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I left the UK 7 months ago on a 2009 Tenere with 7000 miles on it for a long trip (coincidentally I'm now almost at KL). 500 miles into the trip, in Germany, the reg/rect completely failed without warning and I was stranded on an autobahn. The unit was replaced at a local Yam dealer under warranty as the bike was only 20 months old.
Sadly that is not the end of the story. 7500 miles later, in Azerbaijan, the second reg/rect failed, again completely without warning, and left me stranded in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately I was able to get a replacement from a Yamaha marine dealer as it is the same unit used on some Yam jet-skis. Had it failed in Iraq or Iran, I suspect it would have not been so easy!
The thing to check is the connector - if it is damaged or burned/blackened in any way then you can expect a reg/rect failure. The problem is that this is not much use as an early warning system, as if you are constantly popping the connector to check it you will undoubtedly weaken/damage it.
I ended up drilling the damaged earth pin out of the connector in India and connecting the wire directly to the pin on the reg/rect. So far so good, but it could go again at any time of course. Carrying a spare can't hurt, and will get you going from the side of the road, but in my experience the reg/rect failures are a symptom of a damaged loom connector. You must get the cause fixed if you are continuing on a long trip.
Agree with redbikejohn re clutch plates. Mine are on their way out (25k miles) and even here in Malaysia where there are big-bikes aplenty, sourcing replacements is proving time consuming.
Good luck on the trip... pm me if you need any info about the route we took.
Cheers, JD
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