Sunday morning started at 05:47 (10 mins before weekday alarm) because weekday habits are difficult to ignore at the weekends. The usual 3 cups of tea were consumed and the bike taken from the shed and parked up ready for the breakfast run. I dressed in my usual biking gear, carried helmet, gloves and tank bag out to the bike. Phone went in the waterproof case ( I like to track my rides, don't know why just do) and plugged it into the accessory socket and that's when I had the first indication that something was wrong. The accessory socket readout was showing nothing but the switch light was glowing, 'silly bugger you've not flicked the switch properly" and so I tried again... nothing.
Key goes in the ignition and clicked to the ON position, nothing, nada, zip, dead as a Dodo. The boost pack was administered and the engine started, "Yay, flat battery was all... but why did the battery go flat?" I check the accessory socket readout and see 5.2v, 10.6v, 14.2v, 13v back to 5.2v and so it continued to flicker between 5.2v and 14.5v. I MM the battery to check for voltage and get the same readings as before, "that's the fried breakfast run finished before it started"
.
I retreat indoors as its still too early to be buggering about revving engines plus it gives me time to consult the years of captured experience I have locked away in my head. The years of captured experience suggests a charging problem with the stator and not the rectifier (diodes fail once and that's it)... As Murphys Law applies in this type of situation I don't have a spare stator on the shelf
so I consult ebay for a replacement (the cost of a genuine part is astronomically high) whilst I await a decent hour to wake the neighbours without fear of complaint.
That hour arrives (9am) and so I strip the bike ready for testing the component I think has failed... I check the stator and find an Ohms reading of 0 in any combination of the three pins
just to make sure, I check the rectifier and get a 0.455 across any combination of the pins... the rectifier's good
Why did the stator fail on an '09 650 V-Strom with less than 12K miles registered on the mile o meter? Did I do anything wrong? Did I not change the engine oil often enough? Doesn't really matter, all that matters is that a replacement stator has been ordered along with a new genuine stator cover gasket, £5 dearer than the cheapest pattern gasket available
I have a 5 night 6 day trip to / in and around Scotland in May, glad it failed now and not during the trip.
I have to say... the bike has been faultless until now, has done everything I've asked of it and has lapped it up asking for more while returning 60+ mpg...
