Sportster regulators. 1977 and on.

Bert

Bert

Club Member
I've been playing with my 1977 Sportster. I've owned it six to eight years now, but never had it on the road as it was in a pretty bad state when I bought it
and I go to sea to earn my wage.
So I'm on home leave at present and the one real issue left on the list before I try to get the local equivalent of an MOT is the charging system.
I've had trouble with the charging system on my 1972 Sportster in the past so was a little better equipped this time.
All the tests I could do at home pointed at the regulator being the issue.
When newly purchased I'd bought a NOE regulator with what I hoped was the correct socket to connect straight to what is close to the original loom.
Not the same as the OEM wiring diagram I notice.
Anyway, the OEM regulator would not work.
The dynamo was giving 2-4 vote on low charge and 40-50 volts maxed out, so no issue with the dynamo.
So I bit the bullet and bought a Cycle Electric Inc. regulator for a 1977-1981 Sportster.

This to failed to function. So I tested it in the only way I know how and it failed.
I'm not a specialist or anywhere near well experienced enough with this stuff so I took three regulators and the dynamo to the 'old boy' specialist in town.
Bugger! He's retiring this year.
The two solid state regulators failed, but an old mechanical regulator I received with the bike although requiring a little adjustment worked.
Am I the only one to have solid state regulator failures with units straight out of the box?

This is the third Cycle Electric Inc. regulator I've bought, always from a reputable dealer and the second one to be faulty out of the box.
The dealer has always played fair and reimbursed my money, although I still don't get my postage or time back.
OH yes, and Pau, the old boy who is retiring soon, questioned whether it really should be negative earth.
I've no information that suggests any of the 70s Sportster would be positive earth.

Any thoughts anyone?
Regulator Cycle Electric.jpeg
Regulator Superior.jpeg
Regulator mechanical Bosch.jpeg
 
Yes, as a precaution, I polarise the dynamo every time I disconnect/re connect battery or regulator.

I tend to leave my bike with the battery disconnected, for safety sake.
 
Just thought I'd ask. The Ironhead Sportster Garage on Facebook is a good source of tech help and quite a few Riders Club are members there. Very old school but their advice is invaluable.
 
Hi Dodgyloner,
yes, I'm a member of that FB group and find it a very useful resource.
I just thought to ask if others have had similar issues with solid state regulators and if so what has been their solution.
I can't keep spending money on bike parts. So a reliable alternative to the slightly dodgy old mechanical regulator would be appreciated.
 
I've never had or heard of problems with modern solid state regs.

Back in the day when I was on a VERY tight budget with my Ironhead, i fitted mechanical reg from an old Fiat 500, bought for £3.
 
The mechanical regulator is identical to that on a 1960s Volkswagen Beetle. All Ironheads are negative earth by the way; in fact I think I'm right in saying that ALL Harleys have always been wired thus.
 
I've had two solid state regulators fail in use. The first on my 1980 Sportster after 51,821 miles and about 22 years. The genuine factory replacement ( bought straight off the shelf at the main dealers then) is still working some 45,000 miles/22 years on.

The second failure was the one on my Pan/Shovel which just stopped working. This was on the bike when I got it so was at least 17 years old/35,000 miles and could have been a lot more. Both of them had good earths fitted. Again the replacement worked fine.

Kev, I have a Harley service department bulletin from1915 referring to the battery being negative earth so I think you are correct in saying that all Harleys are negative earth.
 
Brief update.
I sorted the charging and I'm using a Bosch mechanical regulator.
With help from the 'old boy' who's workshop is in town.
OK So I still need to get paperwork sorted and a 'road worthy certificate' but it only failed on Monday as I'd not fitted the rear view mirrors and the rear red reflector. All the important stuff, emissions, noise, steering, suspension and brakes etc. all passed.
🙂

First time it's been ridden in over ten years.
It does go well. 😁
XLCR 1977 HArley -Davidson.jpeg
 
Dunno who did your MOT Bert but I've been a motorcycle MOT tester for 15 years now and mirrors and emissions are not part of the test!
 
fuz said:
Dunno who did your MOT Bert but I've been a motorcycle MOT tester for 15 years now and mirrors and emissions are not part of the test!
Click to expand...
Hi Fuz,
I'm based in Spain, and here they are compulsory. And they have to, at least look like the originals.
The fella that did the test even looked up what an XLCR was so he had photos from the internet to compare it with.
 
Ah!
When I worked for a Jap dealer 10 years ago, a customer brought an XLCR in for MOT.
The young Tester that was doing the MOT said he was going to fail it 'cos it was too loud.
I said to him "what is the rule for exhaust noise ?"
He said " if the tester thinks the exhaust is considerably louder than the same bike with a standard system on its a fail"
I said "have you done one of these before?" He said no!
I explained to him that it was completely standard so it would pass!
He said OK, I'll pass it and remember that when I get another one to do then........
 
They did take noise and emissions readings at 3000 rpm. It passed.
There is now a note in my documentation stating the DB at 3000 rpm. So Guess that's the datum point from now on.
I believe there is one other in the area, I've only seen it once and it was in a rather sad condition.
 
In the mid-seventies I was a clerk at The Times newspaper and our sister paper, The Sunday Times, had Harold Evans as editor. He was a keen motorcyclist and often got test bikes even though his paper was never going to do any real motorcycle reporting. Anyway in 1978 I found one of these parked in our bike area and so put my 77XLH (in my avatar) next to it and a club calling card on it. He made contact and met me by it, explaining he had it on test. At this point I didn't know who he was and we chatted like we'd met at a bikers cafe, he allowed me to take it for a spin (don't think he was supposed to do that!) which I enjoyed though low speed was quite heavy I thought. He also enjoyed it but said he'd never have one, he was very much a BMW man. For those new to the HD scene, they never sold well, I remember Pratts of Greenwich actually broke one from new, selling the motor for £1,100 and one of our members (struggling to recall his name, he had a shop in the West Country..) owned five in various states, all picked up cheap. Bill (Willie G) Davidson had his own one parked behind his desk when I visited him at Milwaukee in winter 1983.
 
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Hi Paul,
its an oil filter. It's on the return line and is a full flow filter, the same element as is standard on all three cylinder Triumphs and BSAs of the 60s and 70s.
I bought the bike a little over 11 years ago, time flies, the oil tank was full of sediment and I'd guess the same it true of the engine.
So I washed the oil tank out and fitted the oil filter and intend to do a lot of oil changes for a while.
Link below for a place to purchase should you wish.
British Bike Bits, remote oil filter.
www.britishbikebits.com

RS009 Oil Filter Kit - Triumph Pre-Unit/Unit Models - BBB

Aftermarket External Oil Filter Kit for Triumph Pre-Unit/Unit Models
www.britishbikebits.com www.britishbikebits.com
 
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