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Calaenall |
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Calaenall L Plate Warrior
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Nobby the Bastard |
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Nobby the Bastard Harley Gaydar
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RhynoCZ |
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RhynoCZ Super Spammer
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WD Forte |
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WD Forte World Chat Champion
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Triton Thrasher |
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Triton Thrasher Could Be A Chat Bot
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stinkwheel |
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stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
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Posted: 18:06 - 20 Apr 2019 Post subject: |
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Gel batteries are becoming old hat (ansd hard to come by) unless you specifically need to mount it upside down. Get a decent glass matt absorbtion type.
If the battery is on display, what the BSA guys used to do (and probably still do) is carefully wash out their original lucas battery with the rubber casing, Cut/wiggle/pry the top off it (careful, gloves and goggles!), rinse it out some more and remove all the lead plates. They then find a modern AGM battery that fits inside it (which will be a lot smaller for the same output) and connect the terminals up internally. Silicone the top back on and you've got an authentic looking battery with modern internals.
Can you convert it to 12v though?
Some bikes you can simply do this by re-jigging some of the internal wiring in the mag/dynamo/whatever and fitting a different zennnor.
It's a common modification with old 6V royal enfields. A 12v system needs half the current for the same wattage bulb. So all the switches and wires are be twice as thick as they need to be.
What WD Forte says about LED lamps is also true. The bike I just built draws 2.2A total. With the headlamp on full beam, brake light and flashers on. So my fag packet sized battery will run the electrics for 2 hours with all the lights on. I even have an LED headlight bulb and it's entirely adequate (once I get the headlamp pointing in the right direction).
They are even starting to bring out ones suitable for AC systems and positive earths. ____________________ “Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles. |
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Triton Thrasher |
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Joined: 16 Oct 2012 Karma :
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Posted: 18:52 - 20 Apr 2019 Post subject: |
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12V conversion is possible. Regulators are on the market for just that.
https://www.dynamoregulators.com/dvr2.php
Converting an old Enfield with a 6V alternator to 12V is all good, but such an old Harley won’t have an alternator.
If you regulate a 6V dynamo (DC generator) to 12V, it will require more rpm before it starts charging. That can mean your battery goes flat in slow traffic. ____________________ Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr |
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RhynoCZ |
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RhynoCZ Super Spammer
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Posted: 00:11 - 21 Apr 2019 Post subject: |
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Triton Thrasher wrote: | If you regulate a 6V dynamo (DC generator) to 12V, it will require more rpm before it starts charging. That can mean your battery goes flat in slow traffic. |
It's not as quick as you'd think. Even with the lights on, you may still do tens of miles before the voltage drops too low for the ignition to work. Well, that might not be true with modern ''computerised'' motorcycles, that are voltage sensitive.
I did maybe 50 miles with no charging, the lights on on the CB-1 and I did use the electric starter (4 cylinder engine, single H4 bulb headlight + tail light and all the tiny bulbs in the gauge cluster).
Also, many older bikes with dynamo do not charge the battery on idle and at low revs. I even think that race bikes don't normally have any alternator/charging system. When it comes to racing, every kW counts and alternators do ''rob'' you of some engine power. ____________________ '87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor |
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Triton Thrasher |
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Posted: 10:06 - 21 Apr 2019 Post subject: |
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RhynoCZ wrote: | Triton Thrasher wrote: | If you regulate a 6V dynamo (DC generator) to 12V, it will require more rpm before it starts charging. That can mean your battery goes flat in slow traffic. |
It's not as quick as you'd think. Even with the lights on, you may still do tens of miles before the voltage drops too low for the ignition to work. Well, that might not be true with modern ''computerised'' motorcycles, that are voltage sensitive.
I did maybe 50 miles with no charging, the lights on on the CB-1 and I did use the electric starter (4 cylinder engine, single H4 bulb headlight + tail light and all the tiny bulbs in the gauge cluster).
Also, many older bikes with dynamo do not charge the battery on idle and at low revs. I even think that race bikes don't normally have any alternator/charging system. When it comes to racing, every kW counts and alternators do ''rob'' you of some engine power. |
I don’t have your experience, having never owned your nice little Honda, but I have used a motorbike with a 6 volt dynamo regulated to 12 V, so I don’t have to “think” how it behaves.
If it commenced to generate at 1,100 rpm when running at 6 V, it would commence to generate 12 V at 2,200 rpm. It would not balance the load of a 12 V headlight until well over 3,000 rpm.
I could not use the headlight within 30 mph limits, simple as that. It was necessary to have a 10 watt halogen pilot bulb for going through towns. Nowadays a bright LED would be more sensible. Practically everyone who has done the 12 V conversion to a 6 V DC generator (called a dynamo in the Uk) has the same sort of issue. Some liars claim they haven’t, because they’re never wrong; some people never ride in slow traffic at night.
It doesn’t matter all that much with magneto ignition, because a flat battery doesn’t stop the engine. It doesn’t matter terribly much with points and coil, because the engine will run with a very low battery and you get a bit of warning. It will cause roadside failures with electronic ignition.
You may get 50 miles from a well charged battery, with no charging system, but if you’ve been riding in various conditions for a few hours with the converted dynamo system, you’re often not starting with a fully charged battery when you enter a town. ____________________ Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr |
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Riejufixing |
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Riejufixing World Chat Champion
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Triton Thrasher |
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Riejufixing |
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Riejufixing World Chat Champion
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Triton Thrasher |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 5 years, 45 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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