09-14-2018, 02:28 AM
Popgun and Postoak are right, our alternators are 2-part, with a crank-mounted rotating permanent-magnet-lined rotor spinning outside the stator bolted to the outer case cover. (They used to run a smaller rotor inside the stator ring, but it couldn't generate enough power).
The first CB500/550/750s had a 3-part alternator. The stator was bolted to the outer case cover, as was a smaller diameter field coil. Sandwiched in between was a crank-mounted spinning rotor that was not magnetized until the field coil was energized. The advantage here was that there was less HP loss when the battery didn't need charging.
In between (1979-1982), Honda eliminated the field coil, and relied on brushes contacting the face (slip rings) of a spinning electromagnet rotor with the stator on the outside. Same benefits, but brushes tended to wear quicker than expected. Basically, car alternators work like that, although brushes are located along the shaft instead and last forever.
The first CB500/550/750s had a 3-part alternator. The stator was bolted to the outer case cover, as was a smaller diameter field coil. Sandwiched in between was a crank-mounted spinning rotor that was not magnetized until the field coil was energized. The advantage here was that there was less HP loss when the battery didn't need charging.
In between (1979-1982), Honda eliminated the field coil, and relied on brushes contacting the face (slip rings) of a spinning electromagnet rotor with the stator on the outside. Same benefits, but brushes tended to wear quicker than expected. Basically, car alternators work like that, although brushes are located along the shaft instead and last forever.