thedogsbollock

Can you confirm where the neutral switch is? I seem to have a similar problem since having the regulator replaced, where intermittently there is no neutral light showing on my speedo and despite being in neutral, when I put the stand down the engine cuts out. Also when I turn the key when starting the bike and there is no neutral light, the starter will not work & I have to push start it (and I'm getting a bit old for all the effort - why no kick-start on modern bikes as a fall-back?). I just took it back to the mechanic who replaced the regulator but they were too busy to take the bike and yet having had to push start it to get there, naturally when I arrived the neutral light was back on and it was starting from the starter with no bother. So it seems to be an intermittent problem and since it has only occurred since the regulator was replaced (this bike shop initially sent my alternator away for the coil to be rewound, only to discover it was the regulator not the coil!) and having messed about with the electrics to such an extent, I am assuming that the fault is not unrelated, but after having been stung for £300 for my MOT (new chain & sprocket as well as the regulator), I am a little loathe to take it back, only to end up being told it's going to cost me more to get the matter resolved. As a result, any assistance would be most gratefully received. I'd dearly love to be able to resolve the issue myself, but if I do end up going back there, I would at least like to be armed with as much info as possible, so they can't treat me like the complete schmuck that I must appear :-) Many thanks in advance in the hope of some kind assistance Bernard

> Strange they looked at the alternator unless the bike wouldn't start. I asked them to check if the battery was holding a charge, as I was assuming there might be a possiblity that the battery was knackered. It was a massive wind up, as I only booked the MOT so that I could use the bike to drive into London for some work and I remembered this bike shop nearby who'd MOTd it for me a couple of years back. But then I eventually had to call them, after driving up and down the road where I remembered them to be, only to discover they'd since moved to Kennington, which wasn't nearly the convenient option that I'd imagined! I should've given up at this stage and realised that the omens weren't looking good I'm getting a little bit past it for push starting the thing, as they're fairly heavy (why on earth did they desist with kick-starts?) and according to the mechanic the alternator is definitely dead. So what I'd really like to find out, is whether anyone has any experience of having the coil rewound on an alternator as a viable alternative to buying a new one (as I can't seem to find any secondhand ones online) Much appreciate you bothering to reply Many Thanks Bernard

Hi folks Please forgive me for posting a query as my introductory submission but I'm in a bit of a pickle and would be very grateful for any advice. I just took my XVS125 Dragstar in for a service and MOT and after receiving the bad news that it required a new chain & sprocket set in order to pass the MOT, when I went to collect the bike that afternoon, they apologised because they'd been meaning to call to advise me that the alternator was also kaput. Being a bit of a fairweather biker, I've hardly used the bike this winter but when I rode it for the first time a few weeks back, I was pleasantly surprised that it started perfectly. It had a good run back then to charge the battery but then when I went to take it in for it's MOT, the battery died almost immediately before the engine caught and I nearly had a heart attack (suddenly feeling very old!)) push starting it. So I asked them to check the battery to see if it was holding a charge properly. They've suggested that a new alternator is expensive (especially as my bill is already way past the £100 i was expecting (and can afford!) and that if I leave it with them they can send the alternator off to a bloke who rewinds the coil for them. However I'm wondering whether this is a good idea, as it's still going to cost a considerable amount to get this done and perhaps I'd be better off getting it replaced, or trying to find a second-hand alternator from a breakers? Also having searched the forums here, I'm now wondering whether the mechanic will have checked to confirm that it's not just the regulator, as the only power issues I've ever had in the past is when the bike has conked out on about two occasions in traffic and there's appeared to be no power at all going to the warning lights. But this has always seemed to sort itself out. I've never experience any dimming of the head lights or the indicators, which I assume to be the usual indication that the alternator isn't working? Any help or advice would be very much appreciated as I'm in a real quandary as to what to do and whether I can afford to do it :-( With my utmost thanks in advance to anyone who takes the trouble to get back to me All the best Bernard