Exhaust & RR unit

[gripper]

The 5 month old regulator rectifier unit from electrex has died and in doing so dragged the battery down to 3v just standing there doing nothing. Hopefully the guarantee is worth the paper it's printed on. After buying mine, I recommended their service to a colleague at work for his 675 Triumph. That lasted less than a week and blew all his bulbs. When he spoke to them about it they said they tested the RR units up to 5000rpm. Not much good on a bike that revs to over 12000.My exhaust manifold has cracked again near the balance pipe. I'm planning on removing the balance pipe and patching the hole. Then there won't be any strain between each pipe. Any thoughts on running without the balance pipe? I briefly fitted my peashooters from my stripped down Commando, man that was loud, so any plans to lighten the silencer dept. are on hold.

[Richard Negus]

Dave,I may be doing them a great injustice, but I believe they may source their parts from the Orient and don't actually 'manufacture' anything, much less test every one. The prices and range of different fitments is a good guide.Sad to say, there aren't any British manufacturers of such stuff; if you want quality assured, buy main-stream Japanese and pay the price; if you buy inexpensive Chinese, there is always the risk of occasional quality problems.Removing the exhaust manifold balance pipe shouldn't creat any problems, particularly if you can replace the silencers with something lighter. Whilst patching the cross-tube holes, another fillet around the flange might give peace of mind.R.

[gripper]

Electrex claim on their website that "most of their components are manufactured in the UK"

[johnbirchjar]

Hi Gripper,about 10,000 miles ago I too had a "blow" in the manifold(where the balance pipe joins)and because the silencers are an absolute b*****d to get off,I removed the whole exhaust system as one and took them to a buddy of mine to weald up the hole,BIG MISTAKE!!(not the wealding) me not thinking (or him)that of course metal distorts when wealded, so when I tried to put the exhaust system back on the bike(to quote the late great Johnny Cash)"All the holes were wrong"so what I did was cut the balance pipe in two,take about an inch off one side,buy a piece of stainless steel pipe that was a "snug" fit over the balance pipe,cut four slits in each end of the s/s pipe,sliped this pipe over the b/pipe,thus giving me enough "free play" to bolt up the manifold and the silencers,a couple of exhaust clamps round the s/steel pipe and it all works just fine,(not very pretty though )ride safe,J.B.

[gripper]

When I run a magnet over the manifold, the flanges are magnetic ie mild steel, the pipes are stainless (non magnetic) but some of the welds are also mild steel. My plan is to reduce as much welding as possible from a stressed component by eliminating it. (the cross tube that is) I've been thinking about some lighter silencers and after trying my peashooters, any kind of race cans are unlikely to be road legal. I think Derek Nichol has some laser cans on his but don't know if he ventured on the road with them. Going back to the RR unit, the give away on the charging system was again the wayward revcounter (On an IP2, not relevant to any other rotary)

[rustynuts]

A while ago Paul mentioned that he might ask Geoff Madden about producing some lighter and slightly more fruity sounding replica IP/Classic silencers.

[Richard Negus]

, the give away on the charging system was again the wayward revcounter (On an IP2, not relevant to any other rotary)

I've seen this on quite a few IP2's, including my own. The Lucas bullet connectors are often at fault; can't see what's wrong but replacing them with crimped/soldered Japanese bullet connectors often solves the problem.A domestic 'chocolate block' connector is just as good, but doesn't look so professional.

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[Interpol2471]

Hi I did speak to Mr. Madden but at the same time my wife's Mother died so it got forgotten in time. He said he could make some very nice silencers for about £300-£400 a pair depending on spec which I thought was excellent value

[gripper]

I don't need fruity just light. I'd rather not be associated with the head down arse up weekend warriors that rip around making lots of noise. Long distances with noisy pipes just becomes tedious

[Richard Negus]

Dave,Since you're taking the manifold off anyway, convert it into a flowing two-into-one and only fit one silencer. That'll reduce the weight without increasing the noise.We tried it on a development Commander just by blanking the unused end of the manifold; it was certainly quieter but top-end power was reduced, perhaps due to the two 90 degree junctions of the standard manifold.Any replacement silencer(s) would have to be stainless, or better, throughout or they'll melt as gas temperatures can be as high as 900C. Your pea-shooters wouldn't survive very long at full throttle.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi Dave,returning to your R/R,at the time of writing my Classic is on her fourth in 52,000+miles and I am convinced that the location(very little cold air flow) of said R/R has lots to do with the problem of them "cooking" both themselves and the Ignition Box(also the fourth)I don't know where they are on IP2s.I have now moved said R/R away from the Ign Box and into a more"cold air flow"location,I have also fitted a "volt metre" so if the R/R stops working I will know about it.(no manufacturer makes an Ign Box with a wire to the Ign light,it would appear that modern bikes have no need of this facility!!)ride safe,J.B.

[gripper]

Electrex have replaced the R&R very quickly I just hope this one lasts longer than 5 months. Mine is mounted under the LH side panel and not particularly hot. It is quite heavily finned as well.

[Richard Negus]

A new stator for my IP2 has arrived from........Electrex; two days from order, nicely packed, fits perfectly.It looks as well made as the original Kokusan and, despite the label on the box, I still have difficulty believing that, for the price, it's 100% "Made in England".Jaundiced, me?

[Interpol2471]

A chap I know called Fred winds all of their windings on his kitchen table

[Dave]

I recently purchased a unit from them for my commander, it was the RR10 as advertised for the Commander on their website, but when fitted it was only putting out around 12.5 volts, i spoke to them on several occasions and was given various things to try/check. but after speaking to one of their technical people, he said that it was not big enough for a commander, and the website was wrong, they exchanged it for a different unit, that puts out around 14 volts, however the new unit was bigger than the original so will not fit in the original mounting area, i have mounted mine in the fairing, so hope being away from the engine heat it will be ok, dave (i have fitted one of the cheap LED charge light units, so hopefully will show up any probs, )

[Dell Boy]

I purchased two voltage regulators from Al Osborne @ £30.00 each. Mounted each one on a length of 20 m.m. copper pipe fixed to the Commander rear brake reservoir mounting bolt.Very location by the rear o/s spring & a good heat sink. Special price as I bought two & at a Norton rally. So far all is well.How much was the Electrex stator?Derek F.

[Richard Negus]

Derek,This stator is for the IP2/Classic & smaller than the Commander; their ref is G1.Total price inc postage & VAT was £72.00R.

[gripper]

A simple test to check the output of a three phase alternator is to wire both elements (together) of a 55/60w headlight bulb across two output wires of the alternator and run at tickover, The bulb should light and brighten with slight increase in revs (too many will blow the bulbs) then repeat twice more across the other wire ie 1 with 2, 2 with 3 and 1 with 3. crude but effective.