CB/CL 77 vs CB/CL 350/360 Stator
About the only I can do right now is to keep my eyes open for a Rick's stator and perhaps a rotor. There is an NOS rotor on eBay right now, but it's expensive and I'd rather not make a $200 gamble. I think the Rick's stator would be a better move.
1965 CB77 305 Super Hawk
1989 NT650 Hawk GT 1981 Yamaha XJ550 Seca
I just got off the phone with Rick of Rick's Motorsports Electrics.
Rick is a very nice man, and he was extremely helpful. FIRST, the stator that Rick's makes and sells for the CB350/360 is the SAME ONE that he used in the kit for the 305. The reason he doesn't sell the kit for the 305 any more is because the stator assembly has to be mounted in the original alternator housing. It requires shimming to be centered vertically, and Rick said that people were just not willing to go through that process, it was too involved. So, he stopped offering the kit. I told him I had a Podtronics regular rectifier, and he is familiar with it, but wasn't sure of the circuit it uses. He said I could use his stator with it, but he couldn't guarantee that it would work properly. He described the Honda charging system as being a simple load dependent system that produced X wattage, it relied on a specific load to work, and it was unregulated (which we know). It produced just enough power to light the all of the STOCK light bulbs and keep the battery maintained. If larger wattage bulbs were installed, the system could not produce the required power for the higher demand and the battery would die due to lack of sufficient charging voltage. He said the 12.8 VDC that my bike produces should be enough to keep the battery up, but when I mentioned that the battery would go flat within 30 minutes with the headlight on, he said "You have a problem, then. It's not working right." AS for the Podtronics regulator, as I mentioned, Rick wasn't sure about it. He said he'd be happy to sell me the stator, but I'd need to send my alternator housing to him so he could install the stator in it properly. He wasn't sure, as I said, about the Podtronics. He knew his regulator would work (three phase in, two wire DC voltage out), and he'd feel better if I used it instead of the Podtronics. He asked if I could provide technical information to him about the Podtronics, and I will try to find some. HE said he knew Honda made a rotor that had greater magnetism than others. I said, yes, it's the one with the "L" stamped on it. He said, Yes, that's what he'd always heard. Get one, he said (I think that's what I have). SOON, I am going to pull my alternator off the bike and send it to Ricks and have him put a new stator in it. And, I'll buy one of his regulators, too. PROBLEM (should be) SOLVED! 1965 CB77 305 Super Hawk
1989 NT650 Hawk GT 1981 Yamaha XJ550 Seca All this sounds like lots of $$$.
I run both a 1964 CB77 and a 1965 CL77, apart from solid state rectifier on the CB both run completely standard systems with original (now over fifty year old) alternators. Make no mistake when wired up correctly with 'good' parts these systems just WORK. My CL still has the original rectifier in place. Do make sure that you have a good earth connection from the rectifier mounting point back to the -ve terminal on the battery, run a new wire for this job, don't rely on the frame to make the connection, probably through rust or worse, powder coating. In the interest of visibility I always ride the bikes with headights switched ON and regularly ride betwen 100 and 200 miles at a stretch, NEVER had a problem with charging issues. I can't understand the comments about these only ever being a 'battery maintenance' system since Honda themselves introduced a 'Low output' alternator to prevent OVERCHARGING. These are the ones marked CB72 (L) on the rotor, as far as I'm aware the stators are the same. If you are having issues with charging you might get better results with an early (high output) rotor fitted. I believe that it is posible to get rotors re-magnetized but I don't have any personall experience of this. However, having said all this I've been told that the complete alternator, rectifier and regulator from the later G5 modles will bolt straight onto a CB72 motor with no other work required, if you cange all the components I undertand that even the xisting wiring ill hook straight up, I've never done thats modification myself so can't guarantee tht the above is actually correct, perhaps worth checking out though.
Hi DJM!
Take a look over on the restoration forum for my now 136 page restoration log. The bike has had everything you mentioned and then some done to it. It's been completely restored. I have a high output rotor on the bike. I also have good grounds, with good cables and connectors going to clean metal. My stator has been tested and it works, it outputs on all three legs. I have, currently, a replacement bridge rectifier in the place of the original selenium rectifier, because that piece was bad. I have a Podtronics regulator rectifier on hand, but it's not on the bike right now. I run with my headlight off because the charging system won't maintain the battery with it on. It's the stock headlight bulb, too. I am more than happy to spend some (more) money on the bike to make it reliably charge the battery, and update the charging system to a regulated system. It wasn't cheap restoring the bike, and I'm not going to cut corners on making the charging system right. It's pretty cool to hear that you've been riding your bikes for long distances with no issues. I'm seriously jealous! 1965 CB77 305 Super Hawk
1989 NT650 Hawk GT 1981 Yamaha XJ550 Seca
The (L) is for LOW meaning LOW MAGNETISM. ...........lm
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