I am thinking about adding some driving lights for better vision and triangle view for oncoming traffic. I am curious if someone has tested the charging system to see how much excess is generated to help guage what type of lights to get. If it is minimal I figured I would just wire a relay to the high beams to only have them on when I am in the boonies and really need it. I would think this would not be too terrible if there is enough extra.
Anyone ever tested this? Or know the output of the charging system?
Figured I would fab some brackets to mount where the front reflectors mount. One of mine is torn off and the other was removed for symetry.
Thanks for any thoughts you may have.
Enjoy the weekend.
Scott
I added Denali fog lights to the front fork. They are LED and really bright. Not cheap, but boy do they work! I leave them on all the time to make my bike more visible. You can find them at twisted throttle.
They consume about .75 amps at 12v each. I've also added other LEDs to the bike and have no electrical problems at all and no tell-tale dimming of the headlight (which would indicate loss of electrons).
I think you can add quite a bit before you overload things.
Some fun facts. . .
The GS500E/F is rated at 200 watts available at 5000 RPM.
The main fuse for the electrical system is 20 amps.
Out of that 200 watts of available power, the stock bike will use about 110 leaving you 90 watts in reserve.
LED driving lights are very expensive but are a LOT gentler on the electrical system than any other bright driving light.
You can run for hours at your bikes power limit without much problem but if you go a little over (especially on a log ride) trouble will find you.
Heavy duty aftermarket stators are available for the GS.
A heavy duty stator and regulator setup will get your power capacity up to about 250+ watts but unless you are going to dress your GS500 like a GoldWing in a Christmas parade, you probably can do fine with the stock stator.
Check this link: http://www.electrosport.com/ (http://www.electrosport.com/)
Regards,
-Ej-
Hey Electrojake! Tx for the link to electrosport site. Some interesting technical stuff there including some GS500 specifics. Good fine, mate.
fwiw, I would hook the relay to the dim instead of the bright, as with the three lights on, the extra 5 watts isnt going to make a noticable difference in light output, but may be enough to keep you from being stranded on the side of the road at night. it is generally acknowledged that you should ride with the high-beam on on a motorcycle in daytime. Virginia driving manual even suggests it.
Thanks, I've been thinking about a set of amplified speakers to hook to the MP3 player in my GPS. 90/12=7.5 amps of available power. Not a good idea to use all of it though. I just might go with the after market stator.
Quote from: noworries on August 27, 2010, 07:00:50 PM
Hey Electrojake! Tx for the link to electrosport site. Some interesting technical stuff there including some GS500 specifics. Good fine, mate.
Thanks for the boost
noworries.
It's good to see that there are members here that like the electrical side of the game too.
A good opportunity for me to boost my shameless GS mods video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jmzo3Dut1k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jmzo3Dut1k)
Also. . .
lilwoody, please, Hang those speakers on your GS and post some pictures,
and IMHO: I don't think the stator is necessary unless you want to go with one of these for your mp3 or iPod. . .
(http://www.thebassbin.com/images/products/thumbs/ZX750.1.jpg)
Heh-heh. . .
Plenty of watts right there. :thumb:
Think she'll fit under the seat?
-Ej-
I'm wondering, if you changed out all the lights in the system to LEDs how much additional reserve power would that afford you.
If you check the wiring diagram, it should have the wattage for all the lights. Add all those up (assuming that you could possibly run hazard lights) and that will give you the total wattage.
Switching each light to an led bulb will cut the overall wattage to practically nothing.
Plus the added benefit of leds running cooler and having a 100,000 hour life.
Quote from: ojstinson on August 28, 2010, 09:07:37 AM
I'm wondering, if you changed out all the lights in the system to LEDs how much additional reserve power would that afford you.
Headlight-Lo = 55w
Headlight-Hi = 60w
Under headlamp = 5w
Turn signal = 21w
Brake light = 21w
Tail light = 5w
All other bulbs = 1.7w (x6)
Electronic ignition = 15w
Charging circuit = 0 to 40w (but usually closer to Zero).
Similar to calculating the service load of a building, it's never all on at once so as you can see there is a substantial amount of reserve juice on the GS, even at a measly 200 watts.
All of this info (and lots more), is in your manual.
Now for the typical IMHO stuff. . .
1.) LED lights draw almost nothing and are very durable but look like poop in the cosmetic sense.
2.) Tip: If you own and use a battery charger, like say a Battery Tender, you have electrical problems.
(http://batterytender.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/170x170/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/b/a/battery_tender_plus_6v.jpg)
-Ej-
Yes Big and Electro, but you do a much better job of summing it all up for us.
THANKS!
Quote from: jeremy_nash on August 27, 2010, 09:02:00 PM
fwiw, I would hook the relay to the dim instead of the bright, as with the three lights on, the extra 5 watts isnt going to make a noticable difference in light output, but may be enough to keep you from being stranded on the side of the road at night. it is generally acknowledged that you should ride with the high-beam on on a motorcycle in daytime. Virginia driving manual even suggests it.
I hear ya on the logic of hooking it to the dims for daytime running lamp purpose and that is not a bad idea. What I am really trying to pull off is if nobody is around who I will be blinding I would love to have an extra 110 watts of lighting in addition to the 60 high. In town where the streets are lit I would be on dim anyway killing the overkill bright lights.
I used to have a pickup that had some aux driving lights which were around 90 watts each. These were relayed into my brights. They would be WAY too bright to legally run but the logic I had is if nobody was there to blind I used them.
Kicking around a similar thought for the bike on a smaller scale.
Thanks for the posts...This helps a lot.
Quote from: Electrojake on August 28, 2010, 09:33:02 AM
Quote from: ojstinson on August 28, 2010, 09:07:37 AM
I'm wondering, if you changed out all the lights in the system to LEDs how much additional reserve power would that afford you.
Now for the typical IMHO stuff. . .
1.) LED lights draw almost nothing and are very durable but look like poop in the cosmetic sense.
2.) Tip: If you own and use a battery charger, like say a Battery Tender, you have electrical problems.
(http://batterytender.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/170x170/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/b/a/battery_tender_plus_6v.jpg)
-Ej-
Thanks for the input. I have the battery tender though the only time it has been used was when I revived the bike from being stored 5 years. I will use it in the winter to keep from buying another 90 dollar battery next spring.
Quote from: Firewalker on August 29, 2010, 03:16:10 PM
Thanks for the input. I have the battery tender though the only time it has been used was when I revived the bike from being stored 5 years. I will use it in the winter to keep from buying another 90 dollar battery next spring.
A perfectly acceptable use of the battery tender, IMHO.
Quote from: Paulcet on August 29, 2010, 04:29:49 PM
A perfectly acceptable use of the battery tender, IMHO.
My original comment was a bit over the top. (must of been the beer talking). :cheers:
I own a Battery Tender. They are great units.
My bikes all have loads of electrical gadgets hooked to them, lots of stuff.
I can only ride one bike at a time so there are times when months go by and a particular bike may not get used at all. In spite of the down time, they always seem to crank up fine when its time to ride.
Its good to own a Battery Tender :D, but if your bike frequently (or even occasionally) needs a power transfusion, something's weak somewhere.
Also. . .
The 4th post down in another thread that almost fits the topic here. . .
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=53758.msg606373#new (http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=53758.msg606373#new)
Peace,
-Ej-