RolandHTG

Hi RolandHTG, Thank you for your donation of $10.00. We look forward to improving the forums with your donation. Thanks VFRDiscussion

I have heard people say that a V-4 has more low end torque than an inline 4 of the same displacement due to the V-4 firing order. Aren't two cylinders firing at once whereas with in I4 only one fires at once or have I got that wrong? Anyway I agree the VFR is limp in first gear but I thought that was due to gearing.

I have always thought that engine is braking is directly related to engine low end torque and thus engine configuration. Example: given equal displacement a V4 typically has more low end torque than an inline 4 (due to firing order), a V twin even more due to larger cylinder displacement and a single the most. For a few years I split time between a KLR650, an SV650, a VFR800 and a Concours 14. The VFR and Connie had similar engine braking. The KLR had the most but it did not bother me because I rode it like a dirt bike. The SV gave me fits at first because I tried to ride it like the other two street bikes but the engine braking would spin the rear tire on downshifts. But within days I adjusted by simply staying in a higher gear when decelerating. BTW my Concours 14 has secondary butterflies controlled by a stepper motor and the ECU but they are their to reduce abrupt acceleration in lower gears, has nothing to do with engine braking. The C14 has a slipper clutch to control engine braking but in 100,000 miles I have never noticed it. As for the secondary butterflies like many other owners, I removed mine to IMPROVE low speed driveability

Just saw this on the Concours 14 forum: Posted - 10/04/2007 : 06:58:48 <A href="http://www.concours.org/forum/pop_profile.asp?mode=display&id=5425"> Stator is "oil cooled", common on bikes, it operates in the engine crankcase oil. The windings are epoxy coated to keep them out of actual contact with the oil.May not be news to some or most of you but it sheds some light on our VFR charging issues for me. We all know that heat inreases resitance in electrical circuits. The harder we ride the higher the RPM and the higher the stator output and at the same time the hotter the oil gets and thus the less effective it is at colling the stator when it needs cooling most.

I installed the 98/99 harness on my 99 tonight. Nothing to add to the post above except results plus I have 2 questions. Since I am leaving on atrip Wed am I was in a hurry and did not paln ahead, just did it. Went in without any problems. For some reason I bolted the ground lead to the back of the subframe (same bolt just other end) A lot harder to do, after seeing how Lobster did it I can't for the life of me figure out why I decided I needed to do it the hard way. Also, I fogot to swap the 2o amp for the 30 amp before testing. What is the theory behind going to a lower amp fuse? Anyway, I fired the viffer up and the results so far are dramatic. From 13.3 at idle to 14.0 and 12.5 +- .2 at 2500 to around 13.5 +-.2. I did not go for a test ride as the rear cowl was off but I did let the engine warm a bit up to about 150 f and there was no change. So I don't plan to relocate my ground wire. I will swap the fuse as that is a no effort job but am very curious why we are downgarding the fuse rating. Thanks for a good product and quick deliveryTightwad!

I don't think a minor variance in the thickness of the two units matters. I think 14.2 V at cruising rpm is too high. Here is my working theory and practice: Your charging system should function like a battery tendender. Your cruising rpm (where most time is spent) voltage should be just above your batteries steady state full charge voltage. Batteries differ so I won't give a specific number. My Oem Batt was at 12.6 & 12.5 for 18 months. My new Westco has sat at 13.0 & 12.9 for 5 years. This is what they both measured after sitting on a battery tender (digital automatic maintenance charger) over night and then unplugged for two hours. That is what I call steady state full charge. If your charging system is working right your battery should measure the same after a one or more hour ride at cruising speed ( no extended stop & go or low speed running) and then parked for two hours. When I put my battery on the tender it goes up to 14.2 briefly if it was loewer than its usual 12.9 0r 13.0 then settles down to a constant 13.2. If the battery was already at 13.0 it just goes right to 13.2 and stays there. When you crank your engine or run your lights without starting for a few seconds you battery will be low and 14.2 or 14.4 can be expected when you first start up but should soon settle down to around 13.2 after a few miles at cruising speed as the battery returns to full charge. Variables such as RPM and accesorries use wil cause the charge voltage to fluctuate more than it does with the bike parked and on the tender but if you see either less tan OR more than .5 volt above your steady state voltage, you have a problem. I don't really know about the monitor wire on the 2000+ bikes but I feel sure the above applies to all 12 volt charging systems. Just one other thing, be sure your battery tender is suitable for the type of battery you have. After recieving all the help here, I think it's only right for me to update. Btw, mine's a y2k 5th Gen.I've ascertain that my stator is bad, and hence ordered an Electrosport one from somebody selling it off in this forum and (after hearing all praises) decided to get one from Ricks too. Here are the 2 stators: Funny, it seems the Electrosport ones is narrower than the one from Rick's. Which one is correct though? Then I open up my alternator and took out the old coil. I guess this is what you could call 'burned'. Anybody knows what can cause this? Comparing thickness of alternator. The one from Rick's is of the correct dimension. I'll be keeping the Electrosport's one as a spare I guess. Anybody who had used Electrosport's stator coil can confirm that I got the correct coil? Next, some readings with the new coil: Bike at 2500 rpm: 14.68V Bike at 5000 rpm: 14.68V Stator AC voltage - 24VAC - 67VAC form idle to 5000 rpm Voltage drop from batt positive to R/R black wire (voltage sensing): 0.287V (which fail the <0.2V requirement from Electrosport's fault finding guide). Hence I wire the black sensing wire directly to the battery positive and obtained: Bike at idle: 13.4V Bike at 5000 rpm: 14.2V I guess that's good news...until you guys are now debating the credibility of doing the black wire mod! Drats, I've already cut the wire from the harness side...

BINGO - what I did basically does both. Shortens the length and increases the gauge of wire used (yes, multiple small gauge = large gauge) I think the main problem is the initial length ran in the OEM wiring prior to reaching the battery & fuse block. ???????????? --------> DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE THE OEM ENGINE GROUND CONNECTS? I would like to tackle that next. Zam, I really appreciate your expertise and you sharing it. I have resisted making any of the modifications previously suggested here because, while I was convinced the oem wiring was to small, I am averse to hacking the oem wiring as I am unsure I could produce nice clean connections with larger gauge wire that would be an improvement. Your idea of simply doubling the wires with button hooks seems fool proof except for one thing. There is one concern that I have from intuition, not any electrical knowledge that I have (which is limited to a vague understanding of ohms law). That concern is: it seems to me that piggy backing a second run of wire to the orginal, while effectivley doubling the gauge for the most part, would create a "bottle-neck" at both buttonhook joints. Does the current coming through the two wires cause overheating where the wires join into one, or is my "bottle-neck" intuition just wrong? Thanks again!