Rectifying An Electrical Problem in Italy - 1

[dorkburger]

Richard, great reading. Thanks for taking the time to share.
Regarding working with the torch, I often use a AA size Maglite wrapped in electrical tape and hold it in my mouth..the tape softens it......2 hands free. Sort of like having a fat stogie in your mouth......
View attachment 37183Apologies for the ugly mug..
I use a clean anti freeze tester with a smaller hose attached to fill my battery when needed.

 

[londonboards]

7. Rectifying an Electrical Problem in Italy - 7

7. Rectifying an Electrical Problem in Italy - 7

These regulator rectifiers have no information on them as to capacities or performance. Simply an aluminium heat sink with 5 wires sticking out and an indecipherable part number. None of that mattered to me. It looked about right and I understood exactly what to do with the 3 yellow, one red and one black wire. This little bit of kit was going to get me home.

At the same time I thought it prudent to get another battery. They had one in stock so I put one on the bill. They took it to the back of the shop, filled it with acid and put it on charge. I was delirious. All for the sum of 175 euros. Yes, it was far more than I would have paid for them on eBay at home but I wasn’t at home and I was more than willing to pay the price. The boys in the shop were delighted to help out and offered me the use of their washroom, told me where to get some lunch and later on lent me some gaffer tape to complete the wiring.

I immediately set myself up with my prayer mat and tools right outside the shop, to do the rectifier replacement. I stripped off my leathers (it was now 30 deg C again) and put on a pair of shorts, took all the bags off again, the seat and the side panels. Thank goodness for my prayer mat. It was a real life saver. I took the battery out and then dissembled all the components attached to the battery box and finally removed the battery box under which rested the defunct rectifier.

The switch over was done in about 45 minutes even though the connectors did not match up. I had brought a box of electrical connectors, some lengths of wire and even a crimping tool with me.

I had some interesting characters pass by:

Gaffer tape was used to isolate the exposed brass sections that were in danger of touching each other.

I even managed to start the bike with the old battery (which by now I was thinking I could probably use to get home) and test the voltages. It was perfect. At 2,500 rpm I was back down to 13.88 volts. Just inside the prescribed range.

I still had a couple of hours to kill whilst the battery was charging (which I later learned I could have done just as well when riding the bike) and went for a well-earned lunch break.

Next part: Part 8

 

[posplayr]

Hope you can make it home with that hodge podge.
The Shunt R/R is bad enough, but if that red connection becomes loose the R/R will over heat and could burn the stator right with it.

I know you hate to ruin that aftermarket connector on that newly gotten price, but you would be better off with twist terminals.

If that connection is the least bit loose, it will get warm and the warmer it gets the more gooey that tape will get and the looser the connection and the gooyer the tape ........(vicious circle etc etc)

All the while the R/R and stator are going to think they are in hades.......

 

[londonboards]

8. Rectifying an Electrical Problem in Italy - 8

8. Rectifying an Electrical Problem in Italy - 8

After lunch I packed up, picked up the newly charged battery and prepared to set off. I thought of all the ways I could try and keep hold of my old battery, which I could at least use at home for one of my projects, but decided I could not secure it safely enough on the bike for the trip home. I very reluctantly and quite sadly left it with the boys in the shop. I wasn’t her fault that she had been boiled dry but I abandoned her to a fate unknown none the less.

Now I was back up and running. I dismissed the thought of trying to catch up with the BMWs which were still probably only 50 miles or so away from me and I started to think about heading home. I was due to be home after 6 nights in any case and one of the other guys and I had planned to peel off from the group and start heading back today. He had already done that and was about 3 hours ahead of me heading north.

From Reggio Emmilia I plotted a motorway route going past Parma, Piacenza, Milan and going up the Aosta Valley. I was heading for the tunnel at Mont Blanc. I was without the satnavs now and trying to plot and follow a course on my iPhone, lodged in the map section of my tank bag, was not the easiest or safest thing I have ever done. It meant frequent stops to re-route and try to remember the names of the places and numbers of the roads I should be looking out for as I rode along. It’s amazing how quickly you forget which motorway you are supposed to be looking for but it happened to me several times.

But I was travelling and I was travelling with the knowledge that the bike was fixed and I had triumphed over this potentially disastrous situation. I was on top of the world. I felt great. The engine was purring, the battery was charging, the headlight was working and there was no way I was now not going to get home. Every car I overtook on the motorway was a triumph. It seemed like every gear change was sweeter than I had ever realised. Every blast up to 7,000 rpm was like I had never had before. The SatNavs had no idea what they were missing. The connection between me and my machine was now spiritual and on a level that an electronically controlled BMW and it’s rider would never experience in a lifetime of being digitally dictated to by their machines.

(Next part: Part 9)

 

[GSX1000E]

Although it is great to hear that you are headed home and I certainly appreciate the pictures of the beautiful countryside,
the lack of mentioning that you listened to these warnings is bothersome. Did you in fact make a much improved connection???

Hope you can make it home with that hodge podge.
The Shunt R/R is bad enough, but if that red connection becomes loose the R/R will over heat and could burn the stator right with it.

I know you hate to ruin that aftermarket connector on that newly gotten price, but you would be better off with twist terminals.

If that connection is the least bit loose, it will get warm and the warmer it gets the more gooey that tape will get and the looser the connection and the gooyer the tape ........(vicious circle etc etc)

All the while the R/R and stator are going to think they are in hades.......

 

[londonboards]

posplayr -I made this trip back in September and this was a "get me home" fix which got me home. Yes indeed, I will now need to rewire this into the original connector as well as going over the wiring again checking the stator.

 

[GSX1000E]

It is I that missed the part about this trip being months ago. Not posplayr.

 

[posplayr]

posplayr -I made this trip back in September and this was a "get me home" fix which got me home. Yes indeed, I will now need to rewire this into the original connector as well as going over the wiring again checking the stator.

I understand you did this is a pinch, but if you knew how hot that R/R would get with loose connections you would never have rigged that connector that way.

I had an electrosport R/R that had a manufacturing defect with loosely crimped connector. Even though it was brand new and shiny copper the R/R got very hot immediately even at idle.

 

[londonboards]

posplayr - by now I had learned my lesson. I was checking the heat of the battery and the rectifier at every stop. Those blade connectors fitted pretty snugly into the old connector, just as they would if I had set them into the other half of the old connector as I should have done. The necessity to get home had overtaken any desire to perfect the wiring by this point. I'm a gambler by nature. I took that risk.

Greetings

 

[posplayr]

posplayr - by now I had learned my lesson. I was checking the heat of the battery and the rectifier at every stop. Those blade connectors fitted pretty snugly into the old connector, just as they would if I had set them into the other half of the old connector as I should have done. The necessity to get home had overtaken any desire to perfect the wiring by this point. I'm a gambler by nature. I took that risk.

Greetings

Glad you got home without incident, my only point is to make sure others are aware of the risks you were taking.

for example just striping and twisting the wire would have been much more secure for the remaining trip home.

btw I love duct tape. I used it to secure a main fuel inlet to a carburetor when 400 miles below the Mexican border. There was no other option when in the middle of the desert.

 

[bccap]

Thanks for the wonderful photos and story. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
I too boiled my new battery dry due to a toasted r/r. There was no liquid in it at all. When I did my voltage checks I got readings of 16.5 and 17 volts at 5000 rpm. Changed the r/r and filled the battery up with distilled water and two years later I am still using that battery....

 

[londonboards]

bccap - I thought that my battery had perhaps not been totally wrecked. After all it came back to life with fizzy mineral water. I regret leaving it behind but there was no safe way to take it home. I bought a new one because I just needed to eliminate it from the equation and put my mind at rest. And when I look back at it, I had traveled over 1,200 miles at fairly high speeds before it finally gave up the ghost and stopped giving me power. When I tested the rectifier, it was only delivering 1 to 2 volts over the top which ain't no killer diller me thinks.

Greetings

 

[londonboards]

9. Rectifying an Electrical Problem in Italy - 9

9. Rectifying an Electrical Problem in Italy - 9

Travelling on your own is a completely different experience to travelling with a group. You have to choose your route and decide on your pace and where to stop. Up till now I had stepped back from all that, enjoying the freedom of having to follow the group rather than to be making decisions all the time. Riding now was somewhat more stressful than switching off and following as I was used to but I was enjoying the moment more than I realised. I batted on travelling up to 85 mph for stretches of 2 or 3 hours or until I needed to stop for fuel.

I was comfortably managing to do around 170 miles before the reserve was needed. So I would be looking for fuel from around 165 miles from my last fill up. The tank holds 22 litres and I was getting about 10 miles per litre or around 40 mpg. On motorways, I tend to ride using throttle opening positions rather than sticking to a set speed, traffic permitting of course. I operate the bike at 1/8[SUP]th[/SUP] to ? throttle opening. So if I am going up hill that might be as low as 65 mph but on the flat I’ll be doing 75 mph or more if I can slipstream with a truck or car. I intersperse this with the occasional blast up to 90 mph if I have traffic free roads just to get the adrenalin going and keep me alert. There is nothing quite like an adrenalin shot to sharpen the senses.

I wound my way up the Aosta Valley using the A5 motorway. This is a sensational road which runs alongside the Fiume Dora Baltea river, which brings the melted snow down off this part of the Western Italian Alps and is surrounded on both side by steep and imposing mountains. It was a fitting adjunct to feeling on top of the world.

Next part: Part 10

 

[GSXR7ED]

Italia!

Italia!

OMG!

Beautiful pics...sorry, I'm side-tracked with the splendor of Italy. I lived in Sacile and worked on Aviano and drove my wife's car to Sigonella NAS so I've seen first-hand how beautiful this country is. Check the mileage...Venice to Catania, Sicily.

Anyway, I hope it all works out for you...lesson learned on the R/R for sure.


Ed

EDIT: Let me also say, I've lived in England as well. Wethersfield, Essex; Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk; and Newmarket, Suffolk, so, I've partaken in your country. Beautiful place...love the countryside, pubs, markets....enjoyed it from Feb 1989 to Sep 1993.

 

[tatu]

bccap - I thought that my battery had perhaps not been totally wrecked. After all it came back to life with fizzy mineral water. I regret leaving it behind but there was no safe way to take it home. I bought a new one because I just needed to eliminate it from the equation and put my mind at rest. And when I look back at it, I had traveled over 1,200 miles at fairly high speeds before it finally gave up the ghost and stopped giving me power. When I tested the rectifier, it was only delivering 1 to 2 volts over the top which ain't no killer diller me thinks.

Greetings

You had some gaffer tape, you could've emptied the acid out carefully, rinsed the outside with water taped it up in a bag to be sure put it into the box the new one came in and chucked in your bag or strapped it to a bit on your bike someplace.

Just mention that when I suggested using a bulb as a resistor, I meant connecting it in series on the positive wireso that if anything the filament would just glow not connected across positive and negative so that it worked as a bulb and not as a resistor, then that way you could connect and disconnect to achieve the charge you needed, a lot of messing but it would stop the battery boiling up. In the end you went the best route and couldn't'v done it better. Good write up.

 

[londonboards]

tatu - yeah I probably could have done that. My bag packing was all sorted and I didn't want to have to re-arrange it all. It would have been quite a weight in my soft saddlebags. I was keen to get back on the road and sacrificed it in the heat of battle - so to speak.

 

[londonboards]

GSXR7ED - Sounds like you've been in the USAF. Do you recognise this:

This is on a bike I picked up from a US importer here in the UK. Belonged to some US serviceman somewhere.

Greetings

 

[GSXR7ED]

Royal Air Force Life

Royal Air Force Life

^^Yes sir! (I recognize that decal)

I was stationed at RAF Wethersfield first, then when the base closed, I transferred to RAF Mildenhall. I married a local girl who's family has roots in Coatbridge, Scotland. Been up there too...someday I need to find the pics I took up there as well as the ones from England.

Thanks for the recognition and keep up with the updates!


Ed

 

[londonboards]

10. Rectifying an Electrical Problem in Italy - 10

10. Rectifying an Electrical Problem in Italy - 10

There are 282 components in my set of 4 Mikuni BS34SS Constant Velocity carburettors and I have had every single one of them in my fingers. From the carburettor body right down to the little washer and rubber O ring from the pilot screw. Each component is critical to the operation of the unit and built to withstand the rigours of their workplace environment. Component failures are thankfully rare. The rubber parts perish over time and the needle valve springs lose their spring which can lead to overflowing float bowls. But the main causes of problems are from contaminants in the fuel or from fuel putrefaction due to long periods of inactivity. There are small pipes, holes and passageways with minute apertures that can easily get clogged and cause a disproportionate degree of malfunction. Clean carburettors are the first place to start when refurbishing or overhauling one of these engines.

I am something of a carburettor nerd. I think most of my appreciation and love of this type of bike is simply because they have these fine pieces of engineering and craftsmanship attached to their engines. I tore this set apart as my first job after taking ownership of the bike. Get the carbs sorted to start with and then everything else falls into place. This was a particularly good rebuild. None of the jets had seized and everything went back together nicely. Now these beauties were delivering up to 8 litres of fuel to the cylinders every hour. On our first day alone, they were washed with 44 litres of unleaded. And now they were delivering a perfect mixture, as I climbed up the mountain motorway. This was what riding was all about for me. Man and machine blended into one moving item. I have not been digitally distanced from the operation of my machine by ECUs, CPUs or electronic chips. I can see and feel that golden liquid travelling through those beautiful pipes, bowls and tubes. And that puts me on top of the world.

I reached the entrance to the Mont Blanc tunnel and rode up to the checkpoint. The tunnel is just over 7 miles long and you are required to drive at a speed between 50 kph and 70 kph and at least 150 mtres behind the vehicle in front of you. Inside the tunnel the air is very warm. It doesn’t prepare you for the massive drop in temperature when you exit the other side. You enter at an elevation of 4,531 ft (1,381 m) on the Italian side and exit on the French side at 4,180 ft (1,274 m). But in between you move from hot to cold. And in the middle it’s stonking hot. In that 7 mile section of tunnel, it feels like you move between continents. Well at least between climate zones.

38 people died in this tunnel in 1999 and there is an aura of “memorial” to the place. Plaques commemorating those who lost their lives are highly visible on the French side. Verbal and written instructions passed to all drivers before you enter the tunnel are most disconcerting. It feels like you are about the enter Disney’s Space Mountain. You are given every opportunity to chicken out after you read the warnings. But the daring-do in you draws you in. There is a sense of danger, excitement and mystery all at once.

Next part:part 11

 

[tatu]

Cool, I got a picture of that glacier looking thingy in the background'v your pic.

Only seven miles, it seemed longer, these when we went on our hols to Lake Garda in the racer.

Inside....

And popped out on the Italian side