Post
by sarals » Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:53 pm
Well, LM, I just got off the phone with Rick of Rock's Motorsports, so I've had questions answered. I'll copy this to the electrical forum, too.
Rick is a very nice man, and he was extremely helpful.
FIRST, the stator that Rick's makes and sells for the CB350/360 is the SAME ONE that he used in the kit for the 305. The reason he doesn't sell the kit for the 305 any more is because the stator assembly has to be mounted in the original alternator housing. It requires shimming to be centered vertically, and Rick said that people were just not willing to go through that process, it was too involved. So, he stopped offering the kit.
I told him I had a Podtronics regular rectifier, and he is familiar with it, but wasn't sure of the circuit it uses. He said I could use his stator with it, but he couldn't guarantee that it would work properly. He described the Honda charging system as being a simple load dependent system that produced X wattage, it relied on a specific load to work, and it was unregulated (which we know). It produced just enough power to light the all of the STOCK light bulbs and keep the battery maintained. If larger wattage bulbs were installed, the system could not produce the required power for the higher demand and the battery would die due to lack of sufficient charging voltage.
He said the 12.8 VDC that my bike produces should be enough to keep the battery up, but when I mentioned that the battery would go flat within 30 minutes with the headlight on, he said "You have a problem, then. It's not working right."
AS for the Podtronics regulator, as I mentioned, Rick wasn't sure about it. He said he'd be happy to sell me the stator, but I'd need to send my alternator housing to him so he could install the stator in it properly. He wasn't sure, as I said, about the Podtronics. He knew his regulator would work (three phase in, two wire DC voltage out), and he'd feel better if I used it instead of the Podtronics. He asked if I could provide technical information to him about the Podtronics, and I will try to find some.
HE said he knew Honda made a rotor that had greater magnetism than others. I said, yes, it's the one with the "L" stamped on it. He said, Yes, that's what he'd always heard. Get one, he said (I think that's what I have).
SOON, I am going to pull my alternator off the bike and send it to Ricks and have him put a new stator in it. And, I'll buy one of his regulators, too.
PROBLEM (should be) SOLVED!
1965 CB77 305 Super Hawk
1989 NT650 Hawk GT
1981 Yamaha XJ550 Seca