hey guys, I was replacing a gasket on the GS, when I took the side engine cover off. I noticed that one of the magnets had be come detached from from the rotor. I have heard than you can use one of the 3 magnet rotors in place of the 6 magnet rotors, which is the type I have. The 6 magnet ones are darn expensive while the 3 magnet seem to be much cheaper and plentiful. Can the 3 magnet rotors be used, what are the side effects? Thanks for any assistance.

I don't know how a 3 magnet rotor would work. But some bikes like the GR650 have a smooth inner surface for the rotor. Don't know how it does that though.
Cool.
Buddha.

Well, darn, i thought for sure I had read somewhere that you can use a 3 magnet rotor. But if not I guess I'll have to cough up for a 6 magnet. That one part will be almost half what I paid for the bike.

This is the post where I read it. Could anybody else confirm or deny being able to use a 3 magnet rotor? Thanks.

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Re: broken rotor magnets
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2010, 08:10:07 AM »
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3 or 6 magnets will work but 6 are better for the charging system. It has to do with the AC current. It was explained to me once in a post or PM but I do not recall the details, not an electrical guru. I have used GS450 rotors without any noticeable differences.
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Common sense in not very common.

dgyver should still be around..!! Try sending him a private message and ask him directly

I recently tried to get another forum member here who had Goats to try the GS450 rotor, since the older rotors can be had for around $60 on eBay instead of $100+ the GS500 rotors seem to get.

That member eventually found a good deal on a GS500 rotor, so the experiment didn't happen.

The bottom end of the GS450 engine is nearly identical to the GS500 and I am 90% sure the rotor will work. dygvers post confirms this but makes it sound like you may have slightly less efficient charging with the older style rotor.

If you give it a shot, please report back!

FYI, I have a 1989 GS500 rotor in my 2006 GSF and it works just fine. Even the different GS500 rotors do look different but seem to work equally well.

I didn't say a 3 magnet rotor wont work. I just said - better worse ? no idea.
If Dgyver says it works - I see no reason to doubt that.
Cool.
Buddha.

Well it seems like it should work, this experiment is a go! I just bought a 3 magnet rotor from an 88' GS450. I'll give it a shot and report back. My electrical system should not be pulling much juice. All the bulbs for my gauge cluster are LED as are my taillights and blinkers, but I am running a dual headlight. I also have a GPS mount on the bike for charging, but it rarely gets used. So I am pretty hopeful. I picked up for 450 rotor for 40 bucks. All the epoxy looks to be in good shape. Thanks for the help thus far guys. I'll report back once I get it all buttoned up.

Assuming the number of poles in the generator (in this case 6) doesn't change the use of a 3 magnet flywheel will mean the frequency of the AC current produced in the winding will be exactly half of what you would get with a 6 magnet flywheel at any given rpm.

It will work, you will still get AC volts out of the generator and DC out of the reg/react but the system won't be as efficient, particularly at low rpm so keep an eye on your battery charge.

Suzuki wouldn't have changed the design (and increased the cost) if there were no real advantages.

Quote from: sledge on September 03, 2016, 01:09:52 AM
Assuming the number of poles in the generator (in this case 6) doesn't change the use of a 3 magnet flywheel will mean the frequency of the AC current produced in the winding will be exactly half of what you would get with a 6 magnet flywheel at any given rpm.

It will work, you will still get AC volts out of the generator and DC out of the reg/react but the system won't be as efficient, particularly at low rpm so keep an eye on your battery charge.

Suzuki wouldn't have changed the design (and increased the cost) if there were no real advantages.

Well I'll give it a go, if I see a problem, then I'll pull this one out and get a proper 6 magnet rotor. I can always resell this GS450 rotor.

Quote from: Bluesmudge on September 01, 2016, 08:52:37 AM
I recently tried to get another forum member here who had Goats to try the GS450 rotor, since the older rotors can be had for around $60 on eBay instead of $100+ the GS500 rotors seem to get.

That member eventually found a good deal on a GS500 rotor, so the experiment didn't happen.

The bottom end of the GS450 engine is nearly identical to the GS500 and I am 90% sure the rotor will work. dygvers post confirms this but makes it sound like you may have slightly less efficient charging with the older style rotor.

If you give it a shot, please report back!

FYI, I have a 1989 GS500 rotor in my 2006 GSF and it works just fine. Even the different GS500 rotors do look different but seem to work equally well.

That'd be me  Yeah I couldn't turn down a $50 rotor I knew would work. This is an experiment that needs to happen though, glad you're trying it out expo, looking forward to your updates!

FYI getting the old rotor off was a bit of a Buddha Loves You, there are several methods described on the forum, I ended up using a Harbor Freight puller tool, bolt from my old Stealth rotors that happened to fit perfectly, and an impact wrench.

Thanks for the tips, I'll be sure to report back after I get it on and put some miles on her. I'd like to get a digital volt meter to monitor the battery charge while riding. I have a USB port on the bike, I should be able to get a volt meter and plug it into that right? This would just be a temporary item, just to make sure. Anybody recommend a decent one, I'm searching the ol' ebay.

Think Mister has one, not sure, but you could do a search on his comments and the voltmeter. Maybe using the google search engine if the forum search doesn't suffice.

Well, dang it, the place I bought the rotor says they cant find it now, it took em long enough to tell me, looks like it will be at least one more week with out my bike, ugh. The mornings are starting to get chilly.

Since I'm waiting on my second GS450 rotor, I took the down time to install a cheap exhaust that has been welded. I'm a welder so I automatically assume things need to be welded and permanent. After the exhaust was all welded, I blasted the exhaust system and hit it with some VHT "very high temperature" exhaust paint. I also took out my problematic fuel petcock and switched it out for the honda one that others have recommended. I'll be adding a carb kit to the bike to account for the aftermarket exhaust and lunchbox air filter.

PM Buddha for the 'carb kit'

If I would have known that he put carb kits together, I would have. I got my jet kit from 6 sigma on ebay, seems nice and they included some directions to help you along.

I've got good news on the GS450 rotor, so far it seems to be working perfectly. I took the bike out for a quick spin, about 10 miles. Did some highway miles and some city cruising, stopped and got gas, it fired right up at the gas station. I took some back streets and kept the RPMs a little under 3k. I brought it back home, parked it, shut it off and started it right back up. So for this little test, the GS450 rotor is a go! Which is great news as the GS500 rotors are uber expensive, while I got this GS 450 rotor for 30 bucks, shipped. With the new air filter and exhaust, I'll be tackling the carb jets tomorrow. Thanks for the help guys.

Thanks for the update. This is very good information. Now we know for sure that the GS450 generator rotor works in the GS500.

It would appear so, I had no issues on my 30 mi commute to work, or on my way home. This flywheel rotor came from a 1981 GS450.