When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So, I keep the bike on a tender because I can't get out to ride as much as I want. I took a ride over the daughter's for dinner about 2 miles and while there it started to rain.
So I figured I'd put it in her garage until it passed. It wouldn't start so I pushed it in (after making room because the SIL is a slob). I didn't have any test equipment with me and the SIL,
(if he had any tools) they'd be buried under something and he wasn't home to ask. So I used the jump pack I carry (love that thing) to start the bike and get her home.
Now, once home, I start testing stuff.
only 12 volts at battery not running
it stayed 12 volts while running no change with throttle
I go down to the primary to test the stator and the stator plug is hanging out a little and mushy.
I can't get voltage because one of the female sockets in the stator plug is retracted into the boot.
So the regulator wasn't making contact on both sides unless I pushed it hard, but I'm only getting 13.8 volts at the battery.
My conclusion is that when I cleaned the lower part of the engine with some Brakeleen it melted the boot.
And thinking about the problem at hand, all this time the engine's running, no fan blowing on the bike, not good, bike got HOT.
So I've ordered a Cycle Electric 32 amp stator and will be digging into it in a few weeks.
Then I'll know what other damage I did by over heating the engine.
I hope your day's going better than mine.
If this is in the wrong section I'm sure the mod's will move it.
Check this out, the rubber part that rests in the inner primary hole is mush. The stator wire is fine, sos the stator. The stator wires pulled right through with the stator without loosening the clamp.
allot of those little pieces are from the plug and were floating around it the primary.
One word, yamabond. It's the stuff used to seal cases on 2-strokes. It's very flexible and keeps water out. I put that **** all around the stator plug connector. In the past few years since putting a new stator in i've never had a problem. My old plug looked exactly like yours.
Im more concerned about the why right now. Ill be installing the new stator this weekend. And I dont want it to happen again.
The why is because water or in my case some oil got in. It can cause a short and melt the inner plug. If you don't want to ask yourself why again in a few years then seal it up. 7/10 times a stator is replaced the stator itself is fine and the plug is completely burnt up. I went through 2 stators in 3 years before it clicked with the case sealer. Since putting that stuff on its been 4 or 5 years with the same stator. Oh and check your regulator. If the plug is shot get a new one.
The why is because water or in my case some oil got in. It can cause a short and melt the inner plug. If you don't want to ask yourself why again in a few years then seal it up. 7/10 times a stator is replaced the stator itself is fine and the plug is completely burnt up. I went through 2 stators in 3 years before it clicked with the case sealer. Since putting that stuff on its been 4 or 5 years with the same stator. Oh and check your regulator. If the plug is shot get a new one.
New stator's in, easier than I thought, but I overthink stuff.
I couldn't locate the Yama bond you mentioned so I used some Magic Black, same **** different name.
Strangest reaction I've seen, almost like the reaction rubber has to brake fluid, DOT3.
2.5 hours to get it off, 2 hours to button everything up. including set up and clean up.
I had ordered a step tool to lock the chain and a cup removal tool, got impatient and made a locking bar and pulled the cup
with 2 hooked picks.
Went out and bought a 2' breaker bar 1/2" drive, I had a 1.5" socket
I also bought a 1 3/16" socket for the clutch pack that I didn't need.
I also had all the torque wrenches, torx and allen sockets.
Plus I had Primary fluid on the shelf.
So out of pocket cost for things I DIDN'T have and had to buy new, including tools I didn't wind up using $200.
Not bad I'm thinking, the new stator's a Cycle Electric 32 amp (like stock)
Man a lift table would have been nice. I'm getting to old to be laying on the floor.
I also up-graded my chain tensioner with a Hayden while I was in there. I had that on the shelf too.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
Stator plug rant
