Hi all anyone know the cheapest place to buy a compufire alternator and battery cheers Brian

Brian, direct from the USA, or check out Cyclemax USA.

Cheers Neville  

Brian,

Do you have a specific reason for wanting to buy these items?  I understand we all prefer to get the best gear for our wings, but if you are looking for a solution to keep extra show lights illuminated during a light display .. these may not cure the problem!

If that's not the reason ... I'll apologise now and bugger off!

Yes John it is so I can put the extra lights on I have them on the trailer as well so I didn't want the battery going flat as a fart in the middle of a parade I understood these were the items to stop it happening or am I under a mishaprehension (took me ten minutes to spell that) not even sure what it means looks good though He! He!  

--Last edited by brian on 2009-10-10 21:11:39 --

Brian,

I'm not that technically minded, but I do know that some members with lots of lights installed actually use a second fully charged battery just for the duration of parade.  I think it also depends on the load of your extra lights.  Are they all LED's or do you have mixed lighting?  LED's use minimal power but some other types of lighting can consume quite a lot.

I do know of several 1500's (mine was one) that have suffered from battery exhaustion in parades that were either too slow or too long or a combination of both.  The alternators do not generate enough power at low revs to keep the bike's own lights and cooling fans operating, especially on long parades or when the horn is being used and the radio on full belt.  

But there must be an expert reading this, who has experienced what happens if you overload the system?

I had that problem on my 1500 at the Keighley Gala. To cure it I fit an inline switch and relay to turn the headlight off during light parades. Seems to have done the job as I have had no further problems. Or you could just pull the headlight fuse

My bike has relay and switch fitted for the headlight I had mine turned off for the SLP bike seemed ok and most of my lights are leds so it may be alright
Brian  

The thing to bear in mind is that the 1500 draws from the battery at anything less than 1800rpm. You don't usually ride at anything like that revs in a parade, so your battery is going to suffer. The way to minimise this is to fit LEDs which have minimal current draw.

well av only had 2years experience with light parades. but both my wings have lights on & after seen the odd ones stuck at side of road both mine av second batt. for 75% of lights. wings dont like slow or ticking over.

                       ANDY T.