| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
22,000 miles, fried voltage regulator. Good news is that my extended warranty will cover the R/R. Bad news is I'll still have $50 out of pocket. My friend's '06 Uly fried his voltage regulator at 18,000 miles. Just how durable are these things supposed to be, anyway?? | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
i am at 16,500 miles and on my 3rd Voltage Regulator. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Run as much power as you power as you possibly can. Lights. Blinkers. Heaters. Microwave Ovens. Run the RPMs at cruise as low as you can. Keeping your engine spooled up generates power in excess of use. This excess power is bled off via heat in the wiring system, voltage regulator, and stator windings. Your primary fluid acts as a cool sink to a certain degree. Ultimately, though, if you run enough excess power through the system it will cook. It's simply a matter of time. I expect to replace mine again within the next 15,000 miles. I will probably seek a custom wind or beefier Voltage Regulator after the next failure. | ||
| Jaimec |
Sorry, Ft_bstrd... but your answer now has me COMPLETELY confused... | ||
| Randomchaos |
Lol, basically I think he said the more power you draw from the bike, the more power its gonna need to put out. The more power it puts out, the hotter the wiring components can get, ie the regulator? | ||
| M_singer |
The voltage regulator shunts current across the stator windings to prevent voltage from getting too high. A higher electrical load means that less current gets shunted builds up in the voltage regulator/stator. To answer the OP's question "Just how durable are these things supposed to be, anyway??" not very durable at all! I love riding my Uly but I feel that between the wheel bearing, voltage regulator and stator issues there is about a 99.9% chance that it will eventually leave me stranded. Buell has LONG LONG way to go to reach Japanese reliability. ck this out http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/download/crane/install_voltage_regulator.pdf (Message edited by m_singer on May 06, 2008) | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Sorry Jamie, If my answers ever look odd, expect that I am either PUI or texting posts while driving. With each rotation of the rotor, the stator generates a power pulse. Rotate it too few times, and there is insufficient power to keep the bike running and charge the batter (and run the lights, etc.). Rotate it enough times, and there is sufficient power to do all that needs to be done. Rotate it more than enough and excess power is generated. Overcharging the battery is bad, so the voltage regulator kicks in and shunts the excess power to ground. The faster the engine spins, the more excess power is generated. The stator generates peak power at redline. At cruise, keep the RPMs low to minimize the amount of excess power generated. Or strap a Jacob's Ladder to the rear of your bike and arc away. | ||
| Jaimec |
Got it. Well, I know I rarely rev the bejeezus out of the bike (because it really doesn't need it to go fast) but I do power an electric vest off of it during the winter. That's about the only additional electric load I can think of. I have the standard headlights and only use one at a time. I've gotten spoiled over the years, I guess. Until I started riding Buells, I simply assumed that when I hopped on my bike in the morning, I'd get where I was going later that day! My M2 Cyclone SHOULD have taught me better but up till now the Lightning Long has been so reliable I've let my guard down... So I guess it's still status quo: Buell is a good SECOND bike, but its not so good as an ONLY bike... especially when you use it as your primary means of transportation. | ||
| Randomchaos |
Or strap a Jacob's Ladder to the rear of your bike and arc away. Man I so want to do that now! | ||
| Jaimec |
"Inga!! Elevate me!" |
