Going by hit count, nobody is reading here anymore. Ah well. I'm going to keep typing away into cyberspace anyway. To the three of you who read Part 1, here's the rest...
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| This is one of those shots that doesn't show much. Just know that the stator wires are routed through there somehow and it will all be good. |
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| This is the second of the infamous brown connectors. Time to say "goodbye" to this failure prone connector. |
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| The new stator installed in the housing. Same as removal. I used some loctite on the screws. You need to get the orientation right, pretty simple. From the factory, those three screws had loctite. There's also the chance that a little insulation burned off around them, depending on the condition of the stator. I chased the threads with a tap to clean them out. I don't want to risk messing up those threads. I'm not sure what a stator cover costs, but I doubt they are very cheap. |
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| Reinstalling the cover is the same as taking it out. Line up the gasket, line up the cover...WATCH YOUR FINGERS! The rotor magnet is extremely strong and can (eh, will) tear the cover out of your hands. The oil tank is back in position, and the stator leads are hanging out. |
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| Insulating sleeve for the stator leads. |
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| Once you have routed the stator leads across the bike, they need to be soldered to the regulator leads. The stator includes these cute little solder sleeves. They slip over the two leads while you solder them, and add strength to the joint. |
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| While I was at it, I replaced the inner fairing that holds the regulator. Mine was cracked. AF1 Racing had a used piece for $20, so I snatched it up. Face it, Aprilia parts are freaking expensive. If you can get good condition used parts, it's the way to go. More about used parts later. |
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| Regulator and fairing are installed. I left a pretty big service loop in the stator leads. I routed them differently across the bike. If that routing doesn't work, the extra wire is there to make it easier to change later if I choose. |
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| What does this picture have to do with stators? Well, not a lot really. This is the front mount of the gas tank. I lifted the tank to get to the wires. When I lowered the tank back down, the mount holes don't line up anymore. Look close at the red circle. Those mount studs should be centered on that little tab protruding from the tank. |
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Why does this happen? Probably because I own this bike and the gods hate
me. More likely, though, is the ethanol blended gas that we run here.
The materials that these tanks are made from do not take kindly to
ethanol nor the water that it carries (gee...let's put an additive into
gas that attracts water!). Besides attracting water, ethanol causes a
drop in power and reduction in mileage. But don't take my word for it, the
corn lobbyists say that it's the greatest thing in the world. Did I say
corn lobbyist? Sorry, I meant environmentalists. I heard that the
solution is to pull the tank, open it (remove the filler and pump), and
let it sit. Over the course of several weeks, it will return to its
natural shape as the ethanol and water dry out. In the meantime, I
shelled out a few bucks to get a used tank sent out so that I have
something to ride. Basically, TAKE YOUR REFORMULATED GAS AND CHOKE ON
IT!!! Sorry about the rant, but I'm a little peaved today.
1) Not a lot of overlap between woodworkers and motorcycle guys, apparently. I'm still reading this, more or less! I'd rather read about woodworking, but I do have an interest in old bike repair, even if my taste is totally different from yours.
ReplyDelete2) Looking good. I'm anticipating having to replace the stator on my CM450 sooner or later, just because it's a 32 year old bike. Old 450s don't do the kind of damage to stators that superbikes do, though.
3) I've got to say, I'm an environmentalist, and corn ethanol in gasoline is one of the stupidest ideas ever. Growing corn, at least as we do it in the US, is one of the least energy efficient things we can be doing, and the move to put it in gasoline means we're having to grow more of it and use more gas, plus the rubber (made out of oil, since it's almost all synthetic at this point) in our engines decays faster so we have to create more... you had it right the first time. We can blame this one on the corn lobbyists. (I mean, I'm sure some environmentalists thought it was a good idea at first, but not all of us, and pretty much everyone who doesn't grow corn now believes it's a terrible idea.)
Andy- When I refer to "environmentalists" it's usually the extreme kind. Compared to a lot of people, you might even be able to call me an environmentalist too. We can chalk up my attitude above to an overall bad weekend.
DeleteI generally try to keep my politics off of here, as I know my political views may be considered extreme to some people (though I see them as practical). I could probably put three articles up here every day as it relates to my politics.
I think your last comment is accurate, it sounded like a good idea in the beginning!
FYI...I do have a woodworking project that I need to get to. The bikes have been keeping me busy, and I haven't had a chance to get to it. Believe it or not, after selling quite a bit of tooling, I still have a modestly equipped woodshop.
I'll be getting back to restoring that lathe soon too, again...bikes have a priority. Especially when one of them belongs to a friend, and he wants to ride it!
Glad you're still reading here.