DIY Stator - 6th Gen

So my almost 5 year old factory battery dies on me one day. I figure it's outlived its life so maybe it's time to buy a new one. Same battery from the dealer since the original one lasted so long. Just under $100. Roughly $20/year. Then the new replacement battery starts to die every 5-7 days. I'm thinking "those bastards sold me some old-ass battery that's been sitting on the shelf for god knows how long". But that's not possible. Hollywood Honda is a very busy shop. They plow through a lot of merchandise for this battery to be too old. Then it dawns on me, oh shit, is it possible the R/R or worse yet is the stator going? I do all the voltage tests at the R/R. But there's so many wires coming out of that thing it's not easy to tell if my readings are accurate. Then I just test the stator and it's only giving me 15v at 5000 RPM's when it should be showing at least 50v. Well, a new stator it is.
Now the million dollar question, Do I buy OEM or after market?
Honda wanted $280. After market was around $160. Sadly, there's not too many options for after market but 1 company did keep popping up; Rick's Motorsport Electrics.
The reviews I gathered we're 50/50 between OEM and Rick's. But $120 difference is a big deal. Then I figured i'd give ebay a try. A lot of used crap on there. Not gonna happen. Then some how I came across an auction for a 2002-2005 and read a lot of posts on how the stator part numbers for a 2002-2005 is different than a 2006-2009. Why? Who knows. But if you log onto Rick's, you'll notice that if you search for a 2002 stator and a 2009 stator, the same part number pops up. So I figure it's gotta be another one of those great Honda conspiracies to keep consumers from buying used parts and fitting them onto other year bikes. Back to ebay...turns out this seller, Asylum Motorcycles has a shop in La Puente, CA and the stator they're selling is a Rick's brand stator. Now Rick is selling them on his website for $160 plus shipping. Asylum Motorcycles is selling the same stator on ebay for $139 and that includes shipping. No brainer. Let me summarize, Rick's Motorsport stator has same part number for all 6th gen bikes 2002-2009 for $160. Therefor we can safely assume that even though Asylum Motorcycles on ebay states that his stator is for a 2002-2005, and is a Rick's brand, we know that it will also fit 2006-2009. So I buy one. $139 out the door. Oddly even though Asylum is located in La Puente, CA and Rick's is somewhere in NH, for some reason this stator shipped from IL. I'm not about to ask questions, it's a $139 and brand new.

She arrives a good week later


WTF? Made in Taiwan?

Now for the fun part, puttin' that sucker in. Since this is my 2nd time installing a stator in a Honda (1st time in a VFR though) I feel pretty confident that I have learned a trick or two when doing the first. I do remember it being so F'in easy! I mean 30 minutes or less kind of easy.

Both side plastics need to come off even though cover is on left side. 3 wire plug is on right side.

Rather than put the bike on its center stand, try to get all the oil over on to the right side of the bike to lessen oil loss when you take the alternator/stator cover off. Easily accomplished by leaning the bike against a wall or a car. The wife's car preferable. Actually I put a board between bike and car.


Then the radiator reserve tank needs to come off. 2-10mm bolts and just let it hang. It may drip some but it's not much. Also, take off that 3rd 10mm that's securing the side cover mount.


Then remove the 8-8mm bolts that surround the cover. When they're all out, pry a flat head screw driver in there from the bottom to break the seal, work your way around and it cracks open fairly easily. My bike did not drip 1 drop of oil since it was leaning to the right. Also, it was still a little warm so not all the oil had a chance to settle.
And I have no idea how my cover got so corroded.


Pulling it off is a little tricky and awkward because the stator is nothing but a bunch of magnets wrapped in wire and is very attracted to the flywheel. Basically you're pulling a pretty strong magnet. The radiator lines move out of the way easily and the cover comes off fairly straight. Once off you'll smell your burnt stator. (And see it too)


Here's a side-by-side


Remove the 4-8mm bolts holding the stator to the cover and the 1-8mm which holds the wires down at the top of the cover and slap in the new stator securing it with the same 5 bolts you just removed. Now just cut the 3 yellow wires off the old stator leaving yourself as much slack as possible. You're gonna need 1 of them to help you guide the new plug over to the other side of the bike. Once you have the new stator bolted in place and secured over the flywheel (also, be sure to put in a new gasket. It's all of 4 bucks) you have a nice 3-wire plug on the left side of the bike that needs to be on the right side. Those wires run under the fuel tank which is under the air box and through an area of the bike that your fingers will never reach. So you need to get a little creative here. I pulled the black sheath off the old stator wires from the left side of the bike. Then I pulled 2 of the 3 wires from the right side leaving just one in place. Tape the new plug to that remaining wire and use it to thread that needle. It's gonna wanna fight ya so tape it well. You're gonna have to jiggle it and do a lot of the 'ol in and out but she will eventually give. Then voila, plug that bad boy in. Mount the radiator reserve tank. Start it up. Check for leaks and volt test your new stator. Should be giving you a good 50vac at 5000 rpm between any of the 3 yellow wires.

Works great as of now. Will keep you posted as to its performance later down the line.
In the meantime, Enjoy!

 

Nice write-up! I've swapped the stator out on two older VFR's before and the only thing I could add is that you can tie some string to the end of the old stator plug before pulling it out from the left side. Then you can just use the string to pull the new plug back through to the right side.

Rollin

 

Nice DIY!

 

Had my stator go bad a while back, replaced with genu-wine Honda part though, got at employee discount :smile:...R/R got me stuck back in January, sucker lasted 20 years though! I used Honda thread locker on the four allen heads along with a new gasket of course.

 

Well, it was too good to be true. A $139 Rick's brand stator turned out to be a POS. Naturally 2 months after the 12 month warranty it dies. Actually, it's not completely dead yet, but it's melting the connector to the R/R.

I was at a light on my way to work when I smelt that familiar melting plastic odor so I decided I had to figure out WTF? When I got the bike home, I stripped the plastics and used my nose. The only aftermarket electronics I have in there are HID's, 12v outlet and a PC III. They're all fused so what could be melting plastic? Then I came across the very hot Stator/RR plug. Yeah, I know, I should have soldered them but it's a 2006. Didn't they fix the sub-standard AC wiring? Guess not.

The RR was very hot too but is still giving a 14v charge to the battery with no increase at high RPM's. I'm guessing it's still working but am probably gonna replace it anyway. I've read many articles on how using the R1 RR is by far superior. But everyone seems to be using them on old 750's and pre 2002 800's. I know a RR is a RR and they all do the same thing, but post 2002 800's have 2 red, 2 green and 1 black exiting the RR. I'm guessing both red + and green - but what's up with the black? I haven't yet tested. Maybe someone knows. Is there even a need to upgrade a 2006 RR?

Also, I went and got a Honda OEM Stator from Powersportsplus.com listed for $191.17. At checkout there's a "Enter Promo Code" box so I quickly did a google search for "powersportsplus promo code" and retailmenot.com showed me one which gave me 5% off. Hey, every little bit helps. Also, it's good practice to just do a quick search if the website asks for a promo code. You never know. Anyhow, for under $200 I should be getting her back to OEM.

Fuck Rick's! And learn from my misfortune of cheaping out using a second rate stator.

 

I'm not certain the STATOR is at fault here...the connectors are the more likely culprit.

I have four Honda's...and I pay attention to this connector every year or after riding in rain. I should solder them, but I haven't yet. I clean 'em, de-ox and dielectric grease...never hadda problem.

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

Shouls I be worry about mine? Good to see you back Bob

 

So i did a solder job on my 3 yellow AC wires from the stator. They still get extremely warm but for the time being they're still working. Amazing how Honda got away with using such a small gauge wire considering the amount of current running through there. What's also amazing is how stator to R/R plug connector fires haven't been been reported all over the world. My connector was almost completely melted away. I mean I smelt a plastic burning odor at stop lights which prompted me to investigate. It was that bad.

Since I had already ordered the OEM stator and there's no returns, I put it in replacing the still functioning Rick's brand stator. Guess I'll keep a spare around for one of those "oh shit" moments. I also don't want to guess if there's a charging problem any more so I also purchased a volt meter. It's not the prettiest but at least there will be no more guessing if my battery is charging or not.

Thanks for the help.

 

Bingo - this is what I did to my stator connector (MetriPack 630) and I have since had no issues and the cables were warm to the touch and not hot as before.

 

I know it's an old thread but I'm going through the stator / RR blues at the moment ..

One of the best things I have found out of all this is the diagnostic LED at Roadstercycle

http://www.roadstercycle.com/Motorcycle voltage monitor.htm

 

That light only shows a warning red LED when the voltage drops below about 13.2V. When forum members have reported issues with the VFR's charging system, the voltage often hasn't dropped more than a few tenths below baseline (14.0-14.6). This voltmeter could indicate a-ok when the charging system is starting to fail. Better to get a numeric display.

 

Necro, but I've got a question - I keep hearing about people having to sauter the wires to their rectifier so it doesnt burn out...but is it the OEM rectifier? Soon i'll be replacing both my stator and rectifier with a ricks and im wondering if their own connections will suffice.

 

The purpose for soldering in place of the alternator connector is that the connector pins can get wet and start to corrode, which puts the resistance up and that creates heat. If it gets hot enough the plastic melts and can catch fire. Looking for signs of heat distress on connectors is a very good precaution, and if you see it, surgery is the answer.

 

I live in a place with almost no rain that is generally very dry. Would I still have to worry about it? Or should I just check it every once in a while?
Also thanks (and thanks to mello dude) for the fast response!

 

If you fit a voltmeter to your bike you can monitor the charging voltage. I could see that mine was dropping down over a number of weeks which indicated the resistance in the alternator plug was increasing.