QuestionI bought a 1981 Honda CB650. Has 6,221 miles on it. Hard to believe huh? Well apparently according to the mech and guy I bought it from the Mech put a used stator on the bike. I noticed the neutral wasn't working. I would like to know what to do with this first.
I would also like to get informaton about the stator in that a full battery lasts 4 or 5 trips down the street and then the bike dies and battery is dead. Do you think it is the stator?
They are sendign it out for repair...and when it is rebuilt I am going to the mech who is putting it back in...bike runs good otherwise.
ray
AnswerNice find... hopefully! The neutral switch is behind the left crankcase cover. There is a "rotor" mounted on the end of the shift drum that brings a contact on the rotor to the stationary neutral switch base. When the shift drum is in the neutral position, the contact grounds the wire coming from the harness (that goes up to the ground side of the neutral light assy wiring). The neutral light should have 12v on one side of the bulb and the neutral switch harness and switch assy makes the ground side of the bulb complete. Go to:
http://www.powersportspro.com/partsfish/ to find your machine and look at online illustrations, after you register.
At 6,221 miles, I don't know why the stator was replaced. They CAN go bad, but it isn't too common. If they are competant mechanics and have verified some kind of issue with the stator, than that may well be your problem.
The more common issues are the carbon brushes wearing out or sticking, but even more so, the rotor itself. The rotor is mounted on then end of the crankshaft, subject to vibration and lots of heat. Often, you can check the resistance of the slip ring tracks for the brushes and find a big difference between the cold readings and the hot ones. Go to www.electrexusa.com for a free downloadable troubleshooting guide, as well as repair parts that are MUCH cheaper than OEM Honda parts.
Bill Silver
