5/15/2012
Works good until it doesn't
I bought this to get more reliability after having two OEM alternators fail. I installed the unit in 2009. It definitely charges better than the stock unit. But, the compu-fire failed and stranded me 250 miles from home on my last long distance trip - only 2 years and about 10K miles on it. This is actually worse reliability than the previous two stock units I had. I don't have lots of lights and run with the gel battery. I called Compu-fire and they said their units should last 5 years and admitted that mine failed "a bit early". Not much consolation after being stranded and now faced with the hassle of removing it, getting it repaired, and reinstalling it. So far for me the compu-fire setup has cost twice as much as stock and offers no improvement in reliability. I really don't care about voltages - I just want my bike to run when I need it. I could have bought two stock units and kept a spare for the cost and probably ended up with far greater reliability. It is easy to swap stock units on the road. Plus you can use the lower cost batteries with the stock alternators. I think the Compu-fire is basically a wasted investment for all those except folks who want to put on a light show or run heated outfits in winter. I will put the compu-fire back in after it is repaired and probably invest in a rebuilt spare stock unit to take along on long rides from now on. Maybe the repaired unit will last longer, but I will no longer assume the risk of alternator failure is less with the Compu-fire.
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