cegan09 Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 Projects are back on hold for a bit, and i suspect that over the winter i'll be finishing both 500s. I'm curious about batteries, and how small i can go. My specific idea at the moment is to create two separate systems for the cafe bike. There would be one system for running the engine, and one to run the lights and gages. so for running the engine, how small of a battery would be acceptable? Obviously 12V, but what amp/hr rating. No electric start, just kick start. Recharge system obviously will be retained. My logic here is to then convert every light on the bike to LED and be able to run a lower voltage system for all lights and gages, and just have to recharge the lighting system battery between rides. Since i'll be riding this bike less often than the other 500 i'm ok with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Airhead Posted August 3, 2010 Moderator Share Posted August 3, 2010 interestin idea but 1: why can you not charge both batteries at the same time, have the lights hanging off one and the engine running off the other? 2: an led headlamp? surely not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cegan09 Posted August 3, 2010 Author Share Posted August 3, 2010 1. Since the plan was to have different voltages in the two systems, charging them both would require some complicated wiring, and i'm trying to reduce complication. 2. Why not? Modern LEDs have advanced so far that i see no problem with it. Just use an array of them in the housing to get the right light dispersal. Then you look at the fact that they are using so little power. I've seen harley guys with secondary lights mounted where the fork attaches to the wheel, all LED, and i think they throw more light than the normal headlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Airhead Posted August 3, 2010 Moderator Share Posted August 3, 2010 Different voltages, seems a lot of fuss, bikes have been running led's for years on 12v setups, the main power usage would be with a headlamp and i'm not sure that an led will be good enough or even whether it will pass its annual MOT (roadworthiness) test without some form of approved headlamp. I do agree that led's have come on leaps and bounds in recent years and that they are now being fitted as running lights (not headlights) on some cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedshop Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Seems like a lot of trouble for no benefit what so ever. You can get LED head lamps, but they use a lot of power and the drivers are heavy. You'd be better off fitting HID head lamp which uses half the power of a standard bulb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cegan09 Posted August 4, 2010 Author Share Posted August 4, 2010 well i guess this is why i posed the question. In my head it would simplify the whole electrical system. But back to the original question. If i were to split the bike into two systems, one for running the bike and one for lights, gauges, etc, how big of a battery is needed to run the bike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedshop Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 well i guess this is why i posed the question. In my head it would simplify the whole electrical system. But back to the original question. If i were to split the bike into two systems, one for running the bike and one for lights, gauges, etc, how big of a battery is needed to run the bike? Its not the battery that runs the bike, its the generator. The battery is only there to start the engine and act as something for the generator to work against when the load on the system is minimal. I really don't see what you are attempting to achieve. Do you know yourself? What you are suggesting will vastly complicate the system. The only time you need different voltages would be to run computers that have very specific voltage requirements. Any vehicle based computer will have its own internal power supply to remain compatible with the normal 12 volt systems. All the instruments on the market are designed to run on 12 volts so they won't work on a different volatage supply. The only thing I can see is that you are trying to do is create a circuit purely to run an all LED lighting system. Again, by the time you've costed out buying a bike set of 12volt LED bulbs, compared to the parts to build a power supply unit, wiring and all the fiddling about you won't be saving anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10K plus Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 If you do go for a full LED system make sure to upgrade your flasher unit with a solid state flasher unit. Standard LED's wont trigger relays properly and bad things happen. And as far as the headlight goes I can say first hand that the led's are awesome and bright enough to run but a little expensive... I saw a pair of 7" for $1000 Canadian. When the price goes down i'm all over it expecially for the dirt as they take vibration very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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