charging non-sealed batteries in situ?

[cvetterdesigner]

You might be interested in my design thoughts. I design fairings for the rider, not the bike. Consider this: This new KLR fairing is rider size. Riders tend to be the same size, no matter what bike they ride. KLR riders seem to be even bigger (and older) than most. To protect the rider, the fairing needs to be the same size as the rider, no matter what size the bike is. Make sense? I also have learned that you tend to like what you are used to seeing. The manufacturers have "trained" us to be used to seeing the little things they present as fairings. You are used to seeing Dakar stuff. We are not used to seeing anything like what I design because there is nothing like what I design. It is usually very different and thus, odd appearing at first. In 1969, I designed what became the Triumph Hurricane. the first people at Triumph, when they saw it, had no idea of what to make of it, it was so different. "Sure is orange" was about the best they could do. The Hurricane went on to become a very famous and sought after motorcycle. Time is kind to my designs. If, I do produce this fairing, and people buy it, we will get used to it. Then the Dakar style will look too small to you. A year ago, when I was building the first of these new fairings, they looked big on the KLR and my wife's GS. Now, without it, the bikes look wrong. In other word, I have gotten used to the size. This is nothing new in my career. I am an inventor. It takes time for people to get used to my stuff. So, the main thing here is that this fairing is for the rider. Thus, it is "rider size." Important, too, is the fact that this fairing is very slippery. It likes to go through the air. For example, if you put it on a 220cc Serow and compared performance with and without - sitting up in normal riding position - the Serow with the fairing will go faster, get better mileage and be more comfortable to ride. That is what streamlining does. Of course, if the Serow rider crouches down on the tank, making himself small, he will beat the rider with the fairing. Frontal area is very important. Enough for now. Time for church. Craig Vetter, designer

[Randall Marbach]

cvetterdesigner wrote:

>This new KLR fairing is rider size. Riders tend to be the same size, no matter what bike >they ride. KLR riders seem to be even bigger (and older) than most. To protect the rider, >the fairing needs to be the same size as the rider, no matter what size the bike is.

I'd have to agree on both accounts.. bigger and older.. I'm 6'7", ~280lbs and now qualify for senior citizens discounts in some places. I love traveling on my KLR even more so than my Valkyie Std (no windshield, used for commuting and two up). In the first year of ownership, I've had the KLR to the bay area twice, Baja San Felipe twice, Death Valley, Primm Nevada (Jimmy Lewis School) plus lots of riding around the local areas(90%street/10%dirt). In all that traveling, wind fatigue is the biggest limiter to the distance travelled. The design for the KLR fairing sounds intriguing. I'd have a couple of key concerns. The first would be the performance of the fairing in a strong crosswind. The KLR as it is, is already an "E" ticket ride. I would hope that the design of the new fairing would not contribute any more to the excitement, and in best case, reduce it. I did not consider putting hard saddlebags on my bike because of the potential negitive impact of aerodynamic drag at freeway speeds. At my size and weight, I already find it hard to keep up with traffic on our local interstates. Add a small grade and a desert headwind and I'm in the truck lanes following the semis up the hills. Will your fairing account for or improve the airflow around these types of bags? TIA Randy from Burbank Former 76 Yellow Goldwing owner with Black WIndjammer 3 Fairing and Shoei Saddlebags A17 '00 Valk ____________________________________________________________________________________ Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather

[Norm Keller]

>What risk is there in charging a standard, un->sealed battery, while it is in >the motorcycle, without removing the battery >caps?

No problem. If you have a voltmeter available, hook it up and monitor periodically to ensure that the charging voltage doesn't exceed about 14.5 volts. This will prevent over charging or charging at too high a rate. If the voltage goes above 14.8 volts, your charger is too large for the battery (assuming it's not fully charged) so you can add a headlight bulb or similar load between the charger and battery in one wire. This will reduce the charging rate. Monitoring with a voltmeter is good practice when charging small bike batteries. HIH Norm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]