klx250 lighting

[lbauer2]

Hi, all. I know it's been said a bunch of times on the list that the alternator doesn't have enough power to run heated grips and a vest at idle revs. Is there a consensus as to whether there's enough power to run just the grips, though? Cheers, -Lujo '99 KLR 650 '89 Vulcan 750 for sale

[Devon Jarvis]

My A15 has no problem running a 45w heated vest, AND a 80/100 headlight. If you found heated grips that only drew 45w, and you kept the stock 55/60 headlight you should be able to get away with it if you did a lot of higher-rpm riding, but it's close. If you do a lot of city commuting, buy a Battery Tender, splice on a connector from Radio Shack that fits the one for the vest, and trickle-charge the battery every time the bike is parked overnight. Your battery will last longer anyway if it is kept fully charged. Devon A15 lbauer2 wrote:

> > Hi, all. I know it's been said a bunch of times on the list that the > alternator doesn't have enough power to run heated grips and a vest > at idle revs. Is there a consensus as to whether there's enough > power to run just the grips, though? > > Cheers, > > -Lujo > '99 KLR 650 > '89 Vulcan 750 for sale > > Checkout Dual Sport News at > http://www.dualsportnews.com > Be part of the Adventure! > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > > Post message: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: DSN_klr650-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > Unsubscribe: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > List owner: DSN_klr650-owner@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[Ryan Newman]

> Hi, all. I know it's been said a bunch of times on the list that the > alternator doesn't have enough power to run heated grips and a vest > at idle revs. Is there a consensus as to whether there's enough > power to run just the grips, though?

I run DualStars heated grips on my stock bike and it's just fine. Ryan

[RM]

On Thu, 17 Jan 2002, lbauer2 wrote:

>Hi, all. I know it's been said a bunch of times on the list that the >alternator doesn't have enough power to run heated grips and a vest at >idle revs. Is there a consensus as to whether there's enough power to >run just the grips, though?

The KLR's charging system with the engine at idle cannot keep up with the demand incurred by the headlight and the cooling fan running at the same time, let alone other goodies. It only really matters if you plan to idle the bike for very long periods of time. If you'll be running off-road at low RPM with a vest and grips, you might consider a headlight cutoff switch. RM

[Devon Jarvis]

I just read your post a little closer. The KLR (and most other non-fuel-injected bikes) don't have the alternator power to run their own headlight at idle, much less a vest or grips. That's normal, the battery only starts getting a charge around 3000rpm. The questions really is whether the usual mix of riding you do, and accessories you run, will balance out on the side of charging the battery or discharging it. If you can hook up an automatic trickle charger at night you can get away with it because you'll always have a topped-up battery when you start in the morning. A marginal discharging situation will take days to run down a fully charged battery in good condition, and if you stay on top if it, the charge will never getlow enough to damage the battery. I am thinking about a set of electric gloves. Devon

> > Hi, all. I know it's been said a bunch of times on the list that the > > alternator doesn't have enough power to run heated grips and a vest > > at idle revs.

[gpokluda]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Devon Jarvis wrote:

> I just read your post a little closer. The KLR (and most other > non-fuel-injected bikes) don't have the alternator power to run

their

> own headlight at idle, much less a vest or grips. That's normal, the > battery only starts getting a charge around 3000rpm. The questions > really is whether the usual mix of riding you do, and accessories

you

> run, will balance out on the side of charging the battery or

discharging

> it. If you can hook up an automatic trickle charger at night you

can get

> away with it because you'll always have a topped-up battery when you > start in the morning. A marginal discharging situation will take

days to

> run down a fully charged battery in good condition, and if you stay

on

> top if it, the charge will never getlow enough to damage the

battery.

> > I am thinking about a set of electric gloves. > > Devon

I agree with this. Frankly I would skip the heated grips because they are a hassle to mount and ineffective. I'd go with heated gloves. Also the tip on adding a trickle charger every evening is spot on. I have done this for several years and never have been stranded by a dead battery. Gino

[Ralph Hanson]

>> Hi, all. I know it's been said a bunch of times on the list that the >> alternator doesn't have enough power to run heated grips and a vest >> at idle revs. Is there a consensus as to whether there's enough >> power to run just the grips, though?

I run a Stich electric vest around town all the time. My solution is to always throw the Battery Tender on the bike when I get home. That makes up for the slight deficit that I imagine that I'm running. But I'm not runnning heated grips, and the Stich vest is relatively low wattage. What a difference it makes, though, on these 30-something days. Ralph Ralph E. Hanson rhanson40@... 99 KLR 650 http://www.wvu.edu/~journal2/west

[RM]

On Thu, 17 Jan 2002, Ralph Hanson wrote:

>I run a Stich electric vest around town all the time. My solution is to >always throw the Battery Tender on the bike when I get home. That makes >up for the slight deficit that I imagine that I'm running.

If you have a multimeter, it's fairly easy to check whether or not you're charging or discharging at any given RPM and load combination. Simply take a voltage reading at the battery terminals. You're safe at anything above 12.7V or so. RM

[Mark St.Hilaire, Sr]

> If you have a multimeter, it's fairly easy to check whether or not

you're

> charging or discharging at any given RPM and load combination. Simply > take a voltage reading at the battery terminals. You're safe at

anything

> above 12.7V or so.

I'm thinking out loud - It appears that this type of thing is an issue for people using stuff that draws current, so I wonder if a permanently mounted voltage gauge, (or whatever would be correct), would be a good idea? Where to mount it would be a problem, possibly, but then you would always know what's going on... Wise men still seek Him... Mark St.Hilaire, Sr A15 Also: KLR6500@... HomePage: http://home.adelphia.net/~msaint/index.html KLR650 Pages: http://klr6500.tripod.com/ Valve Check & Adjustment Guide: http://klr6500.tripod.com/valves.html

[RM]

(sending this to the list since it looks like it was intended to go there in the first place).

On Thu, 17 Jan 2002, jamackinlay wrote: >I have a permanent-mounted voltmeter and due to the headlight's power >draw, the voltmeter is always somewhere between 10.5 and 11.7 volts when >idling. ...That means my battery is being discharged every time idle... >Has anyone checked this? Is this normal? I think so. The KLR's voltage sags pretty low at idle. >Worried about this, and as my OEM Yuasa was 4 years old, I recently >replaced it with a new one. Still, the voltage has not increased at Idle >and is below 12v. At higher RPMs the voltage goes up to ~13.5v so the >generator is charging OK, but I am worried about long low-RPM commutes >and damaging the battery. >Can somebody check the voltage on his bike? Lo beam (60/55 bulb) on and >idling at 1300~1400 (no vest, no grips, etc) and tell me if is below >12v?