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buying a generator

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Old May 4, 2009 | 06:30 PM
  #1  
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Default buying a generator

just gonna ask before i shelled out the cash for a new generator....it went kaput(technical term)--trying to make myself laugh as i came pretty close to putting a "last bullet" in it like a horse with a broken leg in the desert.either that or driving a nail in my head...
the armature is what is bad.just wondering if anyone has a best place to order one from?in an 2007 jp theres one for 230 i beleive.i might just get a new armature and thats about 80 bucks from ebay/jp.i will call my local bike shop tomorrow(closed on mon.)
 
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Old May 4, 2009 | 07:09 PM
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Twice i have bought a gen from eBay; used; cheap; both times the seller said it was good and both times it was. If you are willing to take a chance you could get one really cheap. Look for an old original black HD gen rather than one of the new pretty chrome ones.

You might be able to get a known good used one for $100 to $150 if a local shop has one that has been refurbished.

Around here a replacement armature is $160. So when it goes bad i trash the whole thing.

I always have a spare gen, and a spare reg too, on the shelf. These parts can go bad at any time.
 
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Old May 5, 2009 | 11:25 AM
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I bought mine from these guys on EBAY.
JJ Powersports
$ 140.00 plus shipping.
BLACK 12 VOLT GENERATOR 4 HARLEY IRONHEAD XL FL 65-81
Item number: 130288225754
 
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Old May 5, 2009 | 02:54 PM
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i found a new generator on ebay for 117 free shipping.you ever see somthing and "feel" like its garbage...for some reason i get that feeling when seeing it.
the local bike shop(25 miles away local) doesnt stock anything like that.they can get a taiwan armeture for 65 bucks.i am probably just gonna go that route.i know...you guys probably want to kill me over that.i sorta wanna kill me over it too.bike shop gets stuff quickly generally in one day for most things.i think they watch over quality of there vendors fairly close.----i dont know what else can go wrong on this bike.the only thing i can say is that its better and better.much better than when i got it.it has given me an education.i say "given"...nothing is free...you pay for youre education one way or another.i will put that on and maybe it will get me another 5 miles down the road haha.
 
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Old May 5, 2009 | 08:32 PM
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i ended up buying a cycle armeture from jp.it was $82.i need new tires and got som exhaust wrap that i wanted for awhile.i seem to keep burning my hands beleive it or not.i never ordered from them before but i realized if you order 300 bucks worth of stuff you get free shipping.so by a females logic i saved money--seriously i am really surprised at how much cheaper they are than the local shops.
 
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Old May 5, 2009 | 09:39 PM
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My original generator went bad. I put in 2 armatures only to have them last a short while. I wised up and bought a new gen from Cycle Electric. It is American made if that matters to you. It has been in the bike for over 10 years and is still going strong.

http://www.cycleelectricinc.com/
 
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Old May 5, 2009 | 09:49 PM
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ive got a cycle electric on it now.the replacement arm. is a cycle as well.---i would have went with the cheaper one but they said it wouldnt be in stock for awhile.they only had more expensive ones.....so that is what made me just get a bunch of stuff i need from jp and take advantage of the free shipping.
i am glad its american made.
i am going to mention hd forums to jp....i had thought they were a sponsor here but guess not.
 
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Old May 10, 2009 | 05:20 PM
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i got my stuff in.thought it came pretty fast.but i was mistaken about the cycle electric armeture.....what i orderered was one made i taiwan.....i was mad at jp until i looked again in the magazine.it was my mistake.it was listed directly below the cycle stuff and i got confused i guess.i am mentioning this in case anyone tries to order a cyle arm. from jp....that i can see they dont exist.i will be more careful next time.
 
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Old May 17, 2009 | 05:11 AM
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There's nothing special about those generators. A good automotive electrical shop (one owned and operated by a guy with graying temples and with Rush Limbaugh bellowing away on his radio) can rebuild it easy.

In my town, the tag for a rebuild w/90 day warranty is about $75.
 
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Old May 17, 2009 | 07:34 AM
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Originally Posted by halmc
There's nothing special about those generators. A good automotive electrical shop (one owned and operated by a guy with graying temples and with Rush Limbaugh bellowing away on his radio) can rebuild it easy.

In my town, the tag for a rebuild w/90 day warranty is about $75.
+1 on that. Also they are simple inside. Take it apart yourself. It will be filthy inside so clean it up with spray can electrical contacts cleaner from auto supply store. Check that brushes are not sticking in the holders. Replace brushes if they measure less then 1/2". Then you may be good to go.

There are tests in the fcatory manual. All you need is a multimeter.
 
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