[Shep]

I have two none epoxy coated G47 stators running in my CDI CXs.Both are from old basket case engines and still giving good service.One of them has 18,000 miles with that bike/engine and god knows how many miles/years it was in service before that.

I think the biggest cause of coil breakdown is running the engines hotter than they should be/Bad cooling system but also of course dirty/tired oil with fine metal debris would act as an abrasive to wires as would neglected and left unused engines for years with old acidic oil on the windings/connections.



I run with my lights on all the time as UK/European CX models are wired differently than North American bikes inasmuch as we have a lighting off/on<park)/main headlight switch on the throttle assembly so most of the current is used in my case.Also both my CX have electric fans which when in use consume 2 amps but I have LED Stop/Tail lamps.I'm also wired to power my home made Heated inner gloves and also have a front LED Blue fog lamp.I have no charging or electrical problems but all connectors on the bikes and ground points have been serviced and I have fitted some Higher CCA batteries(190 amp) but my old stock ones were fine and I keep one as a spare charged up just in case.





Many people get these bikes that are well over 25 years old and will religiously change their oil and set tappets etc but neglect to go through all the electrics cleaning contacts etc which are just as important.



Note:My,"Bitsa" CX made out of parts was a bad starter and charger when first put on the road some years ago.At first I thought the Stator was bad until I felt the main fuse/holder that had not been replaced and it was hot.All charging and starting problems on that bike were cured by renewing the fuse holder and servicing the Starter motor and cleaning all electrical contacts and is still functioning perfectly now I've put the bike back on the road after an 18 month lay-off.





HTH

 

[Shep]

BTW

Wemoto etc in the UK are usually selling the Electrex stators

yes, Electrex, the ones of somewhat dubious repute.

I know folk who have used em for ages and others who wont touch em

with a barge pole



I've seen em go for as low as £35 on Ebay

they are cheap

they may last for ages

You pays yer money and all that

IIRC Reg even,"West Country Windings" who had a good rep also got some stick in some posts as their quality control went down.Stators to me seem to be a bit of a,"Craps shoot".I've done well with cheap 2nd hand ones off Ebay so maybe I'm just lucky

 

[Shep]

Same here Shep

I never had CDI stator issues with KAE and

still using the TI stator that came with this engine

And have a well tested SH spare ready in case I do



In fact I have a CDI type which I put a good high speed coil on

somewhere too......



Re westcountry windings

Once of Plymouth, the company and name went east

while the personnel(talent?) stayed west

and their reputation took a nose dive after that

I'm a scruffy git on many things but I'm a stickler for good electrical connections and cooling system and oil.I truly believe these are a major factor in prolonging the lives of the stators.It has been posted many times that the CX650s go through stators faster and I believe it's due to them running hotter for longer when they shouldn't be.If ever I owned one it would get one of my 75 Deg C temp sensors fitted to the rad straight away and the Honda one bypassed.



PS

I have 9 spare if you ever need one.



PPS

7v reg still working great.Damn that 3mm LED<grin> 5mm was the trick

 

[Shep]

Shep, good to see someone else from God's own county here.

I tried a 75C 'stat but found it was 'on' far too much of the time. 85 was better.How's yours?

Then I found you are supposed to fit it to the bottom of the rad, not the top as I had.

Made a nice job of soldering a copper mounting plate on the header too, even if I do say so myself.

Got a 650 rad now. It doesn't seem to have any more finning but does have the nice thermoswitch that can take fan current without using a relay.

My 75 Deg C ones mounted on the top of the rad as in my links work perfectly but I used thermal paste which I forgot to put in my original post(Amended).They cut the fans in just before the temp gauge reads in the middle and drive the temps down just below the nominal mark and then cut-off.If I fill the rad up to too much the fan does stay on longer so I fill to just about say half an inch above the cores.



All my engines are re-built from the crank up so were internally cleaned/power washer/vapour blasted and compressed air cleaned prior to re-build and the rads have been soaked in my sink overnight using a high concentration of Citrus Acid crystals/water boiled in my kettle(cleans kettle as well) then flushed under the tap and then garden hose flushed forwards and back as well and then satin black BBQ painted so /I know my cooling systems are 100%.

On the warmest days here and even under high speed sustained conditions the temp gauge rarely reads much above the nominal mark on both my machines and of course even stopped in traffic they are cooled to nominal.



When testing my system I could have left the engine/s idling for as log as I liked and the bikes can never overheat so long as no faults appeared like a failed water pump/water hose.



Both my engines run at 85 Deg C under normal air-cooling.



I suspect the 650s temp sensor is incorrect and brings the fans in too late leading to increased running temps that may cause premature engine component wear.

 

[Shep]

I have a 78 cx500 with the newfangled cdi that doesn't require the crazy stator windings to make it work. Does anyone have info/resources/links on what more powerful stators a guy could throw in his bike? I run a lot of heated stuff in the cold temps and hope to someday add a sidecar so I could use the extra juice.

They are a G8 stator usually around 250w(20amps).



http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/Honda/GL_500_DC_Silverwing_PC02/82-85/picture/Generator_-_Stator/



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Elec...8982706QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories





used in the TAI(Transistor Advanced Ignition) later engines.According to Reg and Trev-H the standard Regulator/Rectifier in the earlier CX500s can handle the increased output but I would take it off,clean all contacts and make sure it has good grounds/bared to frame and repaint it if ever I did this upgrade..

 

[Shep]

Bueller, Bueller...no one wants to venture an opinion on keeping the OEM, OK.



Shep-do you have the how to link on installing the GL stator in the CX? It looks like I may have the time to get one, as my inprompto teardown has me waiting on a few parts that weren't in the plan before.



I didn't get an answer about my starter query either, bench test and it spins great, opened it up and it's like new inside, brush springs tight and brushes hardly worn. I ordered the springs hoping that might take care of the clunky sound. Will post to a new thread when I get some time to pull the flywheel. The shifter shaft and starter gear shaft was stuck in the engine case, so when I pulled it out I got a little "twang" and the starter gear and shifter plate came off, I have a new shifter spring on the way too, it didn't fare too well.

Here's the link for the G8s install,



http://globalcxglvtwins.hostingdelivered.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=526&p=2594&hilit=g8+stator#p2594





For the Starter do you mean the Starter motor or the Starter Flywheel or both.What's the problem ?

 

[Shep]

Thanks for the link.



When my CDI died, it's final death nell was to throw a spark or three at the wrong time while I was trying to start it. Starter stopped in mid crank. Ever since that happened, instead of the steady zinga, zinga, zinga when it cranks over, I get a cereal crunching noise. Aside from the noise, it cranks over and starts with no problems.

The only problem starter mechanism I fixed on one of my CX was a couple of years ago where it was getting really clunky and I had the tell-tale after whirr which was getting bad.

The small and large Starter gears had slightly worn teeth and this was early on in my CX engine strips/Rebuilds and the system had had the 10mm thrust washers that go under the small gear/axle and the gear change selector left out.

This had obviously led to premature wear in the rollers and springs as well inside the Starter Clutch mechanism.They ALL have to be in place and of decent condition.I found the soft springs inside the Start clutch were kaput as well.I had some spares off the basket cases engines I had bought so have not had a problem since.



http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cx500a-1980england_model16465/partslist/E15.html



If you suspect the starter motor is faulty in some way as you know the 500s ones can be used on any CX/GL.I don't know if the Starter gears are the same for all models(Excluding turbos from all my posts)



It's always worth bidding/getting a 500/650 basket case engine cheap if you can just to raid it for spares.I will never have to buy an oil pump<grin> as I have 3 checked and serviced in plastic bags oiled up in my garage,3 painted and serviced starter motors etc and a couple of spare radiators/Regulators/CDIs etc again all ready to fit plus loads of other stuff.If I need money they can get recycled on Ebay or I may get round to building that 3rd CX as I have enough parts apart from an engine and I have given some parts away as well.





I mention the above as it's good to set up your own spares depot using bad engines as there's usually something worth having off them at the right price