IG.
Registered
I'll spare my story unless someone is interested, but simply wanted to point out an easy periodic check for a potentially nasty problem.
The bike's generator produces pretty good amount of electrical power. At around 14V, a few Amps of current go to fuel pump, probably a couple of Amps for all electronics and ignition, good 5 Amps (or more if you have an aftermarket) for low beam headlights, and probably good 5 Amps go to the fan when it's on (more if you have a two fan setup). All that at idle. As RPM goes higher, the extra power the generator produces needs to be wasted which creates an extra current believe it or not. If you add all of this up, the total current coming from the generator can be somewhere between 8 - 20 Amps.
The point is that the three yellow wires going from the generator to the black square connector under the tank carry all this current. With such strong electrical current, even slightly poor connection will start heating up which in turn and over time worsens, and as a result heats up even more creating a visious cycle - until the weak spot gets so hot that it desroys any insulation/connector nearby with quite unpleasant results. It also doesn't help that the entire design of the electrical system provisions some heat generation even with ideally good connections/wiring - that's the trade-off the designers come to.
The practical aspect of all of this is simple. Once a year, or once every few months, lift the tank, start the bike, wait until the fan kicks in, switch to fast idle to up the RPM a bit, and turn your high beams on - all of that is needed to generate a good amount of electrical current. Then keep touching the black connector under the tank and all wires on either side of the connector, and feel if any of them are hot. Just being warm to the touch is OK, but if it's so hot you cannot hold your finger there or can barely hold your finger, then there is a problem and it's just a matter of time before it gets worse.
Another subtle sign - if you ever come to a stop, and for a few moments smell burning electrical insulation - you have to check ASAP.
The bike's generator produces pretty good amount of electrical power. At around 14V, a few Amps of current go to fuel pump, probably a couple of Amps for all electronics and ignition, good 5 Amps (or more if you have an aftermarket) for low beam headlights, and probably good 5 Amps go to the fan when it's on (more if you have a two fan setup). All that at idle. As RPM goes higher, the extra power the generator produces needs to be wasted which creates an extra current believe it or not. If you add all of this up, the total current coming from the generator can be somewhere between 8 - 20 Amps.
The point is that the three yellow wires going from the generator to the black square connector under the tank carry all this current. With such strong electrical current, even slightly poor connection will start heating up which in turn and over time worsens, and as a result heats up even more creating a visious cycle - until the weak spot gets so hot that it desroys any insulation/connector nearby with quite unpleasant results. It also doesn't help that the entire design of the electrical system provisions some heat generation even with ideally good connections/wiring - that's the trade-off the designers come to.
The practical aspect of all of this is simple. Once a year, or once every few months, lift the tank, start the bike, wait until the fan kicks in, switch to fast idle to up the RPM a bit, and turn your high beams on - all of that is needed to generate a good amount of electrical current. Then keep touching the black connector under the tank and all wires on either side of the connector, and feel if any of them are hot. Just being warm to the touch is OK, but if it's so hot you cannot hold your finger there or can barely hold your finger, then there is a problem and it's just a matter of time before it gets worse.
Another subtle sign - if you ever come to a stop, and for a few moments smell burning electrical insulation - you have to check ASAP.