Z1OwnersClub GB

marlin wrote:to robw , i have the full self generating cdi unit by them the rpks-3112 they are just short of £600 i have a unit bought by zed1015 was used for 10 minutes then he swapped units if any good to you leave me a message cheers marlin

Wasn't even run at all.
Only had it bolted on then found the kickstart couldn't spin it fast enough to spark.
It needs 200 rpm to fire and the most I could get was 100 on the kicker before I nearly had a coronary.

interesting read and cant understand why i missed this thread in the past.

As you know I have an Electrexworld race alternator fitted to my Croz replica. My experiences of them match yours. They are happy to take your money but follow up customer service is appalling. I also had a number of issues in terms of fit and performance which I've had to deal with as they are simply not interested. (Rob - zed1015 i did message you recently....). Last issue as you know was the oil seal that let go at Donington dumping oil on the back tyre with the resulting physical and financial pain.

I was thinking of fitting one of these to my Lawson but probably wont bother now as they dont seem to have got their act together and still use customers as a test and development process.

Hi Marlon, thanks for the offer, but I won't be ready to look at fitting any until next year.
Cheers Rob

So its been a few years now and time for an update / evaluation.

I would strongly recommend not tightening the centre fixing bolt to standard J 1000 / GPz1100 torque of 116 Ft / lbs. Where 85 or 90 Ft / lbs is more than enough.
If you over tighten the centre bolt it forces the mounting core part up the taper and stretches it or even splits it. You will then lock the centre core carrying the starter clutch free wheel to the inboard end of the crank by pinching the needle roller bearing against the washer that lives there and binding the freewheel.
That leads onto the magnet part (sleeve). This is a close 'push fit' over the mounting core part. If you stretch the core part you will damage / stretch the magnet sleeve. These are neodymium (rare earth metal) re-constituted / compressed powder (not ferrite) into the appropriate shape as far as i know. Circular in this case. They are potentially fragile and need no excuse to break. They are also currently £90. They are susceptible to; heating and cooling cycles, shock and impacts and also damaged by moisture. All the things you will find in a old bike motor on the end of a crank at 10,000 RPM spinning round in emulsified oil! Mine has been perfect for five + years now and i am only finding this out as of about a few weeks ago; un-covering a low charging / low voltage problem and the cascade of issues which have flowed from that!
I e-mailed Electrex last month and they said that they had tried un-successfully to re-charge the magnets and replacement was the only viable alternative. To re-charge Neodymium magnets you place them in contact with another of the same type; North pole to North pole and South to South. Problem is these sleeves have 8 poles arranged radially around the sleeve so difficult to work on would be an understatement.
As an aside, this setup has been good for me but i would suggest anyone using a low power unit like this uses caution with an electronic setup like Dyna 2000. Dyna 'S' would be perfect as it has no specific voltage requirements, but Dyna 2000 like mine, has a 'minimum' reference voltage for the crank end pickups. At low RPM it makes about 12 Volts but there is a 1.5 volt drop across the Dyna 2000 ECU which means that at low revs, it looses its ability to read its own map (advance curve). The instructions if there are any recommend that the output from the very expensive (to replace) Shendingen Reg / Rec is run directly to the battery terminals. This means that battery voltage / system voltage is what the reg/ Rec voltage is and fluctuates with RPM. However that wasnt blatently apparent for the years to now. There were 'hints' along the way under specific scenarios like when the battery was low or prolonged periods on low throttle but for the most part; something you could easily 'ride around'.
The blurb says you can run all sorts of fuel injection, ancilliaries, fairy lights etc etc but are they subject to a 'drop dead' voltage requirement; i cant say.

The standard centre bolt is too long and needs cutting down, gasket needs re-shaping, plug needs making for oilway, might need to add a washer, the rubber damper for the freewheel has had to be skimmed by approx. 2 mm etc etc etc.
For five plus years it was money well spent, now its a bit older.......questionable....... but i'd probably do it again as the benefits are substantial.
AL

Hi Al
I was thinking of a kit like this for my 1000r and was wondering if you now know of any changes to the kit supplied by them.

thanks

felix wrote:Hi Al
I was thinking of a kit like this for my 1000r and was wondering if you now know of any changes to the kit supplied by them.

thanks

I recently bought the same kit from Electrex knowing of the faults and expecting no changes to the flawed design.
I wasn't disappointed
They haven't changed a thing which is a bit gobsmacking considering they know full well of the design fault.
Still no block off for the main gallery as can be seen in the pic but as said, i was prepared for that and will make a bung..

Hi Felix, Robs' experience is more up to date than mine but it looks like nothings' changed. There should be everything in this thread to allow it to work for you though. If you get stuck.............
AL

HI Al, I have read the thread and understood it all, to be honest im very disappointed to hear nothing has changed with the kit ? Do you know of any other available kit's or companies that are doing kits?
thanks

felix wrote:HI Al, I have read the thread and understood it all, to be honest im very disappointed to hear nothing has changed with the kit ? Do you know of any other available kit's or companies that are doing kits?
thanks

Nobody does a similar off the shelf kit with starter motor function so unfortunatly the Electrex offering is the only choice.
I only buy them because the cost of the component parts and making my own backplate etc is uneconomical compared to just correcting the faults.
It's no big deal really once you know about the oil gallery and it's likely that all electrex would do is include a bung with the kit ( which probably wouldn't fit ) if they could be bothered to address the issue.

Thanks for the reply and all the info. It's unfortunate that there are no others available. But the knowledge and information you have provided make it worthwhile, so it will have to do lol.
Thanks again.

I don't know if this is of any help whatsoever, but there is a guy on a Ducati forum that I frequent who has built a replica of a Kawasaki endurance racer with what I seem to remember, a very similar alternator/charging system.
It is a truely brilliant piece of work !
Potentially it could be worth contacting him & asking what system he used & any issues he may have encountered.
In fairness though he's only just finished it so may well not have much to say about it's operation !!

Check out this link, https://www.ducati.community/threads/ka ... plica.477/ it's worth a read if nothing else !!

CAT3 wrote:I don't know if this is of any help whatsoever, but there is a guy on a Ducati forum that I frequent who has built a replica of a Kawasaki endurance racer with what I seem to remember, a very similar alternator/charging system.
It is a truely brilliant piece of work !
Potentially it could be worth contacting him & asking what system he used & any issues he may have encountered.
In fairness though he's only just finished it so may well not have much to say about it's operation !!

Check out this link, https://www.ducati.community/threads/ka ... plica.477/ it's worth a read if nothing else !!

He's used the exact same Electrex race alt and fitted it without spotting the faults.
If you are on that forum you should tell him not to run it until the open end of the main oil gallery is plugged otherwise he will destroy the head through lack of oil.
If you've seen my latest build thread you will see the faults that need rectifying..

Thank you very much zed1015 for that, I have allerted him to the potential issue. I'll let you know what he says

The guy was quite horrified at Electrix's failure to have rectified this issue, or at least acknowledged it in their instructions.
He'll be modifying his build very soon & is very grateful to you on here.

This has been a very interesting read, thank you all. I run a 1975 Z1B based engine in my sprint bike and have no electric starter as my battery is too small to run one. I rely on the old fashioned kick start. Do people think that one of these systems would be beneficial in sprinting and if so does the absence of a starter make a difference to which system options I might have?