thanks! The last one was the hot upgrade for the beemers.

I've upgraded to the superhawk! Might as well use the better parts so I don't have to do it again.

 

is there a way to get more air on that thing?

 

I thought I would just gas and ride this thing. I see I'm going to be involved with it intimately after all! I like it! I feel better when I know everything going on under me.

 

Well Erik, you're right.

Read THIS!

 

And on the Beemer or Duc, the same upgrade that we do here would work just the same... And would be an substantial upgrade from stock and that thing you linked as well...

Non-Mosfet R/R's tend to fail, it's just a question of how robust they are and how long they last... Over 10 years is unusual, the norm is somewhere 1-5 years depending on riding habits...

Mosfet R/R's typically doesn't "age" with heat cycles, and have no chemical parts inside the component, just solid metal encapsulated in resin, so unless you really abuse them with a corroded wiring system, they have an indefinete lifespan regardless of riding habits... And since they have a heat coefficient at roughly 100C or 212F whether or not you put airflow over them is a moot point... They aren't cooled by airflow unless they reach an internal temperature of above 100C or 212F... Until then, the fins only purpose is to increase mass and surface area for thermal differential cooling, ie the air is cooler than the metal mass...

And trust me, not even in Texas will the R/R reach 100C in normal operation, it would require you to run the bike at redline with no lights or other electrical consumers, for an extended period of time... The engine would sieze up before the R/R overheats...

Plus, they are internally themically limited, ie instead of selfdestructing, they clamp down and shortcircuit the current to ground if they are too hot and cant maintain voltage, ie they will pop the main fuse on the bike, and possibly overcharge the battery, but not blow up electronics...

 

The R/R died on my 1999 last Friday. It still had the OEM unit and although this sounds great the bike wasn't used much before I bought it. It had 5K miles on it in 2009 when I found it at a Harley dealership having been traded in for a Buell.

 

Not being used is as bad to an diode based R/R as being used... Plain and simple, it has about a 5 year lifespan... After that it's a crapshoot when it's going to fail...

Infact the diodes inside, from their original manufacturer has a projected lifespan of 5 years, and most likely 100.000 cycles, as most diodes of that type have... So why should the end product miraculously have a greater lifespan?

 

a riding friend of mine says he used this. The co says it a "shunt" style part.

Buy New Regulator/Rectifier Honda - Super Duty (5-pin) VTR1000F Superhawk (98-05)

same as OEM?

I don't understand it all. What is the difference between shunt and mofset? this is a more expensive part so I'm inclined to go with the R1 R/R. This part bolts right on and uses the same connector.

 

Same basic operating function, yes. This is not a checkmark on the correct side of the list, though...

 

I'm really appreciative of this forum and the members willing to share their knowledge and explain it even tho they've most likely explained it more times than they can count. Thank all! My mind was pretty much made on the R1 R/R but I really wanted to look around and look into as many options as I could. So, the 2 main issues for me with this bike, being new to the VTR and all, will be the manual cct and the R1 R/R. That should keep me busy for a while. I want to tackle the most urgent things first and move to the cosmetic stuff. I'd post a pic of my SH but it's mostly stock and you've seen them all before. Still, I'm excited! I still have that silly grin, (went for a spin this morning).

 

Well, the R/R issue and the subsequent "rapid turn blinker" syndrome are resolved thanks to previous posts on the forum. I did purchase my new R/R unit from regulator/rectifier.com before reading this from the beginning but it's on the bike and operating. Only time will tell if it was the right place to buy one from. Thanks to all for the information.

 

The diode type R/R and Shunt type R/R are one and the same... The Diode's shunt the power to ground to regulate the output... Creating heat, and slowly self destroying... Different name, same crap...