Newby riding in cooler weather clothing question.
That One
for cooler/cold weather riding.
There is so much stuff out there- so many brands - so expensive - so many
choices.
Where do I start or where do I get good information?
TIA
Rob Kleinschmidt
Here's a start. Buy overpants, not chaps. Consider installing
heated grips on the motorcycle. Buy a rainsuit of some kind,
even if it's a $25 one from the hardware store and polypro
long johns. Avoid cotton or you'll freeze your ass off if you
get wet.
I've been pretty happy with a Firstgear Kilimanjaro jacket
and pants. Not all that expensive and really surprisingly
waterproof. Make sure you get the liners too. I think the
fabric is called "Sheltex".
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=firstgear+kilimanjaro&btnG=Google+Search
Also happy with my Sidi boots.
That One
"Rob Kleinschmidt" <Rkleinsc...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:e63755c9-d13f-42d0...@12g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
Thanks for the advice. I understand about cotton not being warm when wet,
but it seems i need some clothing that can breathe a little. I sweat badly
in the nylon stuff even in cooler weather.
Leather seems to be the best option I guess, but man it is all so confusing.
Mark Olson
Leather is a poor option for rainy conditions. You have to stop
and put on rain gear over your leathers. Any decent textile
motorcycle gear will have Gore-Tex or something similar to it
as part of the lining. Gore-Tex and its clones (like the
aforementioned Sheltex) lets water vapor pass through but not
liquid water, so you don't get sweaty, yet you also don't get
soaked.
Rob is right about woven polypropylene underwear (AKA long johns)
being far superior to cotton, for its moisture wicking properties.
Don't confuse that type of man-made fabric with non-permeable
barrier materials like cheap vinyl oversuits for short term rain
use. If you insist on wearing leathers, get Frogg Toggs or
something like them. IIRC they are made of a Tyvek-like material
(non-woven polypropylene), which behaves similar to Gore-Tex in
how it handles liquid water/water vapor.
That One
"Mark Olson" <ols...@tiny.invalid> wrote in message
news:_ZudnTr12v1LmEzX...@posted.visi...
My riding is casually- never more than 50 miles or so. I don't ride in the
rain unless it is a very unusual surprise. That is why I thought leather
jacket and jeans (and chaps?) might be a good idea for my kind of riding.
Basically I am a weekend rider on my cruiser with small windshield and I am
trying to figure out how I can keep comfortably riding when the temperature
goes below 60 degrees. I don't think I will be interested in riding much
below freezing. My truck's heated leather seats have spoiled me.
Rob Kleinschmidt
> Basically I am a weekend rider on my cruiser with small windshield and I am
> trying to figure out how I can keep comfortably riding when the temperature
> goes below 60 degrees. I don't think I will be interested in riding much
> below freezing. My truck's heated leather seats have spoiled me.
I doubt very much you'd want to ride anywhere close to
freezing weather in a leather jacket and chaps. Below
about 50 I think you'd find yourself getting cold.
If you like the idea of leather that's find by me, but don't
kid yourself that it's good cold weather gear. First things
to worry about are keeping your hands warm and keeping
yourself dry in a rain. You can always layer up underneath
your riding gear once you've solved those problems.
That One
Yeah, I can see what you are saying. Thanks again for the advice. Cold
hands are gonna be pretty high on the list of things to fix.
Rob Kleinschmidt
> "Rob Kleinschmidt" <Rkleinsch1216...@aol.com> wrote in message
Thirty bucks or so buys you a heated grips kit. This is
a good bet. Besides keeping your hands from going numb,
bloodflow through your hands can actually circulate quite a
bit of warmth back to the rest of your body. They're great
when you hit unexpected cold weather regardless of the
time of year.
The Older Gentleman
> Thirty bucks or so buys you a heated grips kit. This is
> a good bet. Besides keeping your hands from going numb,
> bloodflow through your hands can actually circulate quite a
> bit of warmth back to the rest of your body. They're great
> when you hit unexpected cold weather regardless of the
> time of year.
What he said. And any form of windscreen makes a big difference, too.
--
BMW K1100LT & K100RS Ducati 750SS Honda CB400F Triumph Street Triple
Suzuki TS250ER (currently Beaving) Damn, back to six bikes!
Try Googling before asking a damn silly question.
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com
Guppy Pilot
I would start at www.aerostich.com for a great range of cold weather
gear. An electric vest will go a long way in making you more
comfortable below 60F. They even have waterproof leather gear, though
it's expensive. I wear a Roadcrafter suit to work -- It's very easy
on and off over my work clothes, keeps dry, and I wear a fleece jacket
underneath for warmth when necessary. My bike has heated handgrips,
which I'd highly recommend!
Rob Kleinschmidt
> On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:40:16 GMT, "That One" <x...@x.net> wrote:
> >I feel so overwhelmed when looking to purchase jackets, gloves, chaps, etc.
> >for cooler/cold weather riding.
>
> >There is so much stuff out there- so many brands - so expensive - so many
> >choices.
>
> >Where do I start or where do I get good information?
>
> >TIA
>
> gear. An electric vest will go a long way in making you more
> comfortable below 60F. They even have waterproof leather gear, though
> it's expensive. I wear a Roadcrafter suit to work -- It's very easy
> on and off over my work clothes, keeps dry, and I wear a fleece jacket
> underneath for warmth when necessary. My bike has heated handgrips,
> which I'd highly recommend!
Just bought a pair of Fieldsheer Polar gloves I'm pretty
happy with. Look a little and you can find them for about
$50. Definitely on the tight side though. I'm normally a
medium or large, and in this case, large is still a little
snug, though I think it'll work fine.
Grab a look at www.motorcyclecloseouts.com and
www.newenough.com. I'm pretty happy with a
Firstgear Kilimanjaro jacket and overpants. Extremely
waterproof. The jacket is well vented too in warm weather.
bob prohaska's usenet account
> You can always layer up underneath
> your riding gear once you've solved those problems.
It's very convenient to size and fit the protective gear to
fit right in warm weather and add warmth layers on top. Looks
a bit funny, but it's easier to fit and easier to adjust on
the road. A bicycle windbreaker warms up a set of one piece
leathers astonishingly.
Amen to the heated grips recommendation.
bob prohaska
Rob Kleinschmidt
wrote:
I've got two basic sets of gear. Warm weather mesh
gear with a rainsuit and a Kilimanjaro jacket and
pants with liners.
If I'm wearing the Kilimanjaro jacket in warmer weather
with light clothes and no liner, I figure the extra space
is a plus because it allows more air circulation.
I'd really like to find gear good over a wider range, but
I don't really think it exists. I'll ride in weather ranging
from a little below freezing up to a little over 100 and
I'm not sure there's really a single set of gear that'll
handle that. There's some Rukka gear that looks like
it might, but it's more than a little bit pricey.
Another problem is that when it's down to freezing
gear that'll keep you warm at speed will overheat you
fast when you're at a stop. I figure gear should keep
you warm when you're not moving without counting on
the electrics, but maybe I need to beef up my charging
system and spring for an electric vest to go with the grips.
> bob prohaska
bob prohaska's usenet account
> the electrics, but maybe I need to beef up my charging
> system and spring for an electric vest to go with the grips.
>
relatively low-powered heaters adequate:
http://www.zefox.net/~bob/mc/handheat/handguard/
The more open handguards used on dualsports help a little, but not
nearly as much.
bob
Rob Kleinschmidt
wrote:
Already got some OK handguards (BMW GS stock).
http://picasaweb.google.com/rob.kleinschmidt/DeathValley09#5353357525667525250
Problem is that with a stock 280 watt alternator I'd be pushing
it trying to run a vest and grips both. One thing I want to do is
swap over from a resistive to a PWM heat control on the grips,
but I suspect I really need a 400 watt charging system.
I can dress warmly enough, but really have to watch it or I'll
be sweating when I'm stopped. The morning that picture
was taken, I was really struggling to stay comfortable on
the way over Walker pass to Death Valley
frijoli
of your current draw.
They are extremely inefficient. You need to upgrade the
controller regardless of what you do to the charging system.
have you done the math? list everything you have powered and
what the draw is and you'll know for sure. 40watts for the
grips, and 120 watts for the jacket, 110 watts for all the
lights. You're still charging your battery using everything
at 100%. Do you have more than this? I bet not.
One thing all bikes have from the factory is a weak link
form the charging system to the battery. You need to run a
single HEAVY gauge wire DIRECTLY from the regulator to the
battery.
Rob Kleinschmidt
> Rob Kleinschmidt wrote:
> > On Oct 27, 6:29 pm, bob prohaska's usenet account <b...@www.zefox.net>
> > wrote:
> >> Rob Kleinschmidt <Rkleinsch1216...@aol.com> wrote:
> >>> the electrics, but maybe I need to beef up my charging
> >>> system and spring for an electric vest to go with the grips.
> >> If your bike allows it, wind deflectors for the handgrips make
> >> relatively low-powered heaters adequate:http://www.zefox.net/~bob/mc/handheat/handguard/
>
> >> The more open handguards used on dualsports help a little, but not
> >> nearly as much.
>
> > Already got some OK handguards (BMW GS stock).
>
>
> > Problem is that with a stock 280 watt alternator I'd be pushing
> > it trying to run a vest and grips both. One thing I want to do is
> > swap over from a resistive to a PWM heat control on the grips,
> > but I suspect I really need a 400 watt charging system.
>
> > I can dress warmly enough, but really have to watch it or I'll
> > be sweating when I'm stopped. The morning that picture
> > was taken, I was really struggling to stay comfortable on
> > the way over Walker pass to Death Valley
>
> If you're using a resistive control you're wasting up to 50%
> of your current draw.
>
> They are extremely inefficient. You need to upgrade the
> controller regardless of what you do to the charging system.
>
> have you done the math? list everything you have powered and
> what the draw is and you'll know for sure. 40watts for the
> grips, and 120 watts for the jacket, 110 watts for all the
> lights. You're still charging your battery using everything
> at 100%. Do you have more than this? I bet not.
> One thing all bikes have from the factory is a weak link
> form the charging system to the battery. You need to run a
> single HEAVY gauge wire DIRECTLY from the regulator to the
> battery.
Uhhh no, I don't. You're thinking perhaps of a permanent
magnet charging system with a rectifier/regulator combo.
And 280 watts is best case rating.
Mark Olson
> Uhhh no, I don't. You're thinking perhaps of a permanent
> magnet charging system with a rectifier/regulator combo.
> And 280 watts is best case rating.
Is this essentially what you have?
http://www.thunderchild-design.com/images/charg1.gif
If you are using a resistive temperature controller on a bike with a
280W maximum output alternator, you probably do want to change to a PWM
temperature controller design, no matter whether it has a PM alternator
with a shunt regulator, or an excited field alternator like your R100GS.
A fellow might even be tempted to think in terms of running the headlamp
at reduced duty cycle during the daylight hours, to stay semi-legal
yet divert a little power toward keeping the rider warm. However-
you might want to look into whether running the headlight at less than
rated voltage might make the halogen bulb burn out much quicker than it
is supposed to since it depends on re-deposition of filament material
which may not happen if the bulb doesn't run at its rated temperature.
On the other hand if it's much dimmer than normal it might actually
last longer. I just know that I burnt out a number of halogen headlight
bulbs in my KZ650B1 before I fixed the voltage drop issue due to old
worn out bullet connectors, and I suspect it was because the bulbs did
not like running at significantly less than their rated voltage.
Rob Kleinschmidt
> Rob Kleinschmidt wrote:
> > Uhhh no, I don't. You're thinking perhaps of a permanent
> > magnet charging system with a rectifier/regulator combo.
> > And 280 watts is best case rating.
>
> Is this essentially what you have?
>
> http://www.thunderchild-design.com/images/charg1.gif
Pretty much, yes. An excited field alternator with separate
diode board. Monitoring voltage, under normal running
it's pretty good, but even the heated grips by themselves
will pull the voltage down from ~14 to 13.5 at speed and
to 12 or even lower in stop and go traffic.
> If you are using a resistive temperature controller on a bike with a
> 280W maximum output alternator, you probably do want to change to a PWM
> temperature controller design, no matter whether it has a PM alternator
> with a shunt regulator, or an excited field alternator like your R100GS.
I've got a PWM controller given to me by a friend that
I've got to wire in for the grips. Mostly a question of
wading through his directions and the grip wiring, which
was on the bike when I got it.
> A fellow might even be tempted to think in terms of running the headlamp
> at reduced duty cycle during the daylight hours, to stay semi-legal
> yet divert a little power toward keeping the rider warm. However-
> you might want to look into whether running the headlight at less than
> rated voltage might make the halogen bulb burn out much quicker than it
> is supposed to since it depends on re-deposition of filament material
> which may not happen if the bulb doesn't run at its rated temperature.
>
> On the other hand if it's much dimmer than normal it might actually
> last longer. I just know that I burnt out a number of halogen headlight
> bulbs in my KZ650B1 before I fixed the voltage drop issue due to old
> worn out bullet connectors, and I suspect it was because the bulbs did
> not like running at significantly less than their rated voltage.
Rather than optimize lighting, I think I'd rather upgrade the charging
system. There are a couple of hacked up 400 watt systems available.
Maybe long term, an HID or better yet an LED conversion for the
headlight too.
Mark Olson
> I've got a PWM controller given to me by a friend that
> I've got to wire in for the grips. Mostly a question of
> wading through his directions and the grip wiring, which
> was on the bike when I got it.
> Rather than optimize lighting, I think I'd rather upgrade the charging
> system. There are a couple of hacked up 400 watt systems available.
> Maybe long term, an HID or better yet an LED conversion for the
> headlight too.
Not all heated grip installations are equal. Some dump a lot of heat into
the bars. I have grip heaters that are not permanently installed on the
bike, they attach with velcro, over the existing grips. This puts the
grips between the heating elements and the the bars so far less heat is
lost to conduction. They are rated at 22W and are so hot when run at 100%
duty cycle as to be impossible to hold on to unless the OAT is *very*
low and speeds are high. They're less than ideal from an aesthetic
standpoint and can be a little troublesome with dressing the wiring but
they do what they're supposed to do with minimal power draw.
http://www.aerostich.com/a-to-b-utilities/heated-grips-accessories/aerostich-warm-wrap-grips.html
I forget if you already mentioned whether you had handguards to provide
wind protection, this is another big improvement you can make.
A higher output alternator is a good idea but might be a tad pricey.
An LED H4 headlamp replacement bulb would be a fantastic seller but
I am not going to hold my breath waiting for one. IIRC an HID buys
you what, 20W?
Rob Kleinschmidt
> Not all heated grip installations are equal. Some dump a lot of heat into
> the bars. I have grip heaters that are not permanently installed on the
> bike, they attach with velcro, over the existing grips. This puts the
> grips between the heating elements and the the bars so far less heat is
> lost to conduction. They are rated at 22W and are so hot when run at 100%
> duty cycle as to be impossible to hold on to unless the OAT is *very*
> low and speeds are high. They're less than ideal from an aesthetic
> standpoint and can be a little troublesome with dressing the wiring but
> they do what they're supposed to do with minimal power draw.
I agree, but one of the upsides to in-bar systems is their
indestructibility. This is a bike that gets spilled in the dirt
occasionally and gets a new set of rubber grips annually.
The in-bar heaters were on the bike when I bought it
10 years ago and just keep on working. ~35 watts estimated
draw, ~24 for grips + resistor on low power.
Do you find that the velcro units give you a full firm grip on the
bars ?
>
> http://www.aerostich.com/a-to-b-utilities/heated-grips-accessories/ae...
>
> I forget if you already mentioned whether you had handguards to provide
> wind protection, this is another big improvement you can make.
Got 'em.
> A higher output alternator is a good idea but might be a tad pricey.
Roughly $1/watt for a higher output alternator. 2 units available,
~400 watts each. One friend sells an 800 watt conversion and
runs a couple aircraft landing lights as his offroad illumination.
> An LED H4 headlamp replacement bulb would be a fantastic seller but
> I am not going to hold my breath waiting for one. IIRC an HID buys
> you what, 20W?
I think you can already buy an LED headlight pair for only :-)
$500 or so. ~$100 or less for a 35 watt HID conversion.
Mark Olson
> Do you find that the velcro units give you a full firm grip on the
> bars ?
I have good sized hands so the extra diameter added by the heated
grip wraps isn't an issue, but they do make the grips feel a bit
mushy and if you don't keep them good and tight the throttle side
can slip. They're not for everyone but they're worth looking at,
especially for a rental bike or borrowing a buddy's bike. They
come with a fused harness that is easy to attach to most bike
batteries in just minutes.
bob prohaska's usenet account
>
> Pretty much, yes. An excited field alternator with separate
> diode board. Monitoring voltage, under normal running
> it's pretty good, but even the heated grips by themselves
> will pull the voltage down from ~14 to 13.5 at speed and
> to 12 or even lower in stop and go traffic.
Is there a schematic visible someplace? Losing half a volt from
a 35 watt load makes me think of bad connections or circuit layout.
bob
Rob Kleinschmidt
wrote:
In thinking about it, I probably misspoke when I said
I had a drop to 13.5 volts at speed. This is as observed
on a 6 LED device reading in 1/2 volt increments.
The drop below 12.5 volts is pretty real though.
In general, boxer charging systems don't hold
their own below about 1400 RPM, so in stop and
go traffic the grips can definitely pull things down.
This is a schematic for a bike a couple years later.
Fused circuitry differs somewhat. Charging is identical.
http://www.xmission.com/~wendell/GS/node2.html
Real honestly when comparing my bike to others of
the same age, I feel like I'm doing pretty well to be
able to hit 14 volts as easily as I can.
frijoli
I saw something that works well in stop and go traffic with
heated clothes and grips. It was a relay attached to the
heating output circuit from the brake light. Whenever you
stop the heat goes off.
Mark Olson
> I saw something that works well in stop and go traffic with heated
> clothes and grips. It was a relay attached to the heating output circuit
> from the brake light. Whenever you stop the heat goes off.
I would take that a step further and design a circuit to cut power
to auxiliary circuits whenever battery voltage went below some
threshold value. I would also build in at least a few tenths of a
volt of hysteresis for obvious reasons.
Rob Kleinschmidt
> Rob Kleinschmidt wrote:
> > In thinking about it, I probably misspoke when I said
> > I had a drop to 13.5 volts at speed. This is as observed
> > on a 6 LED device reading in 1/2 volt increments.
>
> > The drop below 12.5 volts is pretty real though.
> > In general, boxer charging systems don't hold
> > their own below about 1400 RPM, so in stop and
> > go traffic the grips can definitely pull things down.
> > Real honestly when comparing my bike to others of
> > the same age, I feel like I'm doing pretty well to be
> > able to hit 14 volts as easily as I can.
>
> I saw something that works well in stop and go traffic with
> heated clothes and grips. It was a relay attached to the
> heating output circuit from the brake light. Whenever you
> stop the heat goes off.
I like the idea just as a way to regulate heated gear to
keep you from overheating while stopped. In terms of
trying to solve an anemic charging system problem, I
think KISS prinicples say just upgrade the charging
system rather than trying for lots of negawatts.
OTOH, I talked to a ricky racer type a while back who
had actually downgraded his alternator and battery
in the hope of finding another fraction of a horsepower.
You could probably sell that kind of rider a few energy
saving devices. God knows why.
frijoli
> On Oct 29, 2:19 am, frijoli <c...@dud.gov> wrote:
>> Rob Kleinschmidt wrote:
>
>>> In thinking about it, I probably misspoke when I said
>>> I had a drop to 13.5 volts at speed. This is as observed
>>> on a 6 LED device reading in 1/2 volt increments.
>>> The drop below 12.5 volts is pretty real though.
>>> In general, boxer charging systems don't hold
>>> their own below about 1400 RPM, so in stop and
>>> go traffic the grips can definitely pull things down.
>
>>> Real honestly when comparing my bike to others of
>>> the same age, I feel like I'm doing pretty well to be
>>> able to hit 14 volts as easily as I can.
>> I saw something that works well in stop and go traffic with
>> heated clothes and grips. It was a relay attached to the
>> heating output circuit from the brake light. Whenever you
>> stop the heat goes off.
>
> I like the idea just as a way to regulate heated gear to
> keep you from overheating while stopped. In terms of
> trying to solve an anemic charging system problem, I
> think KISS prinicples say just upgrade the charging
> system rather than trying for lots of negawatts.
>
>
stator can't be changed you're stuck with what you got. With
the exception of making sure you have a direct wire from the
regulator to the battery.
Besides, at speed most bikes have enough charging power.
It's when you're idling you're draining the battery.
Regulate the heat with a temp controller at speed, and shut
it off when no air is blowing over you when stopped.
Obviously this works best in NON stop and go traffic and it
allows battery charging when stopped.
bob prohaska's usenet account
>
> http://www.xmission.com/~wendell/GS/node2.html
>
>
I'll admit I can't read the schematic easily, but it looks as if
the point at which the regulator detects system voltage is not very
close to the battery. That makes battery voltage very sensitive to
stray resistance and (relatively) small current draws in the branch
from the measurement point to the battery.
Where do you tap off power to run your grips, and is current drawn
through the regulation-point-to-battery circuit?
bob
Rob Kleinschmidt
wrote:
Real honestly, I'll have to go look again. The grips were
installed ~10 years ago by a previous owner.
I'd expect that the grips would run from the fused circuitry,
while the regulator appears to be running directly from the
unfused diode board on the charging system.
OTOH, the wiring's been hacked at by a long line of bozos.
I'm only the most recent one. Thanks for the thoughts.
Rob Kleinschmidt
In this case, there are two 400 watt upgrades and
one 800 watt upgrade available for the bike. 280 watts
would be a little marginal for ~160 watts of gear and
the normal draw of the lights and ignition. I've also
got 100 watts of running lights that I can't run full
time.
One other thing I really like about one of the available
upgrades is that it's a permanent magnet rotor with a
RR combo. This package has half the parts count of the
energized rotor package and of this reduced parts count,
the only one that's likely to go wrong is the $100 RR.
The stock system has a $100 rotor, $30 brush set, $100
diode board, $30 regulator and lots of wires running all over.
I lost a whole rally weekend troubleshooting this mess,
only to find that the problem was a $12 3-wire cable between
the stator and diode board.
> Besides, at speed most bikes have enough charging power.
> It's when you're idling you're draining the battery.
> Regulate the heat with a temp controller at speed, and shut
> it off when no air is blowing over you when stopped.
Agreed that there's **probably** enough power at speed.
I like the idea just for the temperature regulation, but I'd
also like to have more watts to spare.
> Obviously this works best in NON stop and go traffic and it
> allows battery charging when stopped.
Like I said, KISS principle says brute force beef up the watts.
frijoli
need to rip all the wiring out and fix it anyway. If so go
for the upgrade. KISS applies to the wiring in my opinion
more so than the upgrade.
Go for it. It's what you want to do anyway.
Clay
bob prohaska's usenet account
>>
>> Where do you tap off power to run your grips, and is current drawn
>> through the regulation-point-to-battery circuit?
>
> Real honestly, I'll have to go look again. The grips were
> installed ~10 years ago by a previous owner.
When you look, try to determine if the current drawn by the
grips flows through the same route that charges the battery:
That is a recipe for trouble that no amount of alternator
power will fix.
I went through this headache with my '98 VFR. The results are here:
http://www.zefox.net/~bob/mc/vfr/
>
> OTOH, the wiring's been hacked at by a long line of bozos.
> I'm only the most recent one. Thanks for the thoughts.
>
>
The most basic test is to measure the voltage difference
between the battery and the voltage regulator. That must
be small and constant, regardless of load, 100mV or less.
If the difference depends on external loads, the bike is
miswired.
Good luck,
bob
Rob Kleinschmidt
wrote:
> Rob Kleinschmidt <Rkleinsch1216...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> >> Where do you tap off power to run your grips, and is current drawn
> >> through the regulation-point-to-battery circuit?
>
> > Real honestly, I'll have to go look again. The grips were
> > installed ~10 years ago by a previous owner.
>
> When you look, try to determine if the current drawn by the
> grips flows through the same route that charges the battery:
> That is a recipe for trouble that no amount of alternator
> power will fix.
>
> I went through this headache with my '98 VFR. The results are here:http://www.zefox.net/~bob/mc/vfr/
The grips are clearly not wired directly into the charging circuit.
I've been through that one enough to know. The bike has
two stock wires to +12, a fat one for charging and a smaller
one to drive lights, ignition, etc. It's clearly wired into that
circuit and controlled by a relay, as it won't draw down the
battery when the key's not turned on. Where exactly is
something I don't recall, if I ever knew.
> > OTOH, the wiring's been hacked at by a long line of bozos.
> > I'm only the most recent one. Thanks for the thoughts.
>
> The most basic test is to measure the voltage difference
> between the battery and the voltage regulator. That must
> be small and constant, regardless of load, 100mV or less.
> If the difference depends on external loads, the bike is
> miswired.
The regulator draws +12 straight out of the diode board
and appears to be well isolated from other circuits.
The path to battery +12 is pretty clean too. 3 wires from
stator to diodes, single wire from diode board to starter
terminal, fat wire from starter to +12.
Only place I've ever seen problem were in the 3 wire AC
hookup and the battery grounds, though I maybe ought to
swap the diode to starter wire out too just on general principals.
>
> Good luck,
> bob
bob prohaska's usenet account
>
> Only place I've ever seen problem were in the 3 wire AC
> hookup and the battery grounds, though I maybe ought to
> swap the diode to starter wire out too just on general principals.
>
the regulation point (where the regulator samples the charging voltage)
and other points in the entire circuit, with the battery being the
most critical. I was surprised to find a few failed AMP-style
crimp connectors on my VFR. Apparently they were loaded very close to
their limits. When new, they worked fine, but once they heated up a
little they went into thermal runaway and really cooked.
At the risk of belaboring the obvious, the Electrosport fault finding guide
is very, very useful:
http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/library/diagnosis/fault-finding-guide.php
good luck,
bob
Rob Kleinschmidt
wrote:
I'm not 100% sure there's a problem to be found or more
watts to be wrung out. Could be just plain underpowered,
but a couple tests for voltage drop are certainly a good idea.
Thanks
Greg.Procter
Any voltage drop will get translated into heat at 100% efficiency.
Some of that heat might be other than where you actually want it ;-)
Greg.P.
Rob Kleinschmidt
As I'd said, without the heated grips or aux lighting, it'll bring
the battery to 14 volts at highway speeds and stop driving the
battery discharge light about 1400 RPM. For that particular
charging system design, I'm not so sure there's much more
to be wrung out of it.