Belt driven alternator set up? Pics included

what about runing it off the drive chain? i know it wouldnt get full time power, but on a stretch bike like mine i think i could pull it off, and get it to work fine.....any ideas?

Not saying it's a good idea b/c of the lack of full time charging... but if you have a lot of stretch and want to try it, the neatest way to do it would be to replace your chain tensioner with it. Two birds, one stone.
 
what about runing it off the drive chain? i know it wouldnt get full time power, but on a stretch bike like mine i think i could pull it off, and get it to work fine.....any ideas?

That would work. The stock alternator doesn't charge when idling at the light anyway, so you would not suffer from it not charging when stopped.

Just not sure you would get enough revs from the chain and sprocket. Do the math for 60 MPH. Figure 34 teeth on the rear sprocket and perhaps a 17 tooth sprocket on the alternator, so it would be turning at double the revs of the rear wheel which turns about 800 revs per mile, or 48000 per hour or 800 revs per minute so the alternator would be going 1600 RPM. Probably not fast enough, and that's at 60 MPH, so half of that at 30 MPH around town....don't think so, but those are my numbers...you try it...
 
Could always run a jackshaft off the drive chain as a stationery tensioner and bigger gear on js to smaller on alt?
 
I'm determined to figure this out.

The banshee mod will end up costing me upwards of $200 if I buy Hugh's bracket and regulator. The banshee parts demand a premium now because people figured out this mod.

I just want to figure out the dimensions of the pulley so I can fab up this setup. I sent an email to the dude who owns that bike and his was response was "I'll have kits by this summer".

This is going to be the first mod I do on my next build. I'll experiment with pulleys and see if I can figure out a part number.
 
This is how i use to do the drag bikes with the external ALT.
We have a place here in NJ that sells everything from farm equipment to nuts and bolts. I have bought Farm equipment that was the same size as a Harley axle and made 5 from what i bought for $6.00. Anyway i went there with a crank and the key and rooted threw there pulley's and found a couple that fit right on. Then made a bracket for the front of bike off frame and mounted ALT. Measured with piece of string what belt should be and went to auto parts and bought a couple belts. Thats it!!! I would look for parts first them make it.
 
I'd basically just need to find a pulley that is roughly the same size as the rotor and mod the case to feed the belt right?

Did you mount yours rearward of the engine like the bike posted, or out front?

EDIT: Ahh my bad saw you said out front.
 
DaddyG what's required to get these wired?

Did you simply splice into the factory ninja harness when you did this mod?
 
I did them on Suzuki GS1100 and the reason for it was when i street raced the bike i could take the belt off run only on battery and gain horsepower because now there was no weight on crank. We tested it one day at the track and with it on bike ran 10:60 quarter mile times and with it off i jumped down to 10:30 quarter mile time. So when we street race every bit counted.
Now i mounted them in front on left side of motor and on GS1100 had to block off oil on that side so case could be open. Wiring if i remember was just to the reg /rec and that was it. Was very easy setup on GS1100 and i think it would be easy for XS650 too.
 
BigJimmy,

I looked at doing that but installing the alternator low on the front of the engine using the engine mounting bolts and a bracket. You can buy very small alternators that are used on lawn mowers (Cub Cadet) that have the voltage regulator built in for $85

alternator_and0285.jpg

Correct me if I am wrong, but if the voltage regulator is built in, it would eliminate the need for a regulator/rectifier? (I'm still learning about general wiring) Also, would there be a need for a tension system for the belt (kind of how some serpentine belts on a car have a tension pulley?)

My next question is could an alternator from a car potentially work assuming it was the right dimensions to fit on the bike?
 
Be sure you get an alternator that is made to spin counter-clockwise. Most alternators (that I've seen) rotate clockwise. They generate the same either way but the cooling fans are often directional. Since it will be mounted in open air and run at a fraction of it's rated output, it may not be an issue.

Also, pretty much any alternator of this style will have a field winding so you would not be able to run it without a battery.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but if the voltage regulator is built in, it would eliminate the need for a regulator/rectifier? (I'm still learning about general wiring) Also, would there be a need for a tension system for the belt (kind of how some serpentine belts on a car have a tension pulley?)

My next question is could an alternator from a car potentially work assuming it was the right dimensions to fit on the bike?

Yes, reg/rec is built in. All you need to do is hook up one (big) wire to the battery and another wire from the ignition switch to get it going.

If you mounted the alternator on a swinging or sliding bracket then you would just have to loosen the bolts, pull on the alternator until the belt is snug, then tighten the bolts.

The alternator won't know, or care, what its bolted to. Car, bike, lawn mower, wind turban... spin one end and electricity will come out the other.
 
Hes right it does not matter where its at as long as it spins. Remember the friction lights that you put on you bike when you were a kid, It sat on tire and you had lights. You could friction drive it if you really want to get crazy. I just used the NINJA one because that was the one to use then. But if you can buy this with REG/REC all in one it seems to be the ticket.
 
Back in the 70's, you could get a kit from J.C. Whitney to put a car alternator on your panhead. It had a pulley assy that mounted to where the 6 volt generator sat. Saw quite a few back then. Course it worked best if the front end was extended, so the front wheel didn't hit the alternator when you hit a bump...
 
Not that I plan to do this, but just wondering if anyone's thought of running the alternator off the cam? Not unheard of, GM did that with the Quad 4 engine several years ago... some of those drove the power steering off the cam also. TCI engine doesn't use the cam for ignition purposes so that takes care of that...


There's also a itty bitty alternator for a Kubota diesel like the ones that are used in Cub Cadet mowers etc, these things are TINY. They do something like 15 amps, might be good for a very minimalist setup.
Kubota%20Alternator.JPG
 
How would one go about mounting a charging system off the cam? It seems like an interesting idea. My current charging system does not work, but I do have an extra alternator sitting in the garage and thinking about seeing if I could run it off of the drive chain. I know it would only produce a charge if I was moving (but I think the original stator/rotor doesnt produce a charge at idle anyway). Tho it might be more hassle than what its worth and could look bad on the bike.
 
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