Hello fellow ADV riders After 2,5 months of travelling in south america, we are currently stuck in Quito, Equador, due to a dead generator of my F800GS. The spare part is not available through BMW Equador. Even though BMW in general is seemingly doing a good effort to help us (if I understood correctly, the area manager from Panama stepped in, he is trying to get the part from Colombia to be shipped to Equador), the cost is insane at aprox 1400 US $, plus labour cost plus taxes and customs that I will most probably have to pay, and BMW will most probably not cover it under warranty (it's a 3 year old bike). The questions are: Does anyone know the rates of customs and taxes here in Equador? Is someone out there in Equador (wishfull thinking) that could possibly have a used generator and could sell it at a reasonable price? Is there someone that could custom make /repair a generator (new coils) ? I checked ebay, I can only find one piece in Europe, that could take quite a lot of time to arrive here, because the seller doesn't ship to Americas, so I must have it shipped to my country in Europe then from there arrange a shipment to Equador.
Not terribly familiar with the F800GS alternator specifically, but it's just a typical motorcycle charging system: a permanent magnet outer rotor, with a wound stator coil and a solid state regulator/rectifier. They are possible to rewind because these guys do it: http://www.carmo.nl/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=32_1265&products_id=752&language=en Find an auto-electric shop that rebuilds alternators, have them use similar gauge of wire with same number of windings. Make sure they insulate the core well. Check continuity between each of the three leads and the core. There should be no continuity. A rewind would be a hell of a lot cheaper than the other option you stated. Have you done all the diagnostics to determine if it's your stator or your regulator/rectifier?
Maybe check with Court at Ecuador Freedom Riders. I'll bet he knows some good wrenches down there. I'll be coming down from Chicago to Cuenca later this month, although I don't know if you plan to stick around that long. But if all else fails...
rewind, that was the word I was looking for when I wrote "custom make/repair". I know about carmo.nl, that's why I was asking about if anyone knew someone here in Quito. yes, that's a solution... I'm in the search for that, the thing is my spanish are ...really bad, most guys here don't speak english ... so, it will take a while to sort this out. this is another option of course, as I said there is one used part right now on ebay, but this option will also take a while, around 2 weeks... Buying a new one from Europe and having it sent to me, will not save me much, it costs around 750 euros, plus 200 for expedited shipping. Are these the guys http://www.freedombikerental.com/ ?? I will check it out. I really don't plan to stick around Quito that long, but as you say, if everything else fails ... Plans were that we would ride all the way up to Cartagena, Colombia, then return south (following different routes in Colombia and Ecuador than when going north). thanks to all for the suggestions
ok, i know nothing about bmw's except that they are expensive. if you can't get someone to rewind your stator, buy the stator in the US and have someone ship it to you. judging from this http://www.ascycles.com/Illustrated..._electrics&bindName=Generator&bindCat=12_1397 the cost will be around $400. fedex from the US will be around $160. import duties will most likely be between 20 and 30% of CIF (cost, insurance and freight), so figure $560 + 20-30%, around $730. benefit is the wait time will be far less than two weeks. as for a rewind, my spanisih aint perfect but you would say, "necesito alguien que puede rebobinar el estator/generador de mi moto" a stator winding is called bobinado de estator. good luck!
A cheaper solution would be a rebuilt from here:http://www.pureperformancecycles.co...Rick-s-Motorsport-Electric-Stator-F650-F800GS
except that rick's has a pretty crappy reputation for substandard rebuilds, at least on suzuki stators...
Who diagnosed your problem. We assume your battery is not charging ? Be sure to eliminate a faulty Regulator/Rectifier first. It's easy to trouble shoot these issues with a volt meter. Plenty of how guides on the web. If it is the stator you should be able to find a shop to rewind it. If it's the R/R I'd buy a replacement on line, not the BMW part. Max
The problem was diagnosed by the official BMW dealer here in Quito. BMW Panama and BMW Greece have also knowledge of the situation. I also asked if they ruled out the regulator. News (since yesterday) are, that they now can get fast the spare part from Colombia, in just 1 day. So I have to decide: pay the high cost but stop loosing precious days off our trip, or save money - loose time and get a cheaper (rewind) solution.... Will see. Guys, thank you, I really appreciate your suggestions and opinions.
typical problem on the F800. You need to have your stator rewinded. That must be easy to find in Quito, However the rewind will not last long, due to the lack of cooling of this stator on this bike, unless you take other measures lenghty but informative discussion here http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=706033 sorry can't help you in quito. In caracas, venezuela a rewind costs about $100. should be about the same or less in Ecuador check the last post 579 on that thread for an alternative, supposedly high temp stator for $200.
unfortunately, my search for a rewind here in quito has not been succesful given the pressure of time, and I had to make a decision as I wrote above. We choose to pay the higher cost and get rolling, we will be back on the road tomorrow, because we don't want to abandon more places we initially wanted to see.
Hi - I am out guiding a tour until tuesday evening but back in Quito on Wednesday - if you still need help we can look into getting the part shipped from MAX BMW in NH - if it weighs less than 8 pounds there is not delay or taxes through Ecuador customs - stop by our shop on Wednesday if you stll need any help - we would be happy to do what we can!
Thank you, but the next day after my previous post, we got rolling. We are already back in Peru heading south!
