MZ-B 6 Volt Regulator on BMW R60/2

Original Product: This unit would almost fit the application as manufactured. I have a milling machine and used it to remove excess material to make the installation somewhat more compact. The casting was milled at the top lip parallel to the base and down to the level of the potting compound. This made the unit thinner and provided a convenient surface for mounting the unit in a milling machine vise.

The long faces were milled (lightly) until they became square with the base and parallel to each other. Since the unit must be strapped on its side to the generator base it was desired to have parallel faces for this strapping.

The ground terminal was removed as the mounting made a redundant ground unnecessary. The ears were machined off to the base of the screw slots. The ears are trapped behind the "tie down" bolts and prevent the unit from falling forward if they become loose. The generator prevents the unit from falling backward.

The ground tab ear was machined to half thickness from the top (not base) side. When the machined surface is resting against the tie down bolt and the back of the regulator is resting on the generator the unit center line is reasonably parallel to the original mounting holes. It makes for a secure installation and provides the maximum clearance between the electrical terminals and the case.

The installation utilizes the existing mounting holes. It is necessary to fabricate a tie down strap to hold the regulator in place. The bolts are a standard metric dimension available from any good hardware store. NOTE: The ballast resistor is removed from the generator as it is not required for the electronic regulation system.

The DF+ is the CORRECT terminal for BMW R60/2 (and probably most of the series). As the instructions stated an incorrect hookup would not damage the regulator, but would not produce electricity. I went over the book anyway and was correct on first installation.

THIS UNIT FAILED IN SERVICE SEPTEMBER 2008 (2 Year Service Life). The failure mode was such that it did NOT limit maximum voltage. It allowed the generator to deliver about 11 VDC to the bulbs at high rpm. It destroyed a pair of headlights before I made the connection. It NOTIFIED me of the failure. I started the bike one day and the RED indicator failed to shut off as RPM increased. It just got brighter. I revved up several times then the red light went off. After that the red light behaved as expected going RED at idle and extinguishing as rpm increased. But the voltage was no longer limited.

I cleaned up the old mechanical regulator and reinstalled it. I did some "tweaking" of the hardware to establish the circuit breaker cut out. The max voltage cutout was operating in the specified range. We'll see.........

The electronic regulators are now the other side of $175, some over $200. If this system fails it makes sense to implement the 12Volt more modern system.