Charging system upgrade

I've been asked about my charging system upgrade by some members and decided to just post it for all to read instead of answering each member one at a time (too time consuming)

I experienced low battery charging for years with my '96 VT1100, which was at 12 volts ~ for years at idle and even less when raising the RPMs. I see alot of riders replacing the stator with a higher output after market stator, which would get you more power to the battery. But what if your stator is still testing good? It then would be the voltage regulator not performing properly. Being my stator tested good and put out enough power by factory specs, I decided to look into the voltage regulator and see if I could find a better one that would send more power to the battery, and I found it!
The stock regulator is poorly engineeered and by sending the extra power that's not needed to ground, which makes the stator run very hot (couldn't even touch mine!) and also make the stator run very hot and eventually it too will fail from over heating.
Here's the guy who answered my questions and gave me the answer I was looking for - Here's his site:

http://roadstercycle.com/Roadstercycle.htm

I personally talked to him by phone and he did the research for us to find a better regulator that not only sends more power to the battery, but does it by running alot cooler than the stock regulator (which is part of why our stock system fails) and also adds some knowledge about the wiring upgrade that's needed to keep things working properly to avoid problems in the future.
The new Mosfet style regulator works much better and now I have 13.5 volts reading on my volt meter at idle and 14.2 to 14.5 volts at higher RPMs, even with my accessories running! Can't beat that! I also did as he suggested and replaced the thin 14 -16 gauge wire from the voltage regulator to the battery with 10 gauge wire to prevent over heating and soldering all the connectors so they make a better connection, keeping the battery fully charged at all times.
You can purchase the complete kit he has listed or just the regulator and do all the wiring yourself as I did. I used crimp-on connectors, but I also soldered them to make a better solid connection. And instead of using his supplied connectors, I used GOOP to seal the connection blocks on the regulator to keep any moisture out (sets up like tire rubber) so I shouldn't have any problems there anymore.
Adding any accessories to the 1100 is not recomended unless you do the upgrade, because of the fact that the stock charging system is barely good enough to keep the battery charged without any accessories on. Now I can run my two 35 watt driving lights and stereo amplifier with no concerns about my battery running too low. The bike now starts faster, and runs alot better because of the charging system upgrade.
If you have any questions, I'll be happy to help you. PD

Thanks PD, I'm bookmarking that page.

My stator went out at 35k. I replace it and the rectifier with an after market one. This is one of the weak points of this bike. If you have one, buy a stator and rectifier before it goes out. They are not in stock all the time.

i have 75 thousand miles on my shadow . have only replaced tires . always have had it start even at 25 degres .with extra lights . but friend is always replacing staiter on his bike .. think maybe it could be defective parts or im just lucky

lj birdman wrote:i have 75 thousand miles on my shadow . have only replaced tires . always have had it start even at 25 degres .with extra lights . but friend is always replacing staiter on his bike .. think maybe it could be defective parts or im just lucky

weak SCR typr RRS are a failure waiting to happen, they are also hard on stators

I put a MOSFET type RR (Shingren FH0012AA from Roadstercycle) on my V-strom, as posted above, consistent 14.2-14.5 volts regardless of how many accessories I'm running (I ride in witer with heat & aux lighting as well as electronics) before I upgrades to the MOSFET RR, voltage would fluctuate from 12.7-15.0, usually in the low 13s if I had any heat running