Hello everyone, I recently bought a second‑hand VTR1000 (34,500 km). The previous owner seemed trustworthy and had done some proper maintenance, including replacing the stock CCTs with manual ones. However, he barely rode it and the last service was 500 km ago but 3 years old.

I rode it home for 1h30 with no issues, but the next day it wouldn’t start — just a clicking sound and a dead battery. I brought it to a certified Honda workshop. They replaced the battery but said it wasn’t charging and needed further diagnostics. A few days later they told me the bike was fixed after replacing the rectifier/regulator.

I rode about 60 km and everything seemed perfect, until it suddenly died on the highway as if someone turned the key off. Speed dropped instantly, then the bike coasted to a stop. The red oil light came on. I removed the key, but the red oil and green neutral lights stayed on. Pressing the starter made the usual pre‑start noise even though the key wasn’t in. After a few minutes the lights went off, and I heard a high‑pitched noise from the right side. The battery under the seat was extremely hot. I had the bike towed back to the garage.

Today they called saying there’s a complicated short circuit “somewhere on the bike,” and their experienced mechanic can’t find it despite hours of work. They told me they can’t offer a “no cure, no pay” approach. Either I take the bike back as‑is (not starting), or they keep searching — but if the mechanic spends two days and still finds nothing, I’d still owe around €2000 for a bike that doesn’t work. I can’t accept that, and I honestly don’t know what to do.

I’d really appreciate any advice. Thanks everyone

 

What is your level of mechanical aptitude? We can give advice but if you can't take the steps to follow through, it's kinda pointless. Show us a pic of where that R/R wiring pigtail plugs into the bike side.

 

Get that bike out of there!

Wolverine I think is on the right track.

Likely melted alternator output wire plug.

Replace plug and wiring loom to a mosfet vrr using a kit from Eastern Beaver, or source your own similar parts.

I have an affinity for very inexpensive used older Kawasaki 600-4 mosfet vrr but now there are newer more advanced mosfet vrr available.

Relocating the vrr to get better air flow is another good mod but adding an air intake scoop and NACA exhaust duct to the right side of the seat cowl is my hack of choice...

Hopefully, the battery wasn't damaged.

You did not mention what model year you have, not that it should matter.

 

Good afternoon, thanks a lot for the replies guys I deeply appreciate it and sorry for not responding but I was waiting to have an update from the garage.

The last time I had contact with the bike was when it broke down on the highway and had to be towed, as it wouldn’t start again. The mechanic later called me to say he couldn’t identify the source of the short circuit.

I went to pick up the bike yesterday, not really knowing what to expect. To my surprise, the mechanic told me that nothing had been damaged when it broke down on the road. They simply recharged the battery, and the bike started again. However, the issue remains: the battery is still not charging, and they couldn’t determine the cause. After recharging it, I was able to ride the bike for about 40 km without any problems, and I took it to a workshop where I’ll be able to work on it next week with a mechanic friend who has offered to help.

In the meantime I have been reading a lot about the main VTR electrical issues, and trying to find the possible causes. It should most likely be a faulty stator or a bad connection somewhere, but i dont know how impossible this can be to trace. Also, I read I should replace anyway the r/r ( even if its new from the garage, its a normal one ) by a Mosfet one, but I understand it would most likely not fix the battery non charging issue ?

One thing that bugs me from all the symptoms the bike displayed is the fact that when it died on the highway the red oil light and the green neutral light and even the starter motor (when I pressed the button, although the engine didn’t start) were still working for a few minutes even after taking the key out. Could that be a strong indication on where to look for or not ?

Wolverine-> my mechanic experience is not super advanced but it is pretty okay and I will also work on it with my mechanic friend.
skotoevtr-> thanks we will for sure check the alternator cables

 

Under the seat tere is a connector that has the three yellow stator wires that feed the regulator rectifier. Mine was melted with broken wires. I replaced the rectifier and spliced the wires together,no plug. that was 15 years ago and never had a problem since then.

 

Hello everyone, I purchased a genuine FH20AA mosfet r/r from ebay ( around 150 euro ) and with a mechanic friend we cut off the stator connector ( it did not look melted or burnt but probably it was and it was probably the reason the repeated failures of the non-mosfet r/r ) and soldered the wires to the new mosfet r/r. The battery said 12.95 constant, and 14.5 constant under load. I drove home, and the battery was saying 13.13. Mission accomplished, the charging system is now working and the stator connector + non mosfet r/r was the root cause. Thank you very much for your help

 

Sweet! Glad you got it sorted. Unfortunately that is a place of higher failure rates on the VTR. You should never have another issue after the swap.