Stator replacement vibration

[rounder jim]

  Last year the stator went bad on my 2015 RT with  224,890 miles .  The day i dropped off the bike at the dealer I also picked up the 2023 RT I had ordered months prior.  The 2015 bike is still of value to me but I didn't want to spend $1300 for an OEM stator with that many miles on the bike.  Eventually I found a used stator which tested as being still good but I had Rick's Motorsports Electronics rewire it anyway. 

   Ever since I got the bike back it vibrates much more than it did before the stator replacement job. You can feel it in neutral when the engine is revved  but it is much worse when I'm riding the bike. The higher the rpm's the worse the vibration. At 80 mph it vibrates as bad as an old iron head Harley Sportster.. But a week or two before the stator went caput I had this bike at more than twice the double nickel and it felt as smooth as ever. If I were out west I would have felt comfortable setting the cruise control at 100. Now I am afraid I will destroy the engine if I were to take it above 90.

    I read someone else post on a different site about a similar  vibration problem. People there were saying the stator needed to be rotated 180 degrees . I looked at my stator core and am sure that is wrong . There is a flat portion on the perimeter that means it can only be installed in one way and the wires have to be able to exit the cases in one spot. So I thought maybe the magnet that spins  inside the stator needs to be spun 180 degrees.  I was able to talk to the service tech who did the statoe job and he told me the magnet is keyed to the shaft and can only go on one way.  

   I don't remember exactly what he said about the clutch being part of the stator job but we are guessing that maybe the clutch is out of balance now. They are the original plates but the clutch doesn't slip at all. 

    Does anyone have any experience removing or  replacing a wethead clutch ? I really want to ride this bike more especially after having spent soooo much on the stator job but can't enjoy or trust the bike now

[dirtrider]

13 hours ago, rounder jim said:

  Last year the stator went bad on my 2015 RT with  224,890 miles .  The day i dropped off the bike at the dealer I also picked up the 2023 RT I had ordered months prior.  The 2015 bike is still of value to me but I didn't want to spend $1300 for an OEM stator with that many miles on the bike.  Eventually I found a used stator which tested as being still good but I had Rick's Motorsports Electronics rewire it anyway. 

   Ever since I got the bike back it vibrates much more than it did before the stator replacement job. You can feel it in neutral when the engine is revved  but it is much worse when I'm riding the bike. The higher the rpm's the worse the vibration. At 80 mph it vibrates as bad as an old iron head Harley Sportster.. But a week or two before the stator went caput I had this bike at more than twice the double nickel and it felt as smooth as ever. If I were out west I would have felt comfortable setting the cruise control at 100. Now I am afraid I will destroy the engine if I were to take it above 90.

    I read someone else post on a different site about a similar  vibration problem. People there were saying the stator needed to be rotated 180 degrees . I looked at my stator core and am sure that is wrong . There is a flat portion on the perimeter that means it can only be installed in one way and the wires have to be able to exit the cases in one spot. So I thought maybe the magnet that spins  inside the stator needs to be spun 180 degrees.  I was able to talk to the service tech who did the statoe job and he told me the magnet is keyed to the shaft and can only go on one way.  

   I don't remember exactly what he said about the clutch being part of the stator job but we are guessing that maybe the clutch is out of balance now. They are the original plates but the clutch doesn't slip at all. 

    Does anyone have any experience removing or  replacing a wethead clutch ? I really want to ride this bike more especially after having spent soooo much on the stator job but can't enjoy or trust the bike now

Morning  rounder jim

 

Well it definitely isn't the STAtor (sta  part of stator means stationary) so it doesn't rotate therefore can't vibrate. 

 

Is your vibration always at the same higher vehicle speed or can you get it at lower vehicle speeds in a lower gear? (is the vibration at or above a certain  road speed or at or above a certain engine RPM?) This needs to be determined so we know where to start looking. 

 

 

[rounder jim]

The  vibration is there regardless of whether or not the clutch lever is in or out. In lower RPM's in the lower gears it isn't nearly as bad as when in fourth or fifth above 4000 rpm and especially when in sixth above 4500. If I had to ride this bike for an hour in sixth gear at 75 MPH my hands would be completely numb.

[rounder jim]

Yes Dirtrider  I can get the vibration in neutral when i rev it up. The higher the RPM's the more the vibration..It seems more pronounced in the higher gears though

[dirtrider]

55 minutes ago, rounder jim said:

Yes Dirtrider  I can get the vibration in neutral when i rev it up. The higher the RPM's the more the vibration..It seems more pronounced in the higher gears though

Afternoon Jim

 

Then next see if it there (free revving) with clutch lever held in?

 

Also verify that your exhaust flappers is opening, if that in inop,  or stuck closed,  you will get a lot of EGR making the engine run ragged at higher RPM's especially at higher RPM's under load (not sure if it will cause what you are feeling but worth looking at anyhow).

 

 

[Inspektor224]

Isn't the clutch pack removed as part of the the job?  I'd be great if that's where the issue is, you wouldn't need to remove the engine to fix it.

[rounder jim]

Dirtrider, I think the exhaust flapper is opening because I still hear the difference in exhaust while riding when i get on it. I'm not sure I know what you mean by  "free revving".  The vibration is noticeable when I rev the engine whether or not the clutch is pulled in.. 

   Inspektor224, Yes the clutch pac has to be removed to replace the stator.  My service tech and I are now speculating that because this clutch has so many miles on it (225k+) that things are out of balance in there. To remove the clutch basket all the friction and steel plates need to be removed.  And the chance of putting each plate back in EXACTLY as they came out is very slim. you probably could get them in in the correct order and facing the same as when removed but getting each plate with it's teeth in the same basket slot wouldn't happen. I think before I spend anymore $$$ on this I am going to look for a very low mileage clutch pac.  When and if I find a low mileage clutch pac I will post the outcome.

[dirtrider]

44 minutes ago, rounder jim said:

Dirtrider, I think the exhaust flapper is opening because I still hear the difference in exhaust while riding when i get on it. I'm not sure I know what you mean by  "free revving".  The vibration is noticeable when I rev the engine whether or not the clutch is pulled in.. 

   Inspektor224, Yes the clutch pac has to be removed to replace the stator.  My service tech and I are now speculating that because this clutch has so many miles on it (225k+) that things are out of balance in there. To remove the clutch basket all the friction and steel plates need to be removed.  And the chance of putting each plate back in EXACTLY as they came out is very slim. you probably could get them in in the correct order and facing the same as when removed but getting each plate with it's teeth in the same basket slot wouldn't happen. I think before I spend anymore $$$ on this I am going to look for a very low mileage clutch pac.  When and if I find a low mileage clutch pac I will post the outcome.

Morning  rounder jim

 

The vibration is noticeable when I rev the engine whether or not the clutch is pulled in.___ Did you try revving it with the  transmission in gear with the clutch lever pulled in? This stops half of the clutch plates from spinning.

 

Did your tec get the first clutch plate in correctly as it locates differently than the rest of the plate stack? I'm not even sure if he could have got it back together & working if that plate is installed incorrectly. 

 

Personally, I think that if your vibration is that noticeable then you are barking up the wrong tree by concentrating on the clutch area as each plate or disk is very light & fairly small diameter so even if one or two is somehow out of balance (I can't even see how that could happen) it would not be very much mass very far from center). 

 

Are ALL the engine & exhaust  bolts tight?  Most all 2 cylinder boxer engines vibrate somewhat so anything loose in the engine mounting  or exhaust mounting would allow that normal vibration to amplify. 

 

Is the exhaust properly mounted & not contacting the frame, center stand,  or hitting/contacting anything that it shouldn't? An exhaust grounded out where it shouldn't be can really drive the felt vibration the the rider feels.