Latest Lucas stator.

Has anyone had any experience of the latest build Lucas stators, which boast;

"New investment in tooling and quality control,"

My main concern is regarding the quality of the heat resistant sheath that covers the wires coming out of the stator. Do they still crack and break as did the previous "Lucas made" stators? I know that the latest production hasn't been out for long but I don't want to waste more money on woefully inadequate wire protection. Any feedback available yet?

I would be not buying any Wassell 'Lucas' for the moment, Wassell's stuff can be rubbish but also good (good reports on their electronic ignition as an example) but by the time you find out its the rubbish one its money wasted. The best alternator's currently are made by LAP (originally Lucas Aftermaket Parts but now LAP), who were actually part of Lucas before they were sold off but did not take the right to use the Lucas name with them and now Wassell's own the trademark can never use it. Finding a dealer who does LAP can be a problem, Grins can do the LAP if asked.

New investment could just mean its made in China, I always take marketing speak with a handful of salt.

And the difference is? - one just re-boxed as far I can see, why would a company produce both, read up on LAP.

As for dealer dong both, AN have both so take your pick.

Thanks for the info. I'll give Grin and A/N a call tomorrow.

So who owns Wassell these days??
Ever seen those Wassell Commando friction plates? If you want a laugh you should do so.....they are grey in colour, semi flexable and manufactured from what looks like wetted cardbourd sat on by some peasant in some far eastern back street cow shed ...the tooth form looks as if it has been formed by a set of false teeth and comes NO WHERE near fitting a CORRECTLY splined clutch centre and would require days of careful filing if they were to fit a clutch centre correctly. I had them shear strength tested and the 5 test results I received from the Mech Eng Dept at ******* University showed shear strength to be approx 2,000 lb /sq inch which is rather seriously below that of the DON 112 solid fibre asbestos based friction plates employed on Commandos before some not very clever soul remembered the Villiers Starmaker clutch BODGE to try to stop their clutch slip problem by employing sintered bronze friction plates...The DON 112 material data sheet shows a shear strength of 9,000 lb /sq inch. I suspect that if you actually managed to fit these Wassell plates to your clutch the first time you applied a bit of torque to them the teeth would strip leaving you driveless. I once coducted testing of a friction material with a shear strength of 5,000 lb / sq inch in a friends G50 diaphragm spring clutch and they failed after a couple of meetings....and I continued my hunt for a suitable solid fibre friction material that was suitable for dry use, gave good engagement characteristics, good wear rates etc etc...
If Wassell have actually introduced some quality control I would suggest its not before time as clearely NON was applied to these clutch plates....but I bet they were very chea

J. M. Leadbeater said:

So who owns Wassell these days??

Click to expand...

http://www.totalbikebits.com/wassell_history.html

No trouble with the sheath but it does look like the same stuff that cracks up. Watch the clearance on these as the diameter tapers down 'nicely' so its tighter on the inside than out. Make sure your guage shim or feelers goes all the way thru. Just had to replace with another Sparx and found it 2,5mm wider in the encapsulation than earlier versions.....result = rubbing on belt drive pullet side plate! That was the 10A version. Radial clearance was 15 thou + so no issues there except maybe charging :roll:

You might want to do a preemptive move when installing the new stator. Many have had good luck with a glob of RTV silicone on the wire exit from the stator after the wire has been bent and routed to the grommet on the inner chaincase. I ty-wrap it to the center boss of the inner chaincase where it passes by. Also, when working on the bike later on, the wire sheath will have hardened up so don't let the stator hang by the wires. If the sheath does crack you can use some heat shrink tubing to patch it or just remove it and use some good sleeving.

It sure is a weak point, but easily remedied compared to most Norton things.

Russ

the Difference between new production Lucas and Lap £40.00 saved by buying new production


the last LAP unit i purchased ( feb 2016 ) the encapsulation had been hacked away around the mounting studs to make it fit , i quickly returned it and fitted the new production Lucas stator
which has been fitted and working for three months without issue , if the LAP stator is considered better a quality please explain as the build quality is diabolical

Luckily I'm still on my 5 year old sparx 3 phase stator, no issues and still keeps the battery at 13V at idle. I did, however, slather the wires coming out of the stator with JB weld some time ago to prevent flexing/cracking

if the LAP stator is considered better a quality please explain as the build quality is diabolical

Click to expand...

You are not the only one to notice then. Quality control issues may explain - wrong item being placed in wrong box, the flaw in Wassells plan - premium product premium price = big margin, 'Oh thats a bit pricey' then have a pattern cheaper but still a big margin. I bet they don't care which one you purchase.

Madnorton

LAP stators are not supplied by Wassell , only the new production Green box parts come from Wassell

lucasclassicmotorcycle.com

Let's not get mixed up here.

There seem to be four alternators available to us:

Wassell
http://www.totalbikebits.com
Recognised by all of us to be p1ss poor quality, bad workmanship
The people that make these components have probably never seen a bike before, and probably take time out from stitching footballs for 2 cents per day to make a few alternators

Lucas
http://www.lucasclassicmotorcycle.com
Lucas are now owned be Wassell
To me the alternator seems identical to the Wassell one, but it has gone through some additional stages after initial production to improve the fit and finish, then put into a nice shiny green Lucas box.

Sparx
http://www.tri-corengland.com/acatalog/ ... ducts.html
People have mixed reviews of these.
Common issues are that the fit between the rotor and stator is too tight, the rotor will need to be reamed before it will fit on the crankshaft and that sometimes a brand new stator may have bare wires showing as they emerge from the potting encapsulant.
On the positive side, they perform ok - high output at low RPMs which is what a lot of people are looking for!

LAP
http://www.lapelec.co.uk
Not to be confused with Lucas - this is a small company that was formed when some of the ex-Lucas guys did a management buy-out back in 1989.
These days they seem to specialise in making flashing lights for service vehicles.


Looking at the company profiles, it sounds like LAP would make a better product.
Smaller company, small batches of parts, quality control and people that take care in what they produce.
However, I can see no mention of their alternators on their site or by Google search, so wonder if this is something they are still making, or if they gave been beaten down by the in-flux of low cost imitators.

gtiller said:

Lucas are now owned be Wassell

Click to expand...

Lucas Industries is a huge multinational company. Wassell only acquired the rights to use the 'Lucas' trademark on its products.

http://www.totalbikebits.com/wassell_history.html

In 2014, Wassell acquired the licence for the Lucas brand from Lucas Industries Limited, for Classic Motorcycle parts

Click to expand...

.

i have been looking in to the stator availability

Wassell No longer supply their own brand in the UK

Sparx No longer manufacture once stock has been sold no replacement will be available ( tri core have downsized now trading as Andy Gregory Motorcycles )

LAP Not sure if they are still producing but price / current production quality alone will kill them ( LAP product requires new tooling plastic encapsulation is shocking )

Lucas new production using new tooling / modern production methods ( product looks far superior than anything else currently available ) and it works well

So our options are becoming even more limited i guess it would take some serious investment to produce new stators & rotors in 2016

Why would Lucas and LAP produce a part that is common to both, as LAB said, Wassell have the right to produce the motorcycle products. It maybe that Wassell are moving away from putting their name on the items - it makes sense if you have the rights not to use your own name! so the old Wassell, as has been commented on was a better item than the LAP product will have the 'lucas' on the encapsulation and the LAP product will remain just that - LAP is still not recognised as genuine Lucas - trying to convince some of the public is impossible. It all comes clear when you purchase an indicator with stem, it comes in a Lucas box but has LAP on the lens.

Lap was formed way back in the 1990`s ( managment buy out ) Lucas officially stopped production of motorcycle product in 1996 and LAP became a stand alone company

LAP continued to manufacture automotive and motorcycle components whithout permission from Lucas and continued to mark these products with the Lucas Brand
i think they got pulled up by Lucas and instructed to stop , if you remember a couple of years back Lucas turn signals suddenly appeared marked LAP on the backs and lenses
Lucas were initiating new production of classic Automotive parts these lenses also fit BMC mini Landrovers etc , and LAP were still manufacturing taking sales from Lucas so the s--t hit the fan so to speak
Lap were instructed to stop using the Lucas brand on all product

if you buy the green box turn signals they will be marked Lucas on lenses and backings , there are lots of dealers still selling the LAP units as Genuine Lucas ( even though these are clearly marked LAP )
as there is stators rotors etc confusing YES

LAP obviously never listened, so where does the trade buy the indicator lenses marked 'Lucas' then, and the alternators.

For Lucas motorcycle parts including indicators / lenses dealers will now have to go to Wassell
RGM can supply Lucas indicator stems and should have the lenses as well , i would give them a ring if you need a replacement lens