Alternator Question ? ...Thumbs up for M.A.R.S

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

My friends Gary and Rosie from Illinois had the alternator die while on one of our rides at InZane.Just curious for you folks that's had one fail ( How many miles on the bike when it went ? )  Another member had a brand new Goldwing alternator and sold it to them at InZane so they could keep ridin'. I do want to give Ken Heming a big thumbs up    M.A.R.S ( Motorcycle Alternator Repair Service ) He offered to bring them a alternator and it was a 6 hour drive for him...That's good business and I do plan on buying from him because of this kind offer to my friends.They also bought a rebuilt alternator from Ken and had it shipped home since the fellow VRCC member helped them out with the new alternator and had it on hand at the event..... Click the link to check out the M.A.R.S website ( Motorcycle Alternator Repair Service )  Save the link to favorites as this site is alittle hard to find on the www.                                                                                                        http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resp3jbj/

[Gear Jammer]

It's always good to find and then patronize someone who actually cares about his customers. Thanks for the info Joe.  Good to see you again.  GJ

[Po]

 You betcha Joe, He is a great asset to a stranded biker. I plan to post it on the gl1800 site also.

Rosie

[Bobbo]

My original alternator failed at about 85,000 miles.  I reclocked a new 97 GW Aspincade alternator and it has been running fine for almost that many miles.

[Cattman]

Mine went at 31000. Glad I had the extended warranty. $700 for dealer to do.

+1 For Ken, he is an alternator whiz.

[Daniel Meyer]

Mine needed new brushes at 80k. Still going strong now (140k). I'll check the brushes again soon.

[hubcapsc]

Mine needed new brushes at 80k. Still going strong now (140k). I'll check the brushes again soon.

Is checking the brushes as easy as it is on, you know, other stuff? Unscrew the little cap
and out comes the brush on the end of a spring? You can see them there in the blow up
picture (#8), but the picture doesn't make it immediately apparent to me how they come out...



-Mike "I think Frank Smoak likes his MARS alternator..."

[Jay]

Hubcapsc,
Check out Shoptalk, Alternator Service.   I replaced my brushes at 52,000 miles, they were about half worn at that time.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Hubcapsc,
Check out Shoptalk, Alternator Service.   I replaced my brushes at 52,000 miles, they were about half worn at that time.

It was'nt the brushes that caused the failure Gary had those replaced last winter just for peace of mind. I'm pretty sure they claimed it was the rectifier that caused his failure.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

You betcha Joe, He is a great asset to a stranded biker. I plan to post it on the gl1800 site also.

Rosie

How many miles on y'all's Interstate Rosie ?

[Crazyhorse]

The previous owner had used a butt connector to repair a broken wire to the alternator. When the wire pulled apart it shorted out the alternator. I replaced my brushes at 75k. It isn't that hard to do but you will need to break down the alternator. You would want to do this anyway to check the armature and bearings. Also to give it a good cleaning with air of course.

[R J]

Here is an alternate part # for the Valk off of a Gold Wing, #31100-MT2-015.
New out the door like $300.

141,000 miles on mine when it went.  I replaced it with a Valkyrie OEM, big bucks, next one if there is one will be this part # 31100-MT2-015 (fits several Gold Wings) the # in a parts book, lists it for a 87 Aspendcade. 

[B]

Mine went at about 16k. $600... Then found out I couldve rotated the case on a goldwing alt for bout 1/2 the price.

[tybme]

I have bought from Ken (M.A.R.S.) before and would do so again in a heart beat. Good man.

[MP]

+1 on M.A.R.S.

MP

[big turkey]

Alternators are fine but I prefer the Harley Stator System.

Seen them go 240,000 miles on some Electra Glides.

But the Alternator on the Valk is more Powerful and easier to get too.

Big Al

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Alternators are fine but I prefer the Harley Stator System.

Seen them go 240,000 miles on some Electra Glides.

But the Alternator on the Valk is more Powerful and easier to get too.

Big Al

I talked to Steve ( Pibit ) he also lost a alternator on his Valk on the way to InZane....He said the " Harley Stator System " has already been replaced on his Screamin' Eagle for failure...His Valk has over 200,000 miles on it.

[big turkey]

Pibit plays his radio to please the crowd endlessly and that takes an extra heavy toll on any

charging system.

His sounds are mighty good I might add.

Big Al

[mikeb]

My friends Gary and Rosie from Illinois had the alternator die while on one of our rides at InZane.Just curious for you folks that's had one fail ( How many miles on the bike when it went ? )  Another member had a brand new Goldwing alternator and sold it to them at InZane so they could keep ridin'. I do want to give Ken Heming a big thumbs up    M.A.R.S ( Motorcycle Alternator Repair Service ) He offered to bring them a alternator and it was a 6 hour drive for him...That's good business and I do plan on buying from him because of this kind offer to my friends.They also bought a rebuilt alternator from Ken and had it shipped home since the fellow VRCC member helped them out with the new alternator and had it on hand at the event..... Click the link http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resp3jbj/

i looked for him to make shure all was well with the alt install  but they must have been riding i am ordering another spare to carry with me again.. glad to be of help   ken is a great guy i have read a bit about him and his work   mike b

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

My friends Gary and Rosie from Illinois had the alternator die while on one of our rides at InZane.Just curious for you folks that's had one fail ( How many miles on the bike when it went ? )  Another member had a brand new Goldwing alternator and sold it to them at InZane so they could keep ridin'. I do want to give Ken Heming a big thumbs up    M.A.R.S ( Motorcycle Alternator Repair Service ) He offered to bring them a alternator and it was a 6 hour drive for him...That's good business and I do plan on buying from him because of this kind offer to my friends.They also bought a rebuilt alternator from Ken and had it shipped home since the fellow VRCC member helped them out with the new alternator and had it on hand at the event..... Click the link http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resp3jbj/

i looked for him to make shure all was well with the alt install  but they must have been riding i am ordering another spare to carry with me again.. glad to be of help   ken is a great guy i have read a bit about him and his work   mike b

I did'nt know who they got the alternator from....That was cool of you to hook them up    Crazyhorse and another guy who was ridin' a 1500 Wing had Gary going in no time after you hooked him up with the alternator.

[¿spoom]

Had mine go out at about 35k miles, took it apart and found it open near the inboard slip ring connection. Soldered it up and was OK 'til about 50K when it went out again. I replaced it with a new one since ringing it out showed it was an open rotor winding (not accessible). New one quit within 20K miles and by then I knew it was a common problem. I sent the 20k one to MARS and he re-did it with his good mojo. It's still going strong at 153K despite powering a pair of 35w spots & cranking my radio (4-speaker fairing) at Highway speeds. Another big   for MARS

EDIT, for those following this and wondering about the Gold Wing references-the 1500 GW alternator is a bolt-up fit, but the big + output terminal points in the wrong direction for a Valk. you can undo 3 screws and rotate the back half 120° clockwise to turn it into a Valk alternator.

[B]

Does MARS have a website? I did a couple searches but not sure I had any hits on the right site.

[Oss]

Pretty sure mine went before 30k in the canyons in Conn. where there was no cell service and I had Bonnie on the back seat that trip .  I had just purchased the warranty from HDL on sale for a couple hundred dollars so Mr Honda bought me the new one.   Tow was covered under the Honda riders club too.

Worst part was having to ride on the back of a Harley to get to a phone and back  to the bike to call the tow truck. Only the Harley stopped to help after dozens of bikes passed us by

No problems since.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Does MARS have a website? I did a couple searches but not sure I had any hits on the right site.

I put the information at the start of this thread ....Here it is again    The site is alittle hard to find on the www. I've saved it to my favorites and hope others will as well. We need to support these folks that help keep the Valkyrie rollin'.When I heard Ken had offered to drive 6 hours one way to bring Gary a alternator I knew then this is the kind of person I want to do business with.

http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resp3jbj/

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Saved to Favorites 

[lee]

Brushes wore out in mine at 79000.

[eric in md]

mars... and ken to great care of me a couple times .. great guy,,

[B]

Sorry I did look there... didn't realize myspace was his official site. Thx-B

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

Sorry I did look there... didn't realize myspace was his official site. Thx-B

mysite NOT myspace 

[Capt. Morgan]

Well I went by his place today so that I could shake his hand and thank him for the whole VRCC, but unfortunately he wasn't home.

[B]

Right ... Too quick on that damn blkbry when I typed it.

[F6Dave]

In my 500,000 miles of riding, I've had 4 alternator failures.  I owned 2 Suzukis ('78 GS 1000 and '81 GS 1100) for 85,000 miles and had to replace 3 stators on their brushless alternators.  The job was easy, as the stator was in the left engine cover (a 'wet' system with rotor on the left crank end) and all you had to do was remove the cover, a few screws, and plug in a new one.  But they were kind of expensive.  My theory is that it was simply undersized - only 230 watts as I remember.  The windings in the stator probably got too hot.

My '88 BMW R100GS had the rotor fail at about 20,000 miles.  At only 180 watts, it made the Suzukis seem like powerhouses.  I ran a 40W electric vest a few times that probably helped fry it, but that still is pretty small for a modern motorcycle, since after powering the headlight there's not much reserve left.

My more recent bikes have much larger, automotive style alternators.  I think my Concours had 340 watts, and it gave me 64,000 miles of very reliable service.  And my 2 Valks, with 500+ watt alternators designed for the Wing, now have over 200,000 combined trouble free miles.

[¿spoom]

In my 500,000 miles of riding, I've had 4 alternator failures.  I owned 2 Suzukis ('78 GS 1000 and '81 GS 1100) for 85,000 miles and had to replace 3 stators on their brushless alternators.  The job was easy, as the stator was in the left engine cover (a 'wet' system with rotor on the left crank end) and all you had to do was remove the cover, a few screws, and plug in a new one.  But they were kind of expensive.  My theory is that it was simply undersized - only 230 watts as I remember.  The windings in the stator probably got too hot.

My '88 BMW R100GS had the rotor fail at about 20,000 miles.  At only 180 watts, it made the Suzukis seem like powerhouses.  I ran a 40W electric vest a few times that probably helped fry it, but that still is pretty small for a modern motorcycle, since after powering the headlight there's not much reserve left.

My more recent bikes have much larger, automotive style alternators.  I think my Concours had 340 watts, and it gave me 64,000 miles of very reliable service.  And my 2 Valks, with 500+ watt alternators designed for the Wing, now have over 200,000 combined trouble free miles.

You sir, are a lucky guy then  While the Hitachi alternator is a great DESIGN, sadly they made thousands with a winding defect. Ken's experience trumps ours IMHO.

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

Lost mine in west Texas at 90k. Overnighted the goldwing replacement from HDL 249 dollars counting shipping was running the next day. I had the orginal rebuilt and now have a spare. 120K on bike now.