Hello, I´ve had soooooo much trouble with electrical system on my 97 VFR... Until I changed this little box. It is actually located not on the left but rather right side of bike, under the tail fairing and bolted in two places. Easy to replace yet costly part (around $US140.00). It is called a regulator\rectifier assembly and it serves the purpose of converting the alternative current from alternator into continuous current for feeding battery. There are two different models, the stock one looks like a small rectangular aluminum pool filled with a black rubbery substance, it is a piece a junk prone to die out on you anytime a leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere... The other kind (the good one) has no rubber but fins on its back (it is a heat sink). Hard to find on e-bay, get it from Honda. Install it yourself, it is E.A.S.Y. !!! The box on the left side of bike is not silver but black and it actually is the electronic ignition module, something completely different and its failure would not have such consequences on the battery, but rather on the performance of the engine (it would run unevenly or not at all...) Take care , David Kopytko.