Flat Battery Again

[Comet Rider]

Norman,
If you have a look at Paul Goff's site and many of the new developments the LED bulbs have come on in leaps and bounds.
I have put them in both the Comet and the Rapide, even tho' I have more than enough power available thanks to your "Walkernators". The latest versions if you use a decent reflector/lens give perfect cut off on dip and a good main.

It is worth while fitting a Honda 250/400 "Super dream" light unit so that you can fit a modern H4 LED light unit.

HTH
Neil

 

[timetraveller]

Thanks for that Neil. I thought/hoped things would have moved on. Personally I have used a seven inch headlight shell for years. That way there was no problem with spares, bulbs etc. Brian's mind should now be at rest at least regarding what lights to use..

 

[Monkeypants]

I have one of these in the OZ bike, British Prefocus base.
I purchased it at " The Bonneville Shop" for about $30. It is the new improved model with better focus.
The older type was bright but poorly focused.
It draws 12 watts and is brighter to oncoming traffic than the 60 watt H4 in the other Rapide.
If I had to ride the Hope Princeton highway at nightime the 60watt h4 is still marginally better than the LED however in daytime traffic the LED is better. It draws next to nothing, so I run it all the time.

Glen

TRIUMPH NORTON BSA BPF PREMIUM LED HEADLIGHT BULB POSITIVE & NEGATIVE GROUND PN# 446 LED

Triumph Norton BSA BPF Premium Led Headlight Bulb (1) Positive and Negative Ground PN# 446 LED

www.thebonnevilleshop.com

 

[Bobv07662]

I just fitted one of those PreFocus replacement LEDs. Tremendous improvement.

 

[Chris Launders]

I had a go at finding an LED headlight bulb that would work, some had three faces, two at a shallow angle and one opposite, the two were dip and all three for main, these had a poor cut off line for dip, I did find a good one that gave a good cut off line, this used one for dip and both for main and was in every sense but one good, the problem was that the bluish/white light they omit is sucked up by foliage and dark tarmac, so at night down country roads were very poor, having said that reflective signs hundreds of yards away were dazzling. Got it from a Chinese site called BANGGOOD. I use the Honda reflector as well.

 

[Martyn Goodwin]

Bill: Yes , headlights on all the time to give m'self at least a fighting chance against myopic car drivers. What is the 'focus' problem with LEDs?.
Attached are my re drawing of electrics schematic and photo of Podtronic regulator?. Things may have progressed, having run the battery down to very low charge on load test, just a glimmer from 60w bulb I recharged it over night and the battery condition on the charger is still indicating weak. I've not run it that low before and the battery has recharged previously , with no issues. I'm guessing this was just a cheap battery fitted to sell the machine so will replace with a knwn make replacement and will consider LED's once I've read up on them.
View attachment 36638View attachment 36637

Hi Brian, from your diagram the first thing I noticed was that the flasher unit is NOT isolated. I suggest you move its power input to the switched side of the ignition switch. Only then will the battery be isolated when you switch off.

Martyn

 

[Martyn Goodwin]

Brian,

1. Battery - I have had the same SHORAI battery in my bike for the last 10 years - that's somewhere around 80,000 miles and its still going strong. The SHORAI is a Li-Ion battery and is VERY small. You can easily fit 14 Amp/Hour Shorai into an empty/dummy battery case. Downside is they are expensive , but they have a very long life and are maintenance free.

I have used from time to time 2 charging systems (not at the same time!) , the original Miller generator with a modern Voltage regulator, a V-REG unit from Paul Geoff and also an Alton with the Alton supplied Podtronic regulator and the battery has been fine with both of them.

2. LED's - I have been using LED lights on my Comet for at least the last 5 years and they are superb. My Headlight is the original Miller shell and reflector the globe is dipable LED with a LED pilot - I do ride at night and find the LED headlamp superior to the original globes and about the same as a 35/35W halogen. I have also fitted LED into the speedo. My rear light is a full LED replacement unit. All of these LED units I have purchased from Paul Geoff.

My indicators are again full LED using 9W Eagle Eye LED's that are cheap as chips from ebay.

Like you I always ride with my headlight on so the current draw from my electrics is always the same, less than 1 amp! (OK it does jump to around 6 amps when I use sound the original Altette horn) - I run a magneto so no draw there.

Martyn

 

[brian gains]

thanks Martyn , committed myself to a golf cart battery solely for the reason of dimensions and power output. However having read up on the Shorai battery that would have been a good choice, if slightly more expensive.
I'll see how the replacement battery holds up before replacing lights with LEDs and hopefully not the battery too soon

 

[Mark Stephenson]

Just bought a Shorai 14 Amp/Hour based on your recommendation. Yes, expensive but performance and weight seems worth it. Thanks Martyn for the super recommendation. Will be fitting it my Exide box when that comes