DR problems

[skip]

Hi can any one help
I have an electric problem on my girlfreinds 98 DR650, it has fryed the battary i have checked the generator the rec/regulator and the CDI unit all seems fine i can allso find no problems with the wireing loom, this is the secound time this has happened in the last year,it all so has a problem with the running, it does not matter if it is hot or cold sunny or rainning, if you ride for a couple of miles it will start to cut out but if you flick the start button it runs fine again this has been going on now for nearly a year i have been through the fuel system and done the usual checks, could this be the coil breaking down, and has any one else had a similar problem as iám at a loss with it any help please Skip

[lecap]

With the battery: Get Yuasa, nothing else. The cheap ones are c**p and break easily from shock / vibration. Broken plate shortcuts one cell while the rectifier / regulator still charges at 14 Volts and the battery cooks. Would be very surprised if there is any other problem. Buggered rectifiers / regulators are very easy do diagnose. Generator problems can be more tricky to find but always manifest in too little voltage / battery running flat. I had one of my new KLR 650 cooking batteries and found one generator coil having shortcut to ground under load only. Usually happens with very old generators only (15yeas or so). Ask a good electrician to test for ground leakage of the generator coils under voltage.
For the cutoff please allow a stupid question: Did you check the side stand switch?

[skip]

Hi
Yes i have checked the the side stand switch and found it to be ok,At the moment i´ve had to put a cheap battary on as this was the only one i could get but i will try and find a Yuasa one when we are nearer a major city. I have now checked the generator this is all so ok. I have done another check on the coil and found that i can not get a meter reading on the the HT leads, i was told by a local repairshop that the coil maybe breaking down under load, so iám on the lookout for a new one to try out, have you ever herd of this?
Skip

[lecap]

Your problem does not look like a coil problem to me. Coils usually pack up after being more than 10 years old and the symptoms reach from cutting out at high rpm (feels almost like the limiter on sports bikes, coil breaks down under increasing load due to faulty high voltage insulation / cracked casing / moisture inside), goes via moisture sensitivity (preferably Italian Motoplat and English Lucas coils) to sudden death (High voltage insulation completely burned or coil broken)
Your coil readings should be a few ohms on the primary side (between disconnected contacts) and some 15 to 20kOhm on the secondary, coil mounted on frame, measured from spark plug contact to ground / battery negative terminal. Take measurements with a digital instrument.
Your symptoms look more like a simple 12V problem. Have a look at the ignition lock and the cutoff switch. I remember a cutoff switch problem on one of my SP46A where the bike would stall if you just looked at the switch (sand inside)

[skip]

Hi Mate
A strange thing has happened the main headlight stopped working, i checked and found that the plug on the back of the bulb had come off while on a very bad bit of dirt road, being that this is an american model DR the lights are all ways on, you can only change from low to high,but with out thinking my girlfreind rode with just the small spotlights that have been fitted on it, since then it has run with out a`problem but as soon as you flick the switch from main beam to dipped beam the running problems start again and all this is with out the main headlight plug connected. iâm now going too reconnect the bulb and see what happens. When you start the bike the lights come on as the motor starts i think that the lighting runs through the ignition switch so as you say it worth checking this out. I will let you know how i get on
cheers skip

[lecap]

Check the voltage on the battery with engine running and lights on. Check what happens if you hit the brakes (brake light)or switch indicators. Voltage should always be around 14V unless the battery is badly depleted or bad. If the voltage collapses as you switch indicators and brake light this points to a faulty coil in your generator. Most three phase generators will keep the bike running with one bad phase as long as you don't idle around on the slow jet or as long as you don't use a lot of power for the lights.
Faulty coils in your generator can be very tricky to diagnose (collapse only under load) They can also be intermittend or temperature related. If you suspect this see a vehicle electrician

[JonStobbs]

There's a good electrical specialists called Electrex that do bike generators,regulators,rectifiers,etc...and also do upgraded units,and will test yours for you too.Not sure of the website addy but try tapping Electrex into google.

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Just going for a short ride on my bike....

[lecap]

sorry to be slightly off topic but do you have a link for the Clark 20l tank on your gf's bike?
I found one from IMS but it's only 17l means not really worth the hassle and money compared to the stock 14l.
20l would mean 300km+ fuel range thus fine down here in South Africa.

[skip]

Hi Mate
Sorry i´ve just reread my posting on the DR fuel tanks, and ive made a mistake my g.f has a 19 litre IMF tank from the USA. she gets about 250 miles per tank of fuel. She´d sent the clark tank back as it was badly made. Still working on the electric problem here in Santiago, found a local guy who runs a bike workshop he.´s giving me a hand to double check thee hole system again. Wil keep you posted on what we find. Cheers Skip

[beddhist]

Acerbis make a 25l-Tank for the older models which I have fitted to our two bikes. You just need to make brackets for them. Instructions are here: http://beddha.free.fr/DR650SE/TankAdapter/

For the front bracket I have made an adapter different from the one pictured, simply out of flat steel and tubes, no welding.

I have a spare front bracket I could sell you, but the postage F -> SA...

If I can't sell my DR I may end up selling the bits, incl. big tank with adapters. Will decide soon.

[lecap]

Sorry about my bad maths in converting gallons into litres. 19l and 400 km sounds good indeed. Will check for shipping costs from IMF to SA.
Beddhist: Did you have to change the seat to fit the Acerbis tank? The bracket is no problem, welded or not, I am well equipped.
Let me know if the tank goes separately as I have shipping contact in Germany.

[skip]

Hi
At last some joy with the electrical problem on the G/Fs DR650. After checking the generator we found that two of the wire coils had some minor damage.Its being repaired as i write. The bike is a 97 model and has done 70000 miles, would this be considered as normal wear Cheers Skip

[ekaphoto]

Originally posted by skip:

Hi
At last some joy with the electrical problem on the G/Fs DR650. After checking the generator we found that two of the wire coils had some minor damage.Its being repaired as i write. The bike is a 97 model and has done 70000 miles, would this be considered as normal wear Cheers Skip

If this is the first problem you have had it is considered exceptional for any motorcycle. Most have some minor problems before 70K miles.



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John

[lecap]

This generator coil problem does occur on some bikes more regularily than on others as it has to do with the quality of manufacture of the coil and the wire used. If you ask a second hand bike spares dealer they will be able to tell you exactly which bikes have problems with stator coils.
The DR does not count amongst them but I would think singles or bikes used on dirt roads / offroad are mechanically more prone to develop the problem. It is usually related with age and 70000 miles would be a typical figure although I had the same problem on a KLR 650 (KL650A) after 15000km and one year.
It is very important to recognize the symptoms (often a battery losing cupious amounts of water although being newish and voltage and coil resistance often measuring correct when checked stationary.
Stator rewinds are usually done in better quality and a lot cheaper than the factory made originals and some specialists will even wind coils with a slightly higher power output than standard.

[beddhist]

Originally posted by lecap:
Did you have to change the seat to fit the Acerbis tank?

No, you just apply some grease to where it touches the tank, push it down hard and then wiggle it forward. The base will bend and the cover throws a few wrinkles, that's all. After a while it becomes easier to fit, as the base adjusts to its new shape.

Don't know yet if I sell the parts or sell the BMW instead... I do believe the Acerbis tank is still abailable new.