I did this about a year ago but never got around to posting the mod. A couple of recent threads about R/R failures gave me the incentive to finally post this, sorry for the delay!


Having suffered R/R failures on both a cbr and a vfr, I'm no stranger to the achilles heel of 90's era hondas.

So when my used 98 VTR SuperHawk started having electrical "issues" (does anyone else smell rotten eggs?), I knew the first place to look. Sure enough, the r/r was hotter than hell and the connector was burnt/fused. 18V at the battery at idle!!! Crap. What to do, shell out another $135+ for the "new/improved" version or find a cheaper used original one?

I then found out that some guys have had real good luck with an (ahemm) Suzuki GSXR model. I picked up a used on on ebay real cheap. Its heavily finned, bigger, and works like a champ: 14.2V after start up and then settles to 13.8-14.0V after topping off the battery. The connectors are, of course, different so you will have to bypass the honda connector. Mine was burned out anyway and some people say the plug is part of the problem since the connections can corrode and build up resistance.

 

Here it is mounted up. I had to trim the upper fin(s) to clear the rear cowl and can only use one bolt in the stock locations. You can drill/tap two if you want. The three yellow honda wires go to the the three gsxr black wires. It doesn't matter which goes to which just that the three yellows go to the three black. The honda red wire goes to the gsxr black with red stripe wire and the honda green wire goes to the gsxr black with white stripe wire. Done.

I added a voltmeter to monitor it. It's been a year and about 8,000 miles of everything from stop/go city to interstate droning to rippin' it up the twisties and it has performed admirably.
YMMV!

Other guys have posted positive results using Yamaha R1 units too.

 

My buddy's R/R on this GSXR just went. Apparently they go on a regular basis too even with the fins - and they cost mega bucks.

 

I'd bet dollars to donuts their failure rate isn't NEAR honda's. Maybe I'm a little jaded since I've been on vfr lists for nearly 10 years and failure reports seemed to be a daily occurence.

Granted, they all will go eventually but honda's seem to go first!

 

Great tip!
Thanks :-)

 

Mine went out a couple of months ago and I replaced it with one from a R1 and so far so good!

 

Great tip there Superbling..!
Since i am about to install some underseat pipes, I am going to have to re-locate the battery & reg/rectifier. Now I am concerned about the heat issues with the standard reg/rectifier being so close to the pipes, & I appreaciate alternative you guys are offering.
What are the upgrades Honda made to the post '00 models on the reg/rectifer?
Those of you that have installed an R1 unit...can any of you post the new wiring connections as those similar to Superbling above! I want an R1 unit mainly because I have heard they are a pretty sturdy item!

 

I've seen one R1 unit that was mounted in the left side area of the battery box between the subframe rails. I personally didn't like the looks but it would certainly get more air than in the stock location.

I think shedding heat through conduction to the frame is as important as convection through the air so don't overlook that when considering a new mount location.

Have you seen Kai's idea for rear cowl ventilation?

 

Haven't seen it

I'll be using a complete custom subframe, so the battery will not be in the standard position either, but lying on its side.
I will definately take your idea of a good conduction mounting, on board though. Mario Nava ( http://web.tiscali.it/mario_nava/vtr1000r_e.html ) uses a CPU fan, mounted under the seat unit to disipate heat!

 

He's running a rear radiator for a cleaner naked bike look. These cutouts look real good. This would be a great aid in keeping the R/R cool.

 

The one on my 99 GSXR 750 track bike went up last year. But it's not due to the regulator, but instead a high resistance value at the connector. The best option is to cut the factory wiring, and hard wire the regulator. It is common on the gsxr's, as I found in the forums. But the regualtor itself is not the root cause. The charging wire going to the regulator get's a high resistance, then proceeds to slowly cook the wire. At this time, the reg is switching too much, and is cooking the unit.

 

For those that may be interested, here's a link describing the wiring set-up converting an R1 reg/rectifier to the Honda wiring block... its from the UK site!

http://www.abercon.co.uk/vtr1000/php...pic.php?t=5026

 

I love the way those vents came out. I was thinking of doing it or something similar just for the look.

 

Yeah, I consider doing this but at the time the gixx R/R was an unknown quantity to me so I added the connectors. Another thing that can lead to melt downs is bad or poor grounds; good to check/clean those too.

As I previously mentioned above, I also added a voltmeter which has given me so MUCH more peace of mind. In two weeks, it will be exactly a year since I added this R/R and it's been rock steady according to the guage.

 

I would do the cut out too but I am such a scaredie cat when it comes to cutting into big buck plastic!

 

What year and mode GSXR one did you use? Going to do mine that way. Does it only have 5 wires or more ? Could you give me more details all you did is cut out the HONDA connector, put on your ends and connect to the GSXR box?

 

Although I have been fortunate not to be experience any R/R failure, I replaced the original with a later model year (and heavily finned) VFR unit as a preventive measure. I also took a small drill bit and drilled a bunch of small holes on the underside of the side panel covering the R/R to let more air through. If done properly, the holes are not visible from the side or from a distance yet still perform the job of letting more air in. Anyhow, the bike has over 80,000 km (50,000 miles) and all is well.

cheers
Mikstr

 

does anyone have the actual how-to on the wiring...and which GSXR unit to get for this swap.....

 

Just about any 5 wire R/R will work. I did this mod a couple of years ago and when I was looking for R/R's I remember that many of the later model Suzuki and Yamaha items will work.
Mine came from a Suzuki and looks similar to the one in this eBay auction. I think I picked it up for under 20 bucks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GSXR-...ayphotohosting

 

I'm running the GSXR r/r for about 2 years now no problems at all but i also run the front calipers and master cyl only thing is it dq's me from ccs racing not that I'm ready. If you want the honda one's I have 2 sell them both for $30 and the shipping if you want em. and if you put heat sink paste on the back it takes the heat away better frame makes a heat sink or you can put a small cpu fan over it they run 12v. just my 2 cents worth. By the way what do you do when the girlfriend makes you feel like **** because you would rather get a set of racing tires than new shoes for the kids. Man I need to ride I have spent more time at the track than on the highway. Man I need to ride.

 

hey fotomoto, i'm trying to work a '98 vfr r/r to a '98 vtr.. have you tried that yet?

 

Nope. Years ago before I fully realized just how bad the vtr unit was, I got a used one to replace a bad one (bubbled cover) on my 94VFR. It lasted about a month (probably was bad upon arrival).

You might want to post the same ? on vfrd and see what 5th gen guys say. I don't think it has a great nor horrible track record.

 

I have passed through the same things two years ago and i repair it by myself as far for the R/R i use the same from CBR 600.

 

what year and size gsxr did that r/r come off of?

 

whoa that radiator is cool looking.

 

Looks like the pic is gone- maybe after the server rebuild? Can someone post up an image of an installed GSXR R/R showing connections and trimmed fins? Thanks.

 

I just got a new r/r from electrosport in california (don't get them there they have terrible service and parts suck). This is the second on i recieved from them because the first one was under warranty. Thanks for the tip

 

Sorry, server crash lost the pics. I'll have to find and reload them.

Yeah, electrosport has never had a really good rep but AFAIK they don't totally suck either.

 

My R/R failed a couple of weeks ago and I did the GSXR swap. I ended up tapping two new holes for the mount and situating the wires at the bottom and the top of the R/R level with the frame rails and I did'nt have to trim any fins.

 

Can you re-post a link that will work?

BTW, I created a duct to the RR and drilled holes in the cowl over which I mounted an exterior side reverse NACA duct, plus applied heat sink past between the OEM RR and frame and mounted a finned heat sink and CPU cooling fan and system volt meter. So far, knock on plastic, no problems after 50,000 miles.