So I bought a 2010 990 SDR from a reputable shop in sweden. They gave me a year warrenty. I am happy to be back on a superduke as I had a standard 2008 before I left the usa.

Well I went out to start the bike a few days after purchase and it cranked over but would not start. It seemed like it was starving for gas but I could smell gas from the exhausts. After I depleted the battery I went and bought a tender and plugged her in. The bike started after the tender charged the battery a bit.
I also called the dealership as I have only had the bike a week.

They gave me a new battery and apologized as the bike was on a tender in the shop and storage over the winter

I thought all was good until after installing the battery I saw smoke coming from the connector that connects the stator to the rectifier via cable. The smoke was on the stator side. I thought maybe that some liquid got in there as the bike had recently been washed.

I pulled it out of the garage and ran it for a while, the smoke stopped and I took it for a 30 min spin. All was fine

The next morning the bike wont start again. It cranks but does not fire.

5 min on the tender and it cranks. I call the dealership and decide to leave it overnight again.

Next morning same result. Though I will say the battery is fine for restarts after running so I think the alternator/stator are still working

I take it to the dealer and they said the battery terminals were a little loose, they tightened them and the bike started right up. They also said that they ordered a new rectifier as it was a concern for me.

Now for the questions and please help me here

1. Am I missing something is there some way I could be leaving a power drain on after removing the key? I know the euro spec bike has an extra light etc but I never had this problem on my 08.

2. Could the connector be smoking due to moisture?

3. Do you think the problem is on the stator side? Does that need to be replaced also?

Attatched is a pic of the bastard smoking

Plenty of info re on here eg:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=27869&p=336718&hilit=BROWN+CONNECTOR#p336718

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=26939&p=335857&hilit=BROWN+CONNECTOR#p335857

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=26939&p=330616&hilit=BROWN+CONNECTOR#p330616

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=26306&p=323317&hilit=BROWN+CONNECTOR#p323317

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22697&p=279594&hilit=BROWN+CONNECTOR#p279594

Based on experience here, it's just the plug itself that is the problem - collects grease, dirt, water etc and the connectors burn out and melt the plastic - either replace the connector with OE item or simply hardwire using marine grade waterproof bullet connectors - always worth checking the generator output though as per rebuild manual.

Awesome I couldnt find a damn part number for the connector. Only as a unit with the rectifier and the other end with the stator. I will try to find a parts number for the connector or I suppose rewire once they give me the bike back.

OEM part nos. here viewtopic.php?f=18&t=16897under Spare Connectors

Hardwire it and be done, the thought of a smoldering wires is unsettling and you will have to replace

it again anyway.

Just an update the dealership replaced the rectifier and no more problems. Gotta say they are a great shop to deal with, gave me 2 different loaner bikes while they had mine. Spent a few hundred km on the kawa z900. I was thoroughly impressed. Still 4cyl are nothing compared to twins. A twin is like a wild animal and a 4cly is just well, a sanitary machine.

When you guys talk about filling it with dielectric do you mean the backside of the big brown connector as when I put some grease in the left wire started smoking. Yet the others did not. Sorry about all the questions bic, but you seem to be the resident expert and the rim tape came with the bike

Check the connector from the generator - replacing the reg/rec only replaces one side of the connector and the generator side is likely to have been damaged also - check generator output as per rebuild manual, just in case, but either replace generator side of connector (you will need to buy both sides) or simply hard wire generator to reg/rec as previously recommended.

Dialectric grease connector internals - not sure what you mean by greasing the back...........................

BQ 000700000BQ SPARE CONNECTOR BQ 4-PINS X REGULATOR (RAC) / REGLER (RAC), wrongly shown as 4 pin, I guess - suggests only one side is available but, again, would strongly recommend that you hard wire the connection 'cos it will only happen again otherwise.

No 47 you are the man thank you for helpong me out, three years off a bike and I am quite rusty with the wrench and apparently the search

At the end of last season I notice mine was getting warm so I'm tempted to remove the connector now and hard wire it.

Which type of connectors do you guy have most luck with, heat shrink crimp type or the non crimp solder shrink butt terminals?

I was going to pack the back of the plug with some dielectric, as I didnt have any I tested some caliper grease. Even though the bike runs and keeps a charge, the cable to the left shown in the image in the op started to smoke. The other two cables did not. As soon as I removed the goo, it stopped smoking and didnt produce anymore heat.

I am lost is the insulation on the wire gone?

Anyway ordered some proper dielectric grease and will repeat the experiment as it is way too fooking cold to ride in Sweden right now, that and my leathers slide on the damn seat.......I need to order some tank pads........

I'm not sure what the electrical properties of caliper grease are but it's not likely to be conductive, most greases can be used in a pinch. It's just to seal out water and air to stop the connectors from oxidising. I use silicone grease as my chosen dielectric grease.

If your connector feels hot and smokes only with grease in there then my guess it that one of the connectors is not biting hard enough on it's counterpart (that end one).
Either the grease is being allowed to get inbetween the male & female contacts (which shouldn't happen with a healthy connector), or the connections are getting hot regardless of the grease. If so then the smoke you are seeing is just the grease being burnt but it isn't causing the heat.
With the connector feeling hot - this could be that with the grease is there it is actually conducting the heat away from the contacts to the outer case, which is a good thing as it stops the terminal from getting so hot it melts the insulation off the wire, and then eventually the plug & socket.

My trail bike has the stator hard wired to the R/R as standard but did have a connector from the DC side to the battery. Sure enough it's a known issue for this connector to melt once the terminals get old. I removed this connector on mine years ago so now it is hard wired all the way from the stator to the battery.

I used 10 gauge wire, staggered the splices, shrink wrapped, and made them long enough to get the battery out without a struggle.