What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?

I will add that I also have all LED lighting, a Tri-spark voltage regulator, and a cNw e-start. The last stator that I installed I went back to a 10.5 A single phase and I've had no issues starting the bike--maybe this is why I finally resolved my stator melting issue? Could I have been overheating the system with the 14.5 A 3 phase stators that were melting?
 
I did a quick calculation on the lighting burden Incandescent lamps Vs LEDs

Riding with dip beam, pilot, tail light and instrument lights on Incandescent = 74Watts, LED = 4.7Watts
That's a difference of 69.3Watts . Assuming battery voltage of 13.8v, the difference in current drawn would be 5Amps.

I would suggest that the 3 phase 14.5Amp stator is more suited to incandescent lamps while the 3 phase 10Amp stator is suited to LEDs
 
I too have had stator rubbing issues albeit very minor but audible but no melting at all although some unsightly cracking but charging is fine.

At Nigel’s recommendation I too had 0.01” machined off the rotor to give 0.02”‘clearance

Just been out and my screeching noise has gone but I’ll be keeping a close eye on things in case it was something else altogether
 
That is what I am trying to find out.The real problem is that I took off a stator that was on my bike for at least 4 years and working fine.It was during a real cold spell and I had a new one in my stash so I thought it was a good idea to put it on and turn the rotor .010 to be thinking I was just doing some winter maintenance.BAD idea.Should have just left well enough alone.Now I am pulling my hair (not much there) out trying to figure out what my problem is.This is one reason I don’t think it is electrical but who knows.
Mike
I have the same set up as HouTex with all LED bulbs,Shoei battery,etc.Due to my electrical ignorance I thought the bigger the charging system, the better.These stators didn’t melt until I had about 100 miles on them. I still am a huge fan of the Shoei batteries and will figure this out soon.
 
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Andy Higham said:
I did a quick calculation on the lighting burden Incandescent lamps Vs LEDs

Riding with dip beam, pilot, tail light and instrument lights on Incandescent = 74Watts, LED = 4.7Watts
That's a difference of 69.3Watts . Assuming battery voltage of 13.8v, the difference in current drawn would be 5Amps.

I would suggest that the 3 phase 14.5Amp stator is more suited to incandescent lamps while the 3 phase 10Amp stator is suited to LEDs
Click to expand...

ashman said:
Why don't you just go back to your old one???
Click to expand...
Ashman,
That’s is what I am going to do today. I just don’t understand why I was having so much grief with the new parts.To me it was just a remove and replace operation that should not have the negative results that I encountered. It really pissed me off as everything was installed properly with no shortcuts.
Hope you are okay
Mike
 
It’s been a busy few weeks with cNw. #101 aka Arnie. I’ve had the whole primary out, twice. 1st time to tighten the counter sprocket that was less than finger tight despite the lock washer and its screw in place. This resulted in a persistent GB oil leak.

2nd was to track down a ‘screech’ on positive throttle. That was the slightest of touches between rotor and stator (thanks to Fast Eddie for coming down and checking it over) and cured by doing as he did, machining the rotor to a 20 thou gap; my rotor was actually eccentric by 0.004”!

When finalising that primary rebuild (getting used to so much I can now install a cNw starter kit and primary blind folded 🤣 it was time to reinstall the tank. Holy shit I have a leak😱 I’ve organised a NOC welder for that in a couple of weeks.

Today it was the turn of a replacement pair of K&N RU1820 air filters for my FCR35s. Simple little job with the left side cover off, literally 2 minutes. Turned out to be over an hour. Why? Because K&N have changed both the dimensions and the material for the carcass 😡 What was nice bendy rubber is now rock hard. Dunking in boiling water did nowt. Stanley knife bounded off! The solution if you call it that was to sand down both filter’s inner sides as much as was possible without compromising the construction and they still wouldn’t fit together. I ended up greasing each one and using a scraper tool between to stop them gripping together. Got there in the end but honestly of all the jobs I’ve done on this bike and there have been far too many, that was the hardest!!!

So to all you FCR owner out there, be warned, protect your filters for dear life. My right hand one had been rubbing against the oil tank breather hose and literally holed through. I intend to fabricate a plastic plate to protect the filter from the hose. Naturally I won’t bother registering my lifetime warranty on these🤣🤣🤣

Until the next issue, cheers🍻
 
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Nortoniggy said:
You could have a problem with the inner primary chaincase alignment changing when you put the outer cover on. Try this, check clearance on stator, then use a spacer on the centre stud and tighten the nut that secures the outer cover as if cover was fitted. Check the stator clearance again. If it has changed you don't have correct amount of shims behind inner chaincase and it's distorting when you fit outer cover.
Click to expand...
Iggy,
That is a good idea to check your work on the proper install of your inner primary. I did that yesterday and all is good which pleased me because I didn’t want to remove the inner after setting it up so there was no bind which can be a PITA getting a feeler gauge in to see what shims are needed.The CNW kits now come with an adjustable stud that I think is a beautiful piece.
Mike
 
Relocated the horn to the Z plate, it attaches to the former zener diode mounting hole. For aesthetics the radius of the Z plate and horn are concentric.
I then designed a stainless bracket to mount the Shindengen reg/rec to the underside of the battery carrier. The .dxf file has now gone to the laser cutters.
To make life easier, the two holes in the back of the battery carrier that the mudguard (and originally thee horn) mount to have been fitted with "Rivnuts"
 
Café au Lait said:
Today it was the turn of a replacement pair of K&N RU1820 air filters for my FCR35s. Simple little job with the left side cover off, literally 2 minutes. Turned out to be over an hour. Why? Because K&N have changed both the dimensions and the material for the carcass 😡 What was nice bendy rubber is now rock hard. Dunking in boiling water did nowt. Stanley knife bounded off! The solution if you call it that was to sand down both filter’s inner sides as much as was possible without compromising the construction and they still wouldn’t fit together. I ended up greasing each one and using a scraper tool between to stop them gripping together. Got there in the end but honestly of all the jobs I’ve done on this bike and there have been far too many, that was the hardest!!!

So to all you FCR owner out there, be warned, protect your filters for dear life. My right hand one had been rubbing against the oil tank breather hose and literally holed through. I intend to fabricate a plastic plate to protect the filter from the hose. Naturally I won’t bother registering my lifetime warranty on these🤣🤣🤣
Click to expand...
I have a pair of K&N RC 1820's on my FCR's.
Fits straight on - no sanding/dunking/cutting/swearing necessary.
Also, I strap the breather hose to the frame so the filters can't touch it
Cheers
 
Andy Higham said:
Relocated the horn to the Z plate, it attaches to the former zener diode mounting hole. For aesthetics the radius of the Z plate and horn are concentric.
I then designed a stainless bracket to mount the Shindengen reg/rec to the underside of the battery carrier. The .dxf file has now gone to the laser cutters.
To make life easier, the two holes in the back of the battery carrier that the mudguard (and originally thee horn) mount to have been fitted with "Rivnuts"
Click to expand...
Andy,
Please send pictures of the way you are going to mount your Shindengen regulator as I am in the same situation and didn’t think there was room under the battery tray.Also could you tell me if I have the terminals I have labeled are correct (+) (-) as don’t have any information on this unit.
Thanks,Mike What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
 
robs ss said:
I have a pair of K&N RC 1820's on my FCR's.
Fits straight on - no sanding/dunking/cutting/swearing necessary.
Also, I strap the breather hose to the frame so the filters can't touch it
Cheers
Click to expand...
Yeah my old ones still fit easy peasy, on and off in a flash I therefore suspect yours are the same as those. The new ones are visually very similar but it’s in the details. They are made of a MUCH harder compound, not even close and combine that with more width and you’re in trouble. My old ones have no branding whatsoever whereas the new have K&N embossed on the tops. Yours are metal topped iirc but that’s just bling I guess and another thing to clean which is why I stuck with the std version. Obviously these are supposed to last forever, it was only that mine got damaged that I need to replace them. I guess I could get away with just one and then the fit would have been easier.

IMG_8504.jpeg

Notice the lower body if flush to the pleats, now they stick out 1-2mm so 2-4mm in total!

My hose was already strapped to the frame (as Matt built it) but I’ve added and extra tie so top and bottom all the same.
What Did You Do With Your Commando Today?
 
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robs ss said:
Why not go back to the old ones?
Click to expand...
One has a sizeable hole in it, you can see daylight through it plus some of the wire mesh is frayed and I wouldn’t want that sucked in.

Last night Matt messaged me to say he had the exact same issue and he too sanded down the sides. Apparently K&N are under new ownership and have obviously made changes to the product. The bigger problem for him was that the RC-1820, the chrome backed one you have have altered ID so that they no longer fit the carbs. He has resorted to buying the carbs directly from Keihin and having the inlets made for him to fit the filters.


“When I fitted the RU 1820, rubber backs, I also had to sand the inner part that is facing each other in order to make them fit. So same as you.

So part of the long story is that the company that used to supply my Keihins in the US closed their doors (all too many are doing this these days). So I am actually going directly to Japan to buy my Keihins now. That said, they don't supply the air filter mounts or carb spigots. So I am now having to make my own.

In order to deal with the K&N issue, I am making a left and right specific mount that is offset to the outside. While you may not have seen the ID size difference on the RU filters, its quite noticeable on the RC filters and that's why I also adjusted the OD on the filter mount to make it work. I also made them a bit narrower (closer to the carb) to gain a little more space behind the filter. Its tight back there and a lot going on so any extra space helps.”
 
Café au Lait said:
One has a sizeable hole in it, you can see daylight through it plus some of the wire mesh is frayed and I wouldn’t want that sucked in.

Last night Matt messaged me to say he had the exact same issue and he too sanded down the sides. Apparently K&N are under new ownership and have obviously made changes to the product. The bigger problem for him was that the RC-1820, the chrome backed one you have have altered ID so that they no longer fit the carbs. He has resorted to buying the carbs directly from Keihin and having the inlets made for him to fit the filters.


“When I fitted the RU 1820, rubber backs, I also had to sand the inner part that is facing each other in order to make them fit. So same as you.

So part of the long story is that the company that used to supply my Keihins in the US closed their doors (all too many are doing this these days). So I am actually going directly to Japan to buy my Keihins now. That said, they don't supply the air filter mounts or carb spigots. So I am now having to make my own.

In order to deal with the K&N issue, I am making a left and right specific mount that is offset to the outside. While you may not have seen the ID size difference on the RU filters, its quite noticeable on the RC filters and that's why I also adjusted the OD on the filter mount to make it work. I also made them a bit narrower (closer to the carb) to gain a little more space behind the filter. Its tight back there and a lot going on so any extra space helps.”
Click to expand...
Ahh - I guess I'm (temporarily) lucky in that I have a pair of new RC's as spares, and my existing ones will do another 5000 miles. No holing problems yet, and I don't expect any.
Bugger!
 

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