Quote from: Endopotential on December 16, 2016, 11:45:44 AM
drivers don't look in rear view mirrors, I can turn the headlight off and the vest on when I get on the highway.

It's the cars in opposing traffic, or the ones on intersecting streets
[/quote]

I'm with you on this. This is why I decided to only use this on highway rides, it's where the windchill really increases too, so there's no reason to use it on the local roads

These are my latest calculations, are they wrong?
(1) 30' of 0.105 plus (1) 4' of SAE 18 gauge = 3.41 ohm
@12v = 42watts/3.5amps
@14v = 57watts/4.1amps

I'm curious, why would higher wattage on my battery melt my plugs?

Your battery pack (8.4v, 8800mAH) looks like a great solution, but may only run for 20 minutes with this load:
(1) 30 feet of 0.105 plus 4 feet of SAE 18 gauge   = 3.41 ohm, @8.4v = 20watts/2.4amps, 20 watts = 20000 mA
Battery Life = Battery Capacity in Milli amps per hour / Load Current in Mill amps * 0.70
8800+20000x0.7=0.31 hours, ~20 minutes

Quote from: Darkstar on December 17, 2016, 08:13:42 AM
These are my latest calculations, are they wrong?
(1) 30' of 0.105 plus (1) 4' of SAE 18 gauge = 3.41 ohm
@12v = 42watts/3.5amps
@14v = 57watts/4.1amps

Those calculations are fine.

Quote
I'm curious, why would higher wattage on my battery melt my plugs?

Mine melted with stock electricals. I don't think there is likely much headroom in the stator plug. Adding more load just adds heat.

Quote
Your battery pack (8.4v, 8800mAH) looks like a great solution, but may only run for 20 minutes with this load:
(1) 30 feet of 0.105 plus 4 feet of SAE 18 gauge   = 3.41 ohm, @8.4v = 20watts/2.4amps,

Close enough.

Quote
20 watts = 20000 mA

I think we found the problem. And I don't understand the rest of your math. But a 4.4Ah battery will run nearly two hours with a 2.4A load.

Two hours is perfect for winter rides. Thanks for checking my math, I'll order it from Amazon and start testing.

Your spark plugs melted with stock setup, after adding what?

Quote from: Darkstar on December 17, 2016, 03:31:25 PM
Your spark plugs melted with stock setup, after adding what?

I never said spark plugs.

The plug between the stator and regulator/rectifier is known to melt on many motorcycles and it did on mine as well. That wiring interface is only marginally capable of handling the current in the stock charging system.

I finished building today and took it for a test ride, and it's  better than I hoped. I rode for an hour in with a windchill temp of 21F, and it was very warm when I turned it on. Resting state of my battery before and after was 12.8v, 13v after, although it will probably drop  a bit by tomorrow. So the bike can keep the battery charged while this is running, as long as the headlight it off. OK by me for daytime highway use. Oh and anything under 30mph is too warm. I wired an on/off switch just for that reason. Thanks for the help guys, I wouldn't be able to ride through the winter without this!

Ahhhh this is an awesome update but I need some pics! Super glad it worked out for you Darkstar 

here's a shot from the front. the pattern on the back is similar. i stitched first and then ran the wire through. it's important that the shirt fits snug so the heat conducts to skin. i ran it through the collar so my neck is warm. i wore a thin layer on top and a thin layer beneath, sandwiching the wires in the middle.

http://m.imgur.com/nQJsQkh

Oh that is neat neat neat!!! Reminds me of Spiderman  So happy for you that it worked out!!!

Are you actually using these? While I appreciate your advice, these bulbs are nowhere near bright enough. I plugged them in and tested them from 20 feet back during daylight, even straight on you can barely tell when you brake.

I'm guessing you mean me...

...if you do, yes I am using the bulbs I linked you to. When I found that link I logged into my account on that site and went into my purchase history so there was no mistake on which ones I've had in my bike since the summertime.

They are really really bright for me, I am sad they aren't working for you.  I even tried to take a picture or two for ya back when we were talking about them, but the pictures all turned out where the red of the lens looked washed out because of how bright they are... I couldn't get a picture to show what it looks like to the naked eyeball. These weren't night time/in the total dark pictures either.

Just to be clear, I have a GSF style red tail light lens and the white LED bulbs in the link. Is this what you got too?

yep, same bike and same setup, thats odds

Ok so ever since this thread, I've been looking more into my tail/brake setup. Kept thinking of all the places I rode this summer, nobody ever beeped or threw me the finger lol... times where my parents would be following me after church to breakfast and they never mentioned anything (and I know my mom would haha she wants my turn signals to be as big as stop signs)... but I still wanted to make sure I was being seen.

I took a few more pictures in my garage in the daytime and they looked bright. At night, yep, looked great. Then we finally had a really sunny day and I put the bike outside... aimed the tail so the sun was shining pretty much straight on it. That's when I was like oh jeeeeez you can barely see that sh*t!!!

Darkstar I'm so thankful you went ahead and bought those last 2 bulbs and posted your feels about them... because it caused me to look into this and change what I have. I bought two different ones, installed them and took comparison pictures last night. Will make a thread later showing what I have now and how it compares to the stock bulbs (cuz at this point, that's all that matters now.) I have to admit, I'm really disturbed at how I missed this.

Quote from: ShowBizWolf on January 20, 2017, 12:44:49 PM
I'm really disturbed at how I missed this.

Yep, they look bright at night. The thing is, I have an eyesight condition that makes evening rides dangerous, so I rarely do it. This is the only reason I tested those bulbs during the day! Hope your replacements work out better for you.