Battery or R/R
 

I have not been riding my SH as much as I would like to. The other day I went to start the bike and the battery seemed a little low( tsarted but barely). I ran over to a friends house about 25 miles away and when I got there after 5 minutes the battery was drained. A quick jump and it ran fine after that. The battery is a Yusa Gold about 18 months old. So could it be the battery or maybe the R/R?

Probably just the battery. I think there's an article or a thread on here about checking your electrical system. Probably listed under regulator/rectifier.

Here's the thread:
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...ight=rectifier

And I found this link while searching for a thread on the topic...

http://www.vlc.com.au/~justin/about/.../dead_reg.html (credit to BofP).

my r/r was doing something similar. I thought it was just due to the cold mornings we were having but then when it warmed up in the summer, I was still having to recharge the battery about every 2 weeks. then when I stopped for gas a mile from my house it wouldn't even turn over. battery drained. I recharged the battery and got the newer finned version of the r/r and she's been starting strong ever since. sometimes the r/r dies slow. if you trust your battery, I vote r/r.

I vote RR as well,along with a few other hondas that share the same RR,they are notorious for crapping out. I've replaced 2 in 4 years. Notice the aftermarket units all have heat sinks on the back of them. Their positioning in the tail gives them little to no airflow and heat is electronics worst enemy. Having highmounts probably doesn't help either

thx guys, I am off this week so I can troubleshoot this. Motto for the week "jumper cables-don't leave home without them" .

I finally got around to checking the R/R and this is what I found. On 02 models the regulator is a finned unit that is mounted to a heak sink then the frame. I measured the voltage and saw 14V across the range up to 5K RPM's. I tightened the battery terminals and rode around for about an hour and so far so good. I think it was the battery cables this whole time, they felt tight but were not. If I still have the issue I will probably go with a new battery first.

R/R Troubles
 

With every bike I have had the last few years I have made a point of cleaning all the electrical connectors and contacts and treating them witt di-electric grease. I have my VTR all lubed up but thought I would check my regulator anyway. Couple things.. connector was clean and well lubed..but the two wires that mount with one of the regulator mounting bolts... the little mounting bracket was just about to break...cracked and hanging on by a thread..worth checking guys..might be a vibration stress thing..also where the regulator mounts against the frame..two bolt wholes..on the back of the regulator...very corroded..if that's a ground..could be an issue..if it can transfer heat.. that could be an issue.. Keep them clean boys and girls..check the connector..these could lead to regulator failure..:D