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Kansas City, Mo.
Apparently, scrap wire from an alternator is pretty badly looked down on.

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Just wanted to add a vote of my appreciation for Jim's rotors!

In addition to the rewound rotor, I completely renewed my charging system e.g. cleaned connections, new brushes, NOS OEM rectifier (holding others, inc. an XS400 unit in abeyance if there's a problem), new solid state regulator, new Yuasa AGM battery, aso.

From first fire-up, 13+V at idle, ~14.5V @ 3000 RPM. Seems good to me!
 
I've worked in the scrap metal industry for the last 18 years, particularly with non-ferrous metals. Copper is riding high and would be a great time to cash in. Alternator windings are enameled copper which would fall under the #2 classification. With market prices today, you would be looking around $5.40 / lb at one of our retail locations.
 
Probably the price for complete alternators by the pound. Lots of trouble breaking them down into steel, aluminium and copper, thus time.
Or maybe the alternator wire is not as good because it is made to carry alternating current not the better wire like they used for DC current! Yep! the alternating current wears out the molecules from all the switching of the direction of flow!
 
It would be neat to smelt it all down and make round stock out of it. Then you could make a shitload of copper washers and sell 'em here in little "kits".
The plan is to make stuff on the 3D printer and then cast it in bronze. Don't recall the proper mix, but as you melt the copper wire down, you can add to it and make bronze.

At least that's the plan.... :cautious:
 
It's been 7 yrs of rewinding rotors now. About halfway thru I gave away all my copper to a buddy... so this is about 3-4 yrs worth of rewinds. Prolly close to 100 lbs there. I've always wanted to try my hand at smelting and casting. One of these days...

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Wait? Are you not doing rotors anymore?
 
I may have mentioned it before but I had a xs200 where the plate with the copper rings on it came loose, screw striped threads and the ceramic disk cracked. Figured I had nothing to loose so got new screws and mixed up epoxy and reassembled. After the epoxy set over night chucked rotor in lathe at work and took a couple light cuts to true it up. Surprised me a lot as when reassembled it worked right up to the time I sold it as a down payment to get a used XS650 from a guy. I think I did replace the brushes and maybe the holder.
 
I may have mentioned it before but I had a xs200 where the plate with the copper rings on it came loose, screw striped threads and the ceramic disk cracked. Figured I had nothing to loose so got new screws and mixed up epoxy and reassembled. After the epoxy set over night chucked rotor in lathe at work and took a couple light cuts to true it up. Surprised me a lot as when reassembled it worked right up to the time I sold it as a down payment to get a used XS650 from a guy. I think I did replace the brushes and maybe the holder.
Boy the old brain was not working right when I wrote that, it was an RD200 not an XS200 was there ever such a thing as an XS200?

Not sure if I mentioned it before but I have been diagnosed with early stages of Parkinson's so I guess it was kicking in big time when I wrote that one!
 
was there ever such a thing as an XS200?
There was an XS250* and its bored-out brother, the XS400.
I'd not be surprised if there was a sleeved-down XS200 in some market.

* I had one as a stand-by bike. Scary stuff, on the motorway, as it lacked much in the way of grunt.
Ok as a back roads get-you-around type of bike, but not for motorways.
 
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