery where the oil crosses into the alternator cover and then the little jet (at 12 o'clock when installed) where it aimed at the stator.