[Border Dave]

I'm wondering if it's possible to install a series VRR on my 2006 KLR 650. Does anyone know how to go about doing that? Where do KLR riders mount aftermarket voltage regulators on their bikes?

 

[tdf-texas]

I'm asuming that you are wanting to install a voltage regulator (VR) on your bike as a VRR is defined as variable refresh rate and is used in video applications.

To install a voltage regulator to insure a constant voltage regardless of the supply voltage, you would want to use a boost/buck regulator. Here is an example that I have used in RV applications.

Cllena DC 8V-40V to 12V 10A Automatic Buck Boost Converter Step Down/Up Regulator Voltage Reducer Converter Waterproof Regulated DC Power Supply for Golf Cart Club Car LED Light : Electronics

Buy Cllena DC 8V-40V to 12V 10A Automatic Buck Boost Converter Step Down/Up Regulator Voltage Reducer Converter Waterproof Regulated DC Power Supply for Golf Cart Club Car LED Light: Power Converters - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Simple enough to install - the input wires connect to the supply voltage and the regulated output voltage connects to the device(s) you want to have a constant voltage. For example, an input voltage of 8-40 volts outputing a constant 12 volts.

It can be installed fairly much anywhere on the bike as it is small. Just make sure it gets some air for cooling.

In an RV, several of the RV equipment fail if the voltage gets above 13.8 volts. Using solar panels, the RV supply voltage can get above 15 volts - that's above when stuff starts to die. Boost/buck regulator to the rescue!

 

[Tom Schmitz]

A VRR should really be written as VR/R or VR&R, as it is a Voltage Rectifier/Regulator. It converts the AC waveform from the alternator to DC, then regulates the voltage to an acceptable range to charge the battery and run the rest of the bike.

The OEM VR/R on the KLR is called a shunt-type, as it dumps excess voltage to ground to do the regulation. This is much like bashing your head against the fireplace mantle to cure a headache. It's not very refined but it does work. The VR/R gets really hot if there is not much electrical load in the bike.

A series VR/R simply (in concept) shuts the alternator off when the load drops

 

[tdf-texas]

A VRR should really be written as VR/R or VR&R, as it is a Voltage Rectifier/Regulator. It converts the AC waveform from the alternator to DC, then regulates the voltage to an acceptable range to charge the battery and run the rest of the bike.

The OEM VR/R on the KLR is called a shunt-type, as it dumps excess voltage to ground to do the regulation. This is much like bashing your head against the fireplace mantle to cure a headache. It's not very refined but it does work. The VR/R gets really hot if there is not much electrical load in the bike.

A series VR/R simply (in concept) shuts the alternator off when the load drops

I think we are talking about two different things but as Border Dave's post is kinda vague about what he is trying to do, both our answers are valid depending on his intent. If he was wanting to replace the existing OEM shunt type VR/R with a parallel one, your answer is the one he was looking for. If he was wanting to add another voltage regulator in series with the existing VR/R to better regulate the voltage applied to device(s) on the bike, then my answer would be appropriate.

Border Dave needs to better define what help he is asking for so the board would be better able to come up with an answer.

 

[Tom Schmitz]

He's looking to replace the original shunt-type VR/R with a series-type, not add a downstream voltage regulator.

He originally posted in this thread;

VRR Improvements

Let's have a look at the VRR. I posted the pin outs in another thread but thought some suggestions for improvement of the charging system might be of interest. Many people switch from the more primitive shunt type VRR to a more efficient series type, as I will do for my present KLR when the new...

www.klrforum.com

 

[Tom Schmitz]

I'm wondering if it's possible to install a series VRR on my 2006 KLR 650. Does anyone know how to go about doing that? Where do KLR riders mount aftermarket voltage regulators on their bikes?

OK, hold on to your hat. What follows is a daisy chain of logic.

I have a Gen2, a 2009. I converted its charging and ignition system to a Gen1. I also installed a Shindengen FH020AA VR/R. I looked into other options, such as the series-type, but my head exploded. Happens often.

Gen 1 Ignition on Gen 2

The Gen 1 and Gen 2 coils are different, that we know. The Gen 2 coil has no marking as to '+' or '-'. The Gen 2 does. Both coils have a wide tab and a skinny tab. On the Gen 2 the skinny tab is connected to the black wire that goes to the igniter. Now, it seems obvious and a dumb question...

www.klrforum.com

I know, ho-hum.

Now, I have seen comments about simply replacing an SH020 with an SH775. The thing is, there is no such thing as an SH020, so I think that was a typo and the guy meant FH020. See here:

MOSFET regulator upgrade/UPGRADE

check this out : http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php?topic=20426.0 evidently I can just plug in a Shindengen SH775 to my SH020 connectors and upgrade...

www.advrider.com

and...

SH775 (or other brand/model) series regulator/rectifier

Asked the question in another thread, but decided it needed wider exposure. Anyone here tried one? Did it help with stator longevity in your case? Theory is, a series regulator will help a stator run cooler since the windings won't be switched on 100% of the time. Just looking for...

www.vn750.com

This all asks the question, then, can one simply substitute an SH775 in lieu of an FH020?

I think the answer may well be "Yes". After all, they do use the same connectors. That said, I have never done this and sometimes the telling is in the doing and the devil is in the details. What we do know is that an FH020 can be wired into the Gen1 electrical system, as I have done it.

I would suggest the following course of action. This guy is my neighbor, but I have never met him. I can see his house from my upstairs bedroom. He runs a company called roadstercycle.com and he seems to know shit from Shinola. What you ought to do is write him an e-mail and simply ask if you can repplace the OEM VR/R (and give him the Shindengen part number) with an SH775 or SH847 and what it woudl take to do it. It looks like he doesn't sell the 775 anymore, but dies sell the 847. You might take that into consideration when asking for his advice.

Best of luck!

 

[Border Dave]

I think we are talking about two different things but as Border Dave's post is kinda vague about what he is trying to do, both our answers are valid depending on his intent. If he was wanting to replace the existing OEM shunt type VR/R with a parallel one, your answer is the one he was looking for. If he was wanting to add another voltage regulator in series with the existing VR/R to better regulate the voltage applied to device(s) on the bike, then my answer would be appropriate.

Border Dave needs to better define what help he is asking for so the board would be better able to come up with an answer.

I didn't realize my question was as vague as it was until I went back and read it. Tom is right in that I'm looking to replace my factory shunt type voltage regulator with a series type that allows the stator to run cooler and last longer. I plan on switching my lights out for L.E.D.'s and that would put an enormous strain on the factory regulator.

 

[Border Dave]

OK, hold on to your hat. What follows is a daisy chain of logic.

I have a Gen2, a 2009. I converted its charging and ignition system to a Gen1. I also installed a Shindengen FH020AA VR/R. I looked into other options, such as the series-type, but my head exploded. Happens often.

Gen 1 Ignition on Gen 2

The Gen 1 and Gen 2 coils are different, that we know. The Gen 2 coil has no marking as to '+' or '-'. The Gen 2 does. Both coils have a wide tab and a skinny tab. On the Gen 2 the skinny tab is connected to the black wire that goes to the igniter. Now, it seems obvious and a dumb question...

www.klrforum.com

and...

SH775 (or other brand/model) series regulator/rectifier

Asked the question in another thread, but decided it needed wider exposure. Anyone here tried one? Did it help with stator longevity in your case? Theory is, a series regulator will help a stator run cooler since the windings won't be switched on 100% of the time. Just looking for...

www.vn750.com

I know, ho-hum.

Now, I have seen comments about simply replacing an SH020 with an SH775. The thing is, there is no such thing as an SH020, so I think that was a typo and the guy meant FH020. See here:

MOSFET regulator upgrade/UPGRADE

check this out : http://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php?topic=20426.0 evidently I can just plug in a Shindengen SH775 to my SH020 connectors and upgrade...

www.advrider.com

This all asks the question, then, can one simply substitute an SH775 in lieu of an FH020?

I think the answer may well be "Yes". After all, they do use the same connectors. That said, I have never done this and sometimes the telling is in the doing and the devil is in the details. What we do know is that an FH020 can be wired into the Gen1 electrical system, as I have done it.

I would suggest the following course of action. This guy is my neighbor, but I have never met him. I can see his house from my upstairs bedroom. He runs a company called roadstercycle.com and he seems to know shit from Shinola. What you ought to do is write him an e-mail and simply ask if you can repplace the OEM VR/R (and give him the Shindengen part number) with an SH775 or SH847 and what it woudl take to do it. It looks like he doesn't sell the 775 anymore, but dies sell the 847. You might take that into consideration when asking for his advice.

Best of luck!

Thanks for the response, Tom. I called Jack at Roadster Cycle and he said that if our bikes are 3 phase (which they are) the SH847 should work for me. I've already replaced the factory shunt regulator in my Suzuki DL650 V-Strom with the SH847 and I know it works great in that bike. The problem that I see with installing it on the KLR is that the SH847 is quite a bit larger than the SH548-12 that comes mounted from the factory under the seat. When you switched over to the FH020AA, did it fit under the seat? I really can't see a good place to mount a larger voltage regulator on our bikes.

Oh, and I grew up in the Hawthorne/Lawndale area, too. I moved up to Washington State back in 2008 and am still here.

 

[Tom Schmitz]

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story.

Here's the Gen1 charging system:

This is the Gen 1 VR/R connector:

And these are the FH020 connectors:

The above picture was a graft of an FH020 into a Gen 1 charging system on a Gen 2 bike. This is the grafted charging and ignition:

You can see that the wiring is all the same, it is just the connectors that are different to go from OEM stock to FH020. The only difference I can see with the 847 is that it doesn't seem to have a terminal for the brown wire, which provides a reference voltage for the OEM and FH020 to work off of. Thus, it would be omitted from the harness.

 

[Border Dave]

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, for the rest of the story.

Here's the Gen1 charging system:
View attachment 34025
This is the Gen 1 VR/R connector:
View attachment 34026 View attachment 34027

And these are the FH020 connectors:
View attachment 34031
The above picture was a graft of an FH020 into a Gen 1 charging system on a Gen 2 bike. This is the grafted charging and ignition:
View attachment 34033

You can see that the wiring is all the same, it is just the connectors that are different to go from OEM stock to FH020. The only difference I can see with the 847 is that it doesn't seem to have a terminal for the brown wire, which provides a reference voltage for the OEM and FH020 to work off of. Thus, it would be omitted from the harness.

Thanks Tom! That was incredibly helpful. I can see the hardest part of this is going to be finding a place to mount the SH847.

 

[Tom Schmitz]

Some Gen 1 owners have managed to get it off of the rear fender/under-seat location and into the breeze, which is quite helpful with the OEM shunt VR/R. If you are going in that deep, perhaps you can modify the wire harness to allow you to mount it up by the horn in the Gen 2 location.

 

[PeteK]

Tom's location seems pretty good, but here's another possibility: Under the left side cover, against the airbox behind the battery slot. It seems that there's a void space, and it has the advantage of not being near anything hot. I don't know the dimensions of the SH847, and maybe Tom tried this and it didn't fit.

 

[Border Dave]

Tom's location seems pretty good, but here's another possibility: Under the left side cover, against the airbox behind the battery slot. It seems that there's a void space, and it has the advantage of not being near anything hot. I don't know the dimensions of the SH847, and maybe Tom tried this and it didn't fit.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

 

[Tom Schmitz]

...Under the left side cover, against the airbox behind the battery slot...maybe Tom tried this and it didn't fit.

No, I just used the Gen 2 location as it seemed hard to improve upon.

@Border Dave, @PeteK's suggestion is better than mine.

 

[Border Dave]

Here’s the left side of the bike. I’m not seeing enough room around the air box to mount it.

 

[Border Dave]

Some Gen 1 owners have managed to get it off of the rear fender/under-seat location and into the breeze, which is quite helpful with the OEM shunt VR/R.

I wanted to avoid this area if possible for a couple reasons. Number 1, I like to take the KLR offroad and I don't want to limit the suspension travel. Number 2, when I take it offroad mud goes everywhere. If the regulator was attached to the underside of the rear fender it would get very dirty/dusty/muddy (unless I figure out a way to put something between the tire and the regulator).

If you are going in that deep, perhaps you can modify the wire harness to allow you to mount it up by the horn in the Gen 2 location.

When I looked earlier, I couldn't see any good places up front where I could mount it and still have it protected when the bike goes to the ground, but I'll look again. Also, I plan on adding a skid plate in the near future, which would further limit the possible mounting points.

 

[PeteK]

Here’s the left side of the bike. I’m not seeing enough room around the air box to mount it.

Yeah that’s significantly bulkier than the OE part. Back to Tom’s location.

 

[Tom Schmitz]

I wanted to avoid this area if possible for a couple reasons. Number 1, I like to take the KLR offroad and I don't want to limit the suspension travel. Number 2, when I take it offroad mud goes everywhere. If the regulator was attached to the underside of the rear fender...

I think I said that very clumsily and what I said was misunderstood. Let me try to restate my original post.

Many Gen 1 owners have removed the VR/R from its stock position on the top of the rear fender (under the seat) and gotten it out into an area where it can get some airflow. I'm not sure where they put them, exactly, but the Gen 2 mounting position up by the horn is a good location for cooling.

 

[Tom Schmitz]

The 847 is a big beast. Mounting it at the airbox might be the best spot. They don't run hot, so airflow is not really important, though it would be right next to the vent in the side panel.

Might it be better mounted upside down? By that I mean rotate the template 180 degrees so that the connectors are at the bottom. The side panel is starting to deepen up a bit there and could, perhaps, be bulged out with a heat gun, sort of like forming Kydex. Function before form. Fugly but functional. Badass.

 

[Border Dave]

There isn’t enough room between the air box and the side cowling. I may end up getting a Compu-Fire 55402 instead of the SH847.