Stator Armor

[user 213]

Note that the below item didn't pan out, but the poll is still of interest. 12/10

The last time I crashed I had a Geelong Carbon Craft Engine armor piece installed over the stator. I lowsided at ~35 mph and it ground through the carbon fiber, the kevlar reinforcement underneath that, the semi-hardening bonding agent and just scrapped the paint off the stator cover itself. IOW, it worked and I rode the bike home instead of needing a trailer, which was why I bought the part to begin with.

When I got home, I ordered another from Bike Johnny and installed it. BJ no longer exists and ordering the part direct from Australia is stupid expensive now. $245 USD + shipping. GCC Link

This got me to thinking the other week and I pinged several US manufacturers of stator armor parts. None of them offer a part for the FJR, most just deal in Sport bikes. Most responded with a flat NO, we have no plans to offer a part for the FJR. One, Woodcraft Technologies Inc. responded with questions and we established some communication on the issue.

I sent them a Gen I cover and several pics from different bikes. We established that the FJR has a much deeper cover than the bikes they usually deal with and that created several issues, sheer material cost being one of them. The Gen II cover is even deeper, and WCI feels that it may not be possible to deal with in their style.

After some back and forth, it became apparent that a full cover was not feasible for cost and demand reasons. They machine covers out of billet and install a stainless steel wear plate that can be replaced. I noticed some partial covers like THIS and we discussed the potential for that type of item for the FJR. WCI took the time to make some drawings and think over the project after seeing the cover I sent them and talking with me about it and our needs/accessories like highway pegs. The peg issue may still be a problem.

WCI came up with a cover with 4 or 5 stand offs to mount over the stock stator cover. The wonky 5th stand off is just in there as a consideration, not necessarily a given to the design. And yes, the cover would have the stainless steel wear plate shown in the pic.

They would need a minimum order of 50 units and price would probably be in the $160-170 range, but it's not firm at this point.

Opinions, comments and riff raff welcome.

The following is from Eric Wood, President of WCI, in regards to these drawings and the FJR cover project.

OK, I had a chance to take a look at your cover.....it is an interesting case. It is very deep - about twice as deep as a normal engine cover for us. To make a full engine cover, at a batch of 50, I would envision the retail price to be almost $300. This is likely out of the ballpark.
So, I looked at making a cover protector for this. I'm not 100% sure it will work. The issues are as follows: 1 - clearance with the bodywork for the mounting bolts 2- the potential weakness of having (4) 2 inch standoffs to mount it 3- Interference with the forward mount footpegs that I see in the photos.

You can see from what I have here that I've got a base cover - 4 straight standoffs, and a goofy 5th one that I threw in just for sport to see if it would help stability.....it can be easily wiped out. Regardless....this could be a unit that I believe would retail in the $160-170 range and I would need to be able to move 50 of them to make it profitable at all. Let me know your thoughts.

 

[wfooshee]

My slider mostly protected my stator cover in my 30-mph lowside. Stator cover has a small scratch on the lower side, was not in danger of wear-through.

Without the slider I can see how the stator cover could have gotten holed, though.

As for a cover, I've never liked the looks of them, myself.

 

[Grumpy]

After a 60 mph crash I found, thanks to Mr. Ashe, a man who repaired the cover. When he finished you couldn't even tell it had been in a crash. I assure you that the sliders are no protection to the alternator housing. Take a look at many of the engines for sale on Ebay and you'll see that many of the alternator housings are at a minimum "holed" from sliding down the roadway.

 

[puppychow]

My Stator cover is scratched up from a tip over (no sliders or bags) from the previous owner. I have since added sliders, but the location of the sliders is such that it won't prevent damage to the stator. I would love a stator cover in addition to the sliders.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I haven't seen your concept, but here's mine. If you imagine a Wild Bill footpeg bracket extended down around the bottom of the cover and up the other side, say 1/4" stainless, then drill and tap it to bolt on a block of aluminum like a slider on the bottom or bottom front corner with a stainless wear plate on the outside. Now, ask yourself what happens if you crash with the WB footpegs, do you break the casting that's behind the stator cover, if so, you don't want to go there. Maybe same with this slider idea I just described.

I think a better option is to have a slider on the engine mount bolt (Gen II anyway) and take a chance on minor damage to the stator cover, which Ron Ayers says is a $76 part. The 905 crash bars will completely keep it from damage if you wanted to go that way.

Also, your odds of crashing aren't all that high, are they? How many bikes have you crashed in your lifetime... OK, don't answer that, just think about it.

 

[JamesK]

OCfjr, thanks for taking the initiative on this. I currently have the original CF cover I bought from BJ. Like you said the GCC is very nice as are most of their parts but stupid expensive.

From my experience of a tip over on my first Gen II FJR the Skyway sliders didn't protect the Stator from touching the ground since the road was slightly banked, so I think a cover is definitely necessary if want to increase your chances of being able to get home under your own steam after a smallish accident.

PM Sent

I have a PDF writer (which I believe is required to convert the PDF images to JPEG files for posting) so if you send me your PDF I'll convert them and post them up. I think seeing the drawings will really help folks to see what WCI is thinking. The design for the S1000RR looks very functional, and does not waste material where it does not serve any function...

 

[JamesK]

I haven't seen your concept, but here's mine. If you imagine a Wild Bill footpeg bracket extended down around the bottom of the cover and up the other side, say 1/4" stainless, then drill and tap it to bolt on a block of aluminum like a slider on the bottom or bottom front corner with a stainless wear plate on the outside. Now, ask yourself what happens if you crash with the WB footpegs, do you break the casting that's behind the stator cover, if so, you don't want to go there. Maybe same with this slider idea I just described.

I think a better option is to have a slider on the engine mount bolt (Gen II anyway) and take a chance on minor damage to the stator cover, which Ron Ayers says is a $76 part. The 905 crash bars will completely keep it from damage if you wanted to go that way.

Also, your odds of crashing aren't all that high, are they? How many bikes have you crashed in your lifetime... OK, don't answer that, just think about it.

The problem, IMHO is that with something like what you describe you're going severely limit your lean angle, as is the case with the 905 bars.

Also, the idea behind the protector is not so much to keep the Stator cover from scratching but (at least in my case) to help me get home under my own steam instead of a trailer/tow truck (trailering a bike like the FJR is almost a crime ). For example I also carry a spare set of levers, windshield screws and duct tape for this very reason. It also depends on where you ride, some of the best roads are often kind of far off the "beaten path" so you want to be as self sufficient as possible.

 

[LancasterFJR]

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the cover about $70 or so (Ronayers has them)? You can go through two of these instead of buying an after market cover and you'll still be ahead.

 

[JamesK]

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the cover about $70 or so (Ronayers has them)? You can go through two of these instead of buying an after market cover and you'll still be ahead.

In a direct price comparison yes, however, grinding a hole in your stator cover will mean you ain't getting home anytime soon even from a relatively minor get-off, especially if you're far away some place in BFE.

 

[Brodie]

Eric

I am interested in a cover. When the ELK molested my bike in motion on the way to Moscow last year my bike sustained some rash on the stator cover. It didn't wear through so I was able to attend WFO, it would have been a different story if the bike didn't catch rubber and flip over to the other side.

With my setting the new ride up as a LD bike (Gen. 2), being self sufficient makes a lot of sense to me. I will definitely watch how this project develops.

Good luck!

Brodie

 

[user 213]

As JamesK has said, the stator armor's sole purpose is so that you can ride home after a crash instead of get towed or hunt down a trailer and tow rig. It's not for appearance or to prevent scratches. The armor costs more than the cover because of volume, and because it's designed for a different purpose. If you never take solo trips far from home, not a big issue. When I crashed, I was 850 miles from home and the Uhaul bill would have been somewhere around $2300 for a one way truck/trailer unit. "Sorry, we can't let you rent a truck to put a motorcycle in that has gas in the tank." "Sorry, we don't rent the small truck to tow with, you'll have to rent the bigger truck and the trailer." If you're ever in that situation, change out of your riding clothes and don't tell them you're planning on putting a motorcycle in the truck. "Household goods" is the ticket.

The stock stator cover only has to hold the stator and contain cooling oil. It's not designed to withstand impact. And as many on the forum have discovered, it doesn't do so well after some pavement scraping. You develop an oil leak of any significance here and you will not be riding the bike at all until you deal with it.

Several peeps have offered to convert the pdf to a jpeg, so that should show up shortly. And thanks to everyone that offered!

The design shown above for the BMW S1000RR is a little cleaner than the one shown in the drawings, but essentially the same idea. The drawings are sort of quick and dirty to give us some idea. The depth of the FJR's cover creates problems in manufacture though and the stand offs are one way of dealing with that.

In my crash, which did damage to both sides of the bike, the Wild Bill highway peg brackets did not cause issues. One got bent and cracked, but the bolts bent and spacers got damaged, not the stock covers and no leakage occurred. I was able to repair/straiten the one side and replace all the spacers and bolts and am still using them. The pegs were folded up at the time of the crash, fwiw.

 

[puppychow]

The stator covers would look like below - Eric, you can copy these images and post them to your original post.

EDIT - Images snipped after Eric moved them to his original post.

 

[user 213]

Thanks puppychow!

My thinking in regards to the use of Wild Bill highway peg brackets is that it will still be possible to mount them over the armor cover. This may require different spacers, or possibly no spacers, and certainly longer bolts, but I suspect it won't really be a big deal.

Again, while I'd like to say we might be able to get Gen I and Gen II covers, this poll is for Gen I armor covers only. If this works, and we do the Group Buy, it may create enough good will to do a run of Gen II, with the subsequent R&D needed for that project.

I have also played with the idea of a simple SS disk with a lip that would just be bonded on with the same type of semi hardening bonding agent that is used on the GCC covers. That stuff is serious adhesive!! It was a royal ***** to get the damaged armor off the stator cover. I had to cut pieces until I could get a blade under the top piece and cut the adhesive. I'll keep working on this idea when I have time and if I prototype some, I will seek out folks to do some testing, (for FIT, not hopefully for crashing).

 

[RaYzerman19]

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the cover about $70 or so (Ronayers has them)? You can go through two of these instead of buying an after market cover and you'll still be ahead.

In a direct price comparison yes, however, grinding a hole in your stator cover will mean you ain't getting home anytime soon even from a relatively minor get-off, especially if you're far away some place in BFE.

I think what he's saying is carry a spare $70 cover with you, which is cheaper than this guard. Can't be very hard to change if you punctured your old one.

Also the 905 bars may reduce lean angle if you have more than 2 lines of preload showing on your forks w/stock springs, under certain conditions which would load up the front suspension. No issue since I changed to 2 lines.

However, looks like your concept will work.

 

[user 213]

I think what he's saying is carry a spare $70 cover with you, which is cheaper than this guard. Can't be very hard to change if you punctured your old one.

That is an option. You would also need a gasket, (sandwiched between some stiff cardboard to prevent damage), as the one in place rarely survives the cover removal. I'd recommend a quart of oil too. All that takes up space in the saddlebag.

For my needs, I don't see that as a viable option. If I was just doing one long trip, sure. But I travel long distances all year, often out of state and away from services. This is just extra insurance in case of a get off. If I'm ok to ride, I want the bike to have the best shot of being rideable too. Self recovery is a big thing for me.

 

[Bounce]

As with frame sliders, i would expect something that doesn't give to transfer impact energy to the retaining bolts and engine casing (not good). Can it be made of something that is designed to abrade and crush under impact like the crumple zones of a car? The nature of the Bike Johnny CF armor did just that.

It's like the difference between delrin and aluminum sliders. the first sacrifice themselves. the second sometimes sacrifice other bits that are harder to replace.

wouldn't it be easier just to not crash?

 

[user 213]

As with frame sliders, i would expect something that doesn't give to transfer impact energy to the retaining bolts and engine casing (not good). Can it be made of something that is designed to abrade and crush under impact like the crumple zones of a car? The nature of the Bike Johnny CF armor did just that.

It's like the difference between delrin and aluminum sliders. the first sacrifice themselves. the second sometimes sacrifice other bits that are harder to replace.

wouldn't it be easier just to not crash?

I agree with what you are saying, but I don't see the stator cover area as so much an impact area, but a sliding area. I've never seen an FJR stator cover that was cracked, but have seen numerous ones ground through from abrasion.

On the not crashing part. Hmm, the FJR isn't really ART to me, it's a tool. I use my tools. I suspect you do too.

 

[madmike2]

I have also played with the idea of a simple SS disk with a lip that would just be bonded on with the same type of semi hardening bonding agent that is used on the GCC covers. <snippage> I'll keep working on this idea when I have time and if I prototype some, I will seek out folks to do some testing, (for FIT, not hopefully for crashing).

This might just be the solution as it's a "wear/abrasive" issue rather than a "shock/impact" issue.

My BJ armor has grind marks on it, and in the "usual" place, at the bottom of the extended portion, and I have sliders.

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Wouldn't the same cover be used on a Gen 2 with different ( longer ) standoff posts ? I thought the only difference was the Gen 2 was deeper but the same shape ? It may generate more interest if it was adaptable to Gen 2, since there were a limited number of Gen 1 compared to the amount of Gen 2 produced. Bigger production run may equal a lower cost / sell pricing ?