www.BurgmanUSA.com

by **MJR** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 19:10 19

Then just a weird R/R failure. I'm hearing more than a few '09's, kinda has me worried about my '09 (9,000 mi) going out now.

vistacatcher wrote:I called my wife to bring the jumper cables in the car. Hooked 'em up and had good power to the instrument panel. Cranked the bike right up but noticed right away that it was running really rough. As soon as I unhooked the jumper cable from the battery, the bike died. No power to anything again. Jumper cables back on and cranked up. This time it ran rough again. After about 30 seconds, it died completely. The main fuse was blown again.

Was the car running when you jump started it?

by **Buffalo** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 19:22 19

The R/R failures were not limited to just the Burgmans. A number of other 09 Suzuki bikes including some of the GSX and VLR models had the same problem.

by **vistacatcher** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 19:34 19

MJR wrote:Was the car running when you jump started it?

When I hooked it up the first time, the car was not running. The bike cranked but just barely, so the next time I had the car running when I hooked them up. I worried that I might overload the bike system, but it seemed to be dying anyway at the time. There may be some related damage to the regulator from the jump start, but I think it was on its way out anyway.

by **MJR** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 19:48 19

vistacatcher wrote:When I hooked it up the first time, the car was not running. The bike cranked but just barely, so the next time I had the car running when I hooked them up. I worried that I might overload the bike system, but it seemed to be dying anyway at the time. There may be some related damage to the regulator from the jump start, but I think it was on its way out anyway.

Was curious. Obviously you had a problem before jumping it anyway but I had just run across an article someone did saying you shouldn't jump it from a running vehicle due to the regulator/rectifier setup shunting extra current to ground. That bit was new to me. The only bikes I've ever owned have been 2 Helixes and these 3 Burgmans. I've not had to jumpstart any of them good thing I guess finding out this tidbit.

by **vistacatcher** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 20:25 20

Today I received the new voltage regulator in the mail, so this evening after work I set about replacing the stock R/R.

First, I put the ohmmeter on the new unit. Every lead tested in the specified range, so I felt confident that at least the new R/R was in good shape.

Hooking up the wires was no problem at all. Since I got the prewired kit, I just had to cut my original stator wires and crimp/heat shrink them onto the new wiring. The kit came with leads that attached directly to the battery, so I hooked them up and then cranked up the Burgy. It purred like a happy kitten!

I tested the voltage on the battery: bike not running = 12 volts; bike running about 4-5000 rpm = 13.5 volts. That seemed reasonable, so I unhooked everything and started putting things in their places.

I bolted on the new regulator and ran the new wires behind the gas tank filler tube. I used a couple of zip ties to fasten them to the frame. Then came the fun part: putting all of the tupperware back on....

It took about an hour and a half to get everything back on the bike. I broke one tab on the little panel under the passenger backrest by forcing it a little too hard. That tab looks like just an alignment piece, so I am not worried about it.

While I had the thing torn down, I decided to put an emergency trunk release on the bike as well, so I drilled a little hole and hooked up a short wire with a keyring attached to the end. I tucked it in under the seat after I got the tupperware back on, and what do you know, it worked fine! It is kind of hard to fish the little keyring out from under the seat edge, but it can be done in an emergency.

Thanks again to all of you who gave advice and pointers about what might be wrong and how to go about fixing the problem. This is a great forum! :cheers:

I'll update this thread again if any more excitement turns up from this episode.

Paul

by **MJR** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 20:43 20

Glad all seems to be well. I haven't done the upgraded R/R but I thought you should have 14-14.5V with the MOSFET R/R.

by **vistacatcher** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 20:50 20

MJR wrote:Glad all seems to be well. I haven't done the upgraded R/R but I thought you should have 14-14.5V with the MOSFET R/R.

The documentation with the R/R says 13.7 to 14.5V. I might be just a bit low, so I will check it again after a decent ride tomorrow.

by **MJR** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 21:05 21

Cool. Yah I'd like to hear how it goes. Should be doing this on all my bikes when I can afford to.

by **vistacatcher** » Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:15 08

vistacatcher wrote:
MJR wrote:Glad all seems to be well. I haven't done the upgraded R/R but I thought you should have 14-14.5V with the MOSFET R/R.

The documentation with the R/R says 13.7 to 14.5V. I might be just a bit low, so I will check it again after a decent ride tomorrow.

I rode the Burgman to work and back yesterday - 25 miles round trip - with no problems. It ran just as I'd expect it to. When I got home, I put the voltage tester back on the battery before I shut the bike off. It read right at 13.6 (it is an analog meter, so there might be a bit of fluff in the reading). It stayed at a steady 13.6 whether at an idle or revved up to 5000 rpm. When I shut off the engine, the voltage dropped down to the expected 12 volts. So... I think that the new r/r is doing its job. It is regulating the voltage through the system and is allowing enough power back to the battery to charge it up when the bike is running. Overall, I am pleased with the performance so far.

Paul