Lights on?

[catcitrus]

My Yam WR250R has a 350W alternator as stock--no problems there--proper design on a trailie!. On my little kawa SS (and on my WR and tiger 1050 ) I've gone over to LED main bulbs anyway--half the current draw. As the kawa is a grey import and does a lot of stop/ start I've simply put a handlebar on/off switch in the dipped beam circuit so that its off most of the time (but still have a main if I need it). I also fit a 3 colour LED which simply is "in the green" when the battery voltage is around 13 and a bit--so I always know its charging ok---and on the trail I also carry a starter pack--and that can be charged off the accessory socket when on the move anyway. You can never be too careful--no electric, no running!

[captinktm]

I have had the same issue with my CCM despite fitting a switch in the lighting circuit. After a recent trip to Devon the bike failed to start the following morning, heated grips, gps and headlights were all it took to kill it. I am old school, and spent $200 for a kickstart kit for my DRZ, if there was one for my DR650SE or 644 I would also buy it, my DR350 is kick only and I love the fact there is no battery to rely on. To be honest I never had a problem kickstaring bikes, it's not a macho thing it's technique, once learned never forgotten, if you ever rode an Armstrong MT600 you would know what I mean

Sarge

Yes I know exactly what your saying with the MT's. I used to race 500 2st's, get that wrong and it was a trip to the hospital. Watching half wits trying to start one in trainer's would make my leg hurt in anticipation.

[bowber]

I don't care how powerful the alternator or how large a capacity the battery is, if I'm on a bike that's going into tight hard to access places it needs both an electric start and a kick start. I'd not take my 1050 into the same places I'd take my 400exc to so it's fine with just an electric start, same with my old 950.
However the battery boost packs are good and light and do make sense to carry as they work for both the bike and charging your phone.

Steve

[DavidS]

You can tell from this comment that I know nothing about electrics but surely charging a battery pack off the bike's system is more of a draw than a couple of itty bitty bulbs.

Happy to be corrected but please be gentle.

[RichP]

My Yam WR250R has a 350W alternator as stock--no problems there--proper design on a trailie!. On my little kawa SS (and on my WR and tiger 1050 ) I've gone over to LED main bulbs anyway--half the current draw. As the kawa is a grey import and does a lot of stop/ start I've simply put a handlebar on/off switch in the dipped beam circuit so that its off most of the time (but still have a main if I need it). I also fit a 3 colour LED which simply is "in the green" when the battery voltage is around 13 and a bit--so I always know its charging ok---and on the trail I also carry a starter pack--and that can be charged off the accessory socket when on the move anyway. You can never be too careful--no electric, no running!

I have one of these on my KTM: http://www.sparkbright.co.uk/sparkright ... onitor.php . Dead simple to fit and might give you a bit of warning of a future problem.

[Oop North John]

You can tell from this comment that I know nothing about electrics but surely charging a battery pack off the bike's system is more of a draw than a couple of itty bitty bulbs.

Power in watts is equal to amps x volts.

So a 55w headlight is pulling 55/12 amps or just over 4.5 amps. Most battery packs I've seen take a maximum of 2 amps or 24 watts, if using a micro USB lead to charge the power pack, then probably only about 1 amp.

Recently replaced in my house the 50w GU10 bulbs with 3.5w LED ones. Virtually the same light output but the LED's don't use the other 36.5 watts to heat my house. So, on a bike with a marginal power generation system in ease of fit order, I'd fit one of the changing colour LED battery monitors, fit an on / off switch for the headlight and lastly swap the headlight filament for a LED bulb

[SteveW]

You can tell from this comment that I know nothing about electrics but surely charging a battery pack off the bike's system is more of a draw than a couple of itty bitty bulbs.

Happy to be corrected but please be gentle.

I don't think we are talking about charging the booster pack off the bike's own system.
On a big trip often I take one of those compact magic booster things with me, pre-charged before I leave home.
You'll get a good few jump starts off one before you need to think about charging it up again.
......I left my CCM in the garage with an accessory plugged in for a couple of weeks. I came to start it....flat battery.
Rather than jumpstarting it I pushed the bike a couple of hundred yards to my friendly neighbourhood hill.
Half a mile later stuck at the bottom of the hill the bugger hadn't fired. Trudge back home and recover in my van.
Further back in this thread I read minkyhead's tip about pressing the starter as you bump a CCM if you actually what it to start! cheers Dude!

[The Sarge]

You can tell from this comment that I know nothing about electrics but surely charging a battery pack off the bike's system is more of a draw than a couple of itty bitty bulbs.

Happy to be corrected but please be gentle.

I don't think we are talking about charging the booster pack off the bike's own system.
On a big trip often I take one of those compact magic booster things with me, pre-charged before I leave home.
You'll get a good few jump starts off one before you need to think about charging it up again.
......I left my CCM in the garage with an accessory plugged in for a couple of weeks. I came to start it....flat battery.
Rather than jumpstarting it I pushed the bike a couple of hundred yards to my friendly neighbourhood hill.
Half a mile later stuck at the bottom of the hill the bugger hadn't fired. Trudge back home and recover in my van.
Further back in this thread I read minkyhead's tip about pressing the starter as you bump a CCM if you actually what it to start! cheers Dude!

Steve, as Minky says if you don't press the starter button she can't fire another quirky CCM thing, but it proves that he has had the same problem as the rest of us ! The other biggie is with that battery, you cannot use a conventional charger for it, it has to be the 'twice as expensive and particular to' version.........now where is my kickstarter !!

Sarge

[captinktm]

You can tell from this comment that I know nothing about electrics but surely charging a battery pack off the bike's system is more of a draw than a couple of itty bitty bulbs.

Happy to be corrected but please be gentle.

I don't think we are talking about charging the booster pack off the bike's own system.
On a big trip often I take one of those compact magic booster things with me, pre-charged before I leave home.
You'll get a good few jump starts off one before you need to think about charging it up again.
......I left my CCM in the garage with an accessory plugged in for a couple of weeks. I came to start it....flat battery.
Rather than jumpstarting it I pushed the bike a couple of hundred yards to my friendly neighbourhood hill.
Half a mile later stuck at the bottom of the hill the bugger hadn't fired. Trudge back home and recover in my van.
Further back in this thread I read minkyhead's tip about pressing the starter as you bump a CCM if you actually what it to start! cheers Dude!

Should have kept the KTM boss

[catcitrus]

You can tell from this comment that I know nothing about electrics but surely charging a battery pack off the bike's system is more of a draw than a couple of itty bitty bulbs.

Happy to be corrected but please be gentle.

I don't think we are talking about charging the booster pack off the bike's own system.
On a big trip often I take one of those compact magic booster things with me, pre-charged before I leave home.
You'll get a good few jump starts off one before you need to think about charging it up again.
......I left my CCM in the garage with an accessory plugged in for a couple of weeks. I came to start it....flat battery.
Rather than jumpstarting it I pushed the bike a couple of hundred yards to my friendly neighbourhood hill.
Half a mile later stuck at the bottom of the hill the bugger hadn't fired. Trudge back home and recover in my van.
Further back in this thread I read minkyhead's tip about pressing the starter as you bump a CCM if you actually what it to start! cheers Dude!

Steve, as Minky says if you don't press the starter button she can't fire another quirky CCM thing, but it proves that he has had the same problem as the rest of us ! The other biggie is with that battery, you cannot use a conventional charger for it, it has to be the 'twice as expensive and particular to' version.........now where is my kickstarter !!

Sarge

High Sarge--so are you saying that even with the ignition on the thing won't actually spark/inject with a bump unless the starter is depressed?--is there some weird wiring that won't fire the fuel pump or ignition below a certain RPM (tickover) UNLESS the starter circuit is activated. Now doing a bump start on your own and trying to drop the clutch and press the starter at the same time sounds like a recipe for a fall!--just curious--but something I would try and reconfigure if I owned one! I know Lithium batteries take more voltage to charge than gel--and some chargers go into de-sulphate mode because they think the battery is gummed up--but my smart charger does just cope with Li batteries in its Gel setting--just enough voltage output, but not a specific Li charger.--and the Li starter packs can be charged off a 12v accessory socket--you just need a good charger output of about 14V--I think!