Alternator for my 89 gl 1500

[mothership]

My alternator went bad and I need a new one but funds are tight.
Can anyone suggest places I might try for aftermarket alternators

[WingAdmin]

I've got a spare one sitting around that you can have for the cost of postage. PM me your address and I'll see what it would cost to ship it.

[virgilmobile]

Send your broke one back to the Admin.I think he needs another project to work on,right?

[WingAdmin]

Send your broke one back to the Admin.I think he needs another project to work on,right?

uh, no.

And my wife thanks you for getting this spare alternator out of her dining room. The pile of motorcycle parts there is starting to diminish.

[godsen]

I've just started cruisin' around GoldwingDocs. Read a few forum posts, read some "How to" articles.
WingAdmin--- very cool.

[terryj]

R and Z Alternator in Harbor City, CA makes an aftermarket alternator for a 1500, you can get them from 40 amp to 85 amp, the alternators range in cost from about 130.00 for the 40 amp and 180.00 for the 85 amp. I installed one of these on my 98 and have had no problems with the alternator at all. At idle it sits at 13.7 volts and at 3000 rpm at about 14.6 volts. They are the same size as the OEM alternator so install is a breeze. I talked with Robert (the owner) and was curious as to how they can get twice the amperage from an alternator the same size as the OEM 40 amp. He told me that the stators are double wound and the rectifiers/regulators are rated at 80 amp. The configuration of the windings are in the "star" congifuration and are 3 phase, this produces smoother voltage overall and higher amps at lower rpm. I'll keep you posted on the performance of this alternator, I've been an electronic engineer for 40 years and I know that in electronics you get what you pay for, there are a number of ways to cut cost in electronics and allot of time the consumer pays for it. With that said, I'm trying out his alternator and hoping for the best, so far so good, it hasn't even falted once. I know a few guys in our GWTA chapter that have went with the "other more expensive one" you know which one, they say they will never use it again, one of them failed at 500 miles and the other failed after 1500 miles.
One thing to remember when installing a higher amperage alternator, one "should" upgrade the white wire from the alternator to the battery, remember these were designed for a 40 amp alternator, although, you may not need all 85 amps you should have no real problems with the white wire heating up under normal load, but if your load increases to over 50 amps the white wire my start to add some resistance and heat up.

[mothership]

Thanks Terry for the info. I did find an aftermarket one from Discount Starter and Alternator in Macon, Ga. It was 157.00 with free shipping.
Same as OEM and voltage is similar to your readings. The one I got was made in China. I wonder doe's R and Z actually make theirs or is it imported. I live in California and would have had to pay tax and possibly shipping so price is just about a push.
Thanks for the info

[Ericson38]

I thought about going that route also (China ones on ebay-40A rated), but decided to get a new Honda rotor (front cover), since that is what is wrong with mine (2000 SE with 70K miles), rotor winding is open. The stator-diodes are still good, and I had but a new rear bearing in it about 1000 miles ago. Price at the dealer is 155.

I think that a high output type could end up wearing the alternator drive gear sets, since they could get loaded at twice their hp transfer rating. I do hear some that say the compufires are noisey.

[terryj]

I'm not sure if R and Z alternator manufacture these alternators, I do know that they warrenty them for a year against any failure.

[Kiwi2]

Here is a reply that I posted for someone else that was having a problem with an alternator. I have a 1988 GL 1500 and after about 20 years the standard alternator went to that big place in the sky, so I fitted a Compu-fire alternator and battery. This was very easy to fit, but like one of the other helpers says it can be a bit "pesky". I found the easiest way was to turn the garage radio up loud, make sure nobody is with hearing, and then after you have muttered and cursed and given the unit it's pedigree .... stop, go and have a cup of tea, and then after about half an hour when you try again it will just slide in.

Have fun.

[robb]

It's funny how it will fall out into your hands and be so mean to go back in. I used a camcorder during install to see removal angle and it went back in as easy as it came out. No problems with the 90 amp install.

[Kiwi2]

Hi Robb, Glad to see that you didn't have any problems. In saying that I did have the old alternator off and on a few times, sometimes it went back easy as pie and other times it was a swine of a thing to get back and that was when it was wise that nobody came and talked to you telling you how to put it back in and how easy they found it.

You must admit that the Wings are a lot of fun though.

Kiwi2

[robb]

But not the first time. Honda tech said to check the alternator dampening rubbers for deteriation. I fell out but for the life of me it would not go back in. After two hours of fussing and cussing, nuckle bleeding and the rest of ugly stuff I walked away. Next morning it went in first try. The camcorder is the greatest invention when stupid strikes.

[hemi-roid]

Ken Heming at MOTORCYCLE ALTERNATOR REPAIR SERVICE has rebuilt regular and H.O. units. Phone 219-947-4038
Also have parts if you want to rebuild your own.