Mikes XS PMA vs Hughs Hand Built PMA ? which to buy?

As someone who restored/rebuilt his XS a five years or so ago I'm just thrilled that these kits are available. I couldn't have gotten my bike back on the road without the expertise of Pamco Pete and his charging system mods. I didn't have the options then that you do now. I have a Chrysler regulator, Radio Shack rectifier, and a used (but good) rotor - and it all works very well together. Some day I may update it all to the nice new components now available, so Kudos to everyone who pioneered these kits!
 
Again, thanks for all the kind words folks. I can attest that we have sold well over 2000 of these PMA swaps, with not a single return due to manufacturer defect or such. We keep some great parts in stock :thumbsup:

Whether you go with XSCharge or a Hugh's HandBuilt product, it's a nice upgrade to your bike for sure. The rest is just details and personal preference.

Hugh - Hugh's HandBuilt
 
I just ordered the pma swap from tc bros. And all I have to say is Tyler has been nothing but helpful, everytime I call he answers any question I have plus some and for that he has me as a dedicated customer. He drained my wallet but still left me with a smile.
 
well said hugh. both systems offer something better then stock for all riders, and style bikes. congrats on your success in sales hugh.. i have heard very good things about you and your xs650 products.
 
hugh, did i read your post right? 2000 units sold? is that a typo? i figured you have been selling your new unit for about a year and that would mean about 6 units a day 7 days a week.
 
yah, that's high! perhaps he is including bracket sales as well.

either way, I pieced together my own PMA kit and used hugh's adaptor bracket. saved myself about $100 and I got it right first try!
 
hugh, did i read your post right? 2000 units sold? is that a typo? i figured you have been selling your new unit for about a year and that would mean about 6 units a day 7 days a week.

That is correct. We ship 2x a week, and it is usually a truckload of USPS Boxes. We sold so many over the Christmas season, that our supplier ran out of stock :thumbsup: We ship worldwide, and I have vendors in other countries who purchase 200 at a time.

We just ordered another batch of adapter plates, which I order 300 of at a time.

Figure in the other products and services we offer, and we are staying busy 24/7. Then add in the time to answer tech questions, emails, phone calls, and forums. :yikes:

I have added 1 full time employee, and a part time helper as well, and we just expanded our shop space to more than 400% larger space than I started in about 1.5 years ago. We have been selling the adapter kits for about 20 months now, and Complete PMA's for about a year.
 
So i have decided im going to go with your pma kit Hugh it will be a little bit before i get to that point on my build. but i just checked out your installation instructions and i have 1 questionyou say to get rid of the woodruff key? i dont understand this wont there be a possibility of the rotor turning on the crank without it wich would lead to my timing marks being off?
 
richard page at xs-charge now has 200 watt pma kits available at the same price. just an fyi for those that want the extra wattage. myself i will stay with the 130 watt kits as there is no real need to charge a system that only used a 130 watt charger stock.
 
Joe you have made some good points, good luck to you. Quick question: Where is the parasitic drain on the stock charging system, is it the feedback wire on the reg/rec or grounding?

1. The stock system rotor uses about 25 Watts. The PMA has a Permanent Magnet Rotor.
2. The stock system rotor uses more power as the load increases.
3. The PMA wastes less power in the regulator as the load increases. The stock system does not waste any power in the regulator.
4. Current flowing in the stator and rectifier of the stock system is proportional to the load. Current flowing in the stator and rectifier of the PMA is always at its maximum capability.
5. Any Watts not used in a PMA are converted to heat. The stock system only produces the Watts that are actually needed.
6. If you plan on doing a lot of highway riding with a PMA, then go ahead and install one of those huge high watt headlights, because if you don't use the excess Watts from the PMA, they will be converted to heat anyway. That's why you see Harley's with a very bright headlight. Just don't stop at too many stop lights because the huge headlight will deplete your battery quickly.
 
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How can I check to see if my PMA is 130 or 200 watts? I got mine off XS 650 direct which is the XS charge system and asked if it was 130 or 200 directly to XS charge they started to switched over to 200 around the same time that I bought mine and there is now way of knowing. Is there a simple test to do to find out? Thanks for all the knowledge and know how on this site, it's awesome!!
 
speaking for myself, i am not interested in the 200 watt systems as long as richard page has the 130 watt units avialable. anything more then enough is just a waste, and in this case can cause heat buildup. i build bobbers, and use a capacitor instead of a battery so 130 is more then enough, and as pamco pete said who needs the heat?. however if you call richard at xscharge he will surely answer your questions on the difference and help you discover what unit you purchased. i have not had a 200 watt unit in my shop so i myself dont know the difference in appearance. richard is also very helpful if you have any warranty questions or needs.
 
Thanks Joe-w. I did email Richard directly from his site and he had no way of knowing. I thought maybe there is a test I could do to find out, but all is running fine so far. I just see on a few threads that I should be ready over 13 volts with all lights on, but I'm at 12.4. 14.4 or so with all off only bike running with pamco. Just want to make sure it's working properly that's all.
 
Hi All,
I have just fitted the xscharge 200 watt system. I bought it because hugh was out of stock at the time & i was already ordering a stack of parts from Mike's.

I fitted it according to the instructions. The instructions are clear, concise & easy to follow with regard to the unit itself, but lack detail on issues arising from the fit. Eg. part of the old stator wiring includes the neutral light & I now have a issue with the electric starter over running because of the safety switch.

The components seem excellent quality, however there are a few quality control issues with certain parts. The wires popped out of the "easy plug in" 2 prong plug on the regulator, nothing was soldered & the wires were not taped, so i spent considerable time fixing this. The laser cut regulator bracket to bolt to the upper rear engine mount, didn't fit on my 78' SE, when mounted, the LHS engine cover hit on the regulator mount (I found this out after mounting regulator, routing wires & re-assembling air boxes), I tried modifying it but still would not fit, so, in the end, i had to make my own mount & mount it in a new location, quite frustrating but in themselves not big problems.

The system is working well & hopefully will be reliable. When testing it, rather than isolate the pamco, which is wired under the tank, i plugged the power & ground wires from the regulator to a seperate battery instead, the meter read 14.5 volts :thumbsup:
Overall a very good kit...but not a great one. Hopefully they will continue to tweak the kit for future XSphiles.
Cheers
 
I swear by Hugh's. The upmost in customer service. Anything he sells he stands behind. The only thing I want for his site is more tutorials. He's got a great way about explaining things and a great sense of humour to boot. Cheers Hugh, you're a credit to this site and deep respect!
 
I swear by Hugh's. The upmost in customer service. Anything he sells he stands behind. The only thing I want for his site is more tutorials. He's got a great way about explaining things and a great sense of humour to boot. Cheers Hugh, you're a credit to this site and deep respect!

As far as Hughs honesty goes there is a bit to be desired.................he has passed off false information about stock charging systems as true to justify and encourage sales of his PMA charging systems..............In his tutorial about building a PMA system, and repeated on several sites Chopcult, XS650.com and others, he states his PMA's have no wearing parts and wont leave you stranded on the side of the road. He states the brushes on a OEM charging system will wear and leave you stranded on the side of the road............... . After several years of problems with his combined Reg/Rect's, stator problems, there are multiple threads on here about this and they were not addressed straight away, and kept selling defective parts, when he knew of the problem........In his own words he replaced these when he was informed by the purchaser but kept selling said parts in stead of making an announcement....................In his latest speal about his new Reg/Rect he now admits to learning his combined Reg/Rectifiers are a wearing part.

He has copied parts he now manufactures and claims to spend up to 2 years developing and testing these parts before he will sell them to you.......proof is on here, XS650.com and MikesXS.

Hats off to the guy for starting and developing a business successfully and making a go of it...............That does not justify him making false and misleading claims to push products.
 
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Of course, we grow and learn over the years. What we were told by manufacturers, and what we found in our own testing and use of these products (we do ride the bikes, dang near daily in the nice season) will always allow for us to find new information, prove ourselves wrong at time (better to admit it, than to pretend otherwise) and hopefully keep bringing quality components and services to the market.

Bad stators happened for sure... You may have noticed, or maybe not, but we went nearly 8 months without selling PMA systems entirely, until we could find a solution. So the concept that we kept selling component that we knew were not up to par, is not entirely true. Once we realized a problem, we did in fact send out a mass mailer to anyone who had purchased a system, with testing procedures, etc. We offered no cost replacements to any components found defective, and always do our best to stand behind our products. Trust me, not having your key product on the shelves for almost 8 months, nearly broke us - but we are still here, doing what we know to do best. Always happy to get feedback, we can't grow without it.

Are we without flaw? Of course not. I can't find each and every thread that pops up on multiple forums of course, but anytime someone emails me (fastest and most direct method to get ahold of us) I try to be as quick as I can with response.

Thanks again folks!

Hugh
 
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