...Example, I have seen mention of the regulator/rectifier being an area of concern?....
I would suggest replacing the OEM
shunt stator w/ a
series stator. (
MORE info coming further in THIS reply.)
As far as end-of-trip weaknesses, the stator is the only one I know of, and those failures are after a lot of miles. Adding a voltmeter to your panel can give you some advanced warning of the problem, at least enough to keep you from being stranded in the wilderness....
My
first stator failure was on my '09 at 52,243 kms [32,463 miles]. I
first replaced the stator, and then
w/ help from onewizard I replaced the OEM regulator w/ a COMPUFIRE R/R at 53,917 kms [33,502 miles]. Can't say how long THAT repair lasted, as I had a low-side crash that wrote the bike off at 62,790 kms [39,016 miles].
Then I had a stator failure on my '08 in AZ, AFTER I had installed a POLARIS R/R, so,
obviously the damage had already occurred to my stator before then. (For info on that stator you can try SEARCH as I don't have records for the '08 here in BC.)
When the stator 'died', I was able to travel about 12 to 15 miles to the point where the voltage was lowering to the point where the engine would have STOPPED, because I was able to turn my headlight OFF, a mod suggested by onewizard, that allowed me to travel THAT FAR!
On my '15 V650 I replaced its OEM R/R w/ a
POLARIS R/R at 28,589 kms [17,764 miles], and THUS FAR everything is working FINE.
I SUGGEST THAT YOU THINK HARD ABOUT THIS ISSUE IF YOU HOPE TO FINISH ALL THE RIDES YOU START!!!
That stator gets way WAY too much attention; it is likely no worse than other bikes.
We read so much about it here only because too many members talk about it, because there is nothing else to talk about!....
