Lights on or lights off?

[schatenjager]

My 77 GS750 most likely has the normal stator issue as it won't charge the battery however it runs fine if I start it with the Kick starter. It will continue to run for as long as I want it to but, of course, it is not charging the battery correctly and as a result the Headlight is a bit dimmer than I expect it is supposed to be. I get along ok like this but I was noticing on a ride last night that, and I don't know why I never noticed this before, the turn signal lights are always Off, unless I'm actually using the turn signals. I have a functional headlight and taillight but the front and rear turn signals are always off. Is this normal? I've seen other bikes (not a GS) with always on turn signal lamps that flash if the turn signals are activated but I can't recall seeing too many bikes that simply didn't use the turn signal lamps as running lights.

BTW, yeah, I know that I should replace the stator and get the battery working. The starter doesn't work as a result and I think that with a good charging battery circuit the headlight would be a lot brighter (it also dims when I get to stoplights as the bike is now at idle). I have to turn the headlight off to get the bike started but, as with most things, it's working right now so it's not my highest priority and I don't actually ride at night all that much.

[arveejay]

Some had blinker/running lights and some didn't. Inspect your bulbs, 2 filaments would be for running and blinking, one filament would be blinkers only. Your stator doesn't really charge too much till the engine is at 4000 rpm and above. If you are constantly lugging it around town at low rpm's it will never fully charge the battery. That's why sitting at a stoplight idling shows dim lights. Not much output at low rpm's. Drive it for 30 miles on the highway and run whatever gear is needed to keep rpm's above 4000 and then check the battery for charge.

[schatenjager]

re:

Thanks! I don't typically run the bike that high. it's usually somewhere in the 3000 or so range so that might be the issue. I'll try your suggestion and see what happens!

[koolaid_kid]

You might consider one of those little trickle chargers (1A) that you leave on the bike while you are not riding it. They have a wire that stays attached to your battery, and it has a plug that mates to the plug on the trickle charger. If you shop around you can find one for $15-20.

[ALB80-850]

Lights

Just my 2cents, The brighter the lights the better. Make sure that you can be seen! All of my lights worked perfectly and I still had someone turn in front of me.You can read about it and see the pics in the GS stories thread. Getting the electrics working properly would be a small price to pay, considering what happened to me.

Be safe & have fun,

Andy