interesting XS cafe' (not mine)

willis

xsive compulsive disorder
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I just saw this one over on BikeExif. Pretty impressive build, especially considering the builder is only 23 yrs old.
http://www.bikeexif.com/baresteel-yamaha-xs650
baresteel-yamaha-xs650-1200x801.jpg
 
Yes, that is a very impressive bike! The hand formed aluminum tank and seat is just amazing. Only 23 years old...............wow.
But then again, he's Canadian, so its easy for us.:D

From a functional point of view......................all LED lights and a PMA charging system? That could be a failure waiting to happen, if he actually rides the bike on the highway. Perhaps 200 watts of electricity with no load to take the power = smoke!
I suppose its just a show bike, so as long as its not driven, the PMA may survive.
 
The young man certainly has metal fab talent. IMHO he should think hard about the exhaust system and license tag mount. It`s just my opinion but neither of them compliment his build. Are Canada license plates bigger then US plates? Hopefully they were just a last minute addition to make the show on time. If he did this in 2 months that`s outstanding. Just my:twocents:
 
Yes, that is a very impressive bike! The hand formed aluminum tank and seat is just amazing. Only 23 years old...............wow.
But then again, he's Canadian, so its easy for us.:D

From a functional point of view......................all LED lights and a PMA charging system? That could be a failure waiting to happen, if he actually rides the bike on the highway. Perhaps 200 watts of electricity with no load to take the power = smoke!
I suppose its just a show bike, so as long as its not driven, the PMA may survive.
I did the "Banshee Swap" PMA setup. I have the stock filament bulb headlight. The rest are led. Tail light, turn signals, speedo gauge light, digital tach gauge (led) Thanks for bringing this up. You got me thinking about resistance in my circuit.
 
I do not like when the exhaust runs under. Can't get the effin thing on a jack to change tires, check brake drag, etc. Also I notice the last pic has the license plate off. Looked like it was a c$!t hair from hitting in one pic. Other than that, it made my pants dance.
 
A quality Reg/Rec will be able to dissipate the heat from a small load on your system. I don't think that having too low of a load on the electrical system is a problem that most people would have. Also fuses can help prevent any meltdowns ...
 
Quality Rec/Reg?........................the many thousands of Chinese Rec/Regs sold by Mikesxs/TCbros/HHB over the last decade or more, are not quality parts. Those shunt type regulators will be unable to control a PMA that only has LEDs for a load.
Perhaps if they spend big bucks for a Series type regulator, the PMA might survive.
Fuses cannot help you, because the load is drawing less current, not more current.
 
If you are using LED lamps, and are worried your PMA might suffer, fit a Zenner Diode from a Triumph or BSA. They are a crude but simple way to get rid of the excess voltage and keep your system stable.
 
If Yamaha produced that bike most of y'all would be grousing that the look just wasn't authentic.

Yeah, Rasputin, I remember xener diodes real well from the late 1960's. They'd get rid of excess voltage just fine. The trouble was that they'd get rid of a little more than the excess. Even with a very healthy battery and charging system in a brand new daily ridden '68 Bonneville, I'd have to top up the battery every month or so--and that was before the lights-on law.
 
Why would you switch to LED's just to add something else that would use excess wattage?
On another note after 13 months(approx 7 K miles) of ALL LED's I've had two of the VR115's fail.
Currently looking for a 30 amp ss regulator as RG mentioned it may work better with the lower load.
For now I've swapped back to an OEM unit which seems handle it fine.
 
WER..........................Once you install an LED headlight, you're into new territory. Your bike's electrical load could be as low as 40 to 70 watts. I use a 40 watt incandescent headlight, and my total load is about 113 watts. My VR-115 controls the 113 watts with no problems.

The VR-115 was designed to work on cars and trucks that had 60 amp alternators, which is about 840 watts. Any regulator has a range over which it can control. As the load gets smaller, the regulator loses control and the voltage would go too high. My experience is that the VR-115 will still maintain 14.2 volts, with my load of about 113 watts. Once you go below 113 watts, the
VR-115 cannot control any longer, and I suspect the voltage would be 15 volts or maybe 16 volts.

Over the 13 months, did you have a voltmeter on the bike to monitor what was happening?

When you go all LED, you're asking the VR-115 to do something it was never designed to do.
 
No, I do not have a voltmeter permanently mounted. I do have a coupling hooked to the battery and can monitor with a voltmeter placed in the map pouch of the tank bag.
I haven't experienced over-charging, or I should say I haven't seen evidence of water loss in the battery. Both regulators have simply quit. Both times I have re-installed the OEM unit and it functions fine.
I can locate a lower amperage regulator but so far they have all been the older mechanical style not solid state.
 
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