Anybody ever go battery-less?

[wkmpt]

Thanks for the links to the diagrams, hammered. I suspect they'll come in very handy down the road.

Yup, she has a kicker, that was one of my criteria when I first purchased the motorcycle.

Does anybody have/know of any wiring diagrams for non-batteried motorcycles, or can suggest where to look for them? I will probably need those as well.

[Hammered]

If you pick up a battery eliminator, they should have the diagram as part of the install instructions, least all the ones Ive seen did. Try calling one of the eliminator manufactures and ask if they have one to "look over". Most are pretty cool about this kinda stuff.

[Zooks]

Because for the style riding a hardtail is used for, they dont handle like ****. Its shortsighted to think someone would build a rigid frame for the purposes of roadracing or stunting. They ride fine.

Whatever floats your boat. I'm not about to get into a hardtail vs soft tail debate.

I think they look like crap too. Just my op.

[Zooks]

................ In all serious-ness, I've always been drawn to the bobber-styled bikes, but I REALLY can't stand the vibration and overall look of twins. .............

I quite like Bobbers too. I just hate hardtails. Apart from being non-functional, I just think they look goofy.

It's just my 2c.

[TheCafeKid]

I dont HATE either of them. But I will say that unless you do some work to the frame IE welding some extra bracing in places, and do the hardtail CORRECTLY, you are headed for disaster. These frames are mass produced mild steel tube, NOT designed to have a rigid suspension. READ: IT WILL FAIL EVENTUALLY if its not braced and set up correctly. Motorcycles are alot like airplanes. When something fails, its usually leads to VERY bad things.... Again, not my cup of tea, but im not going to tell you what to do with your bike. I just dont want to see anyone get hurt, and I also dont want to see another classic 750 butchered and then rot when the owner desides that it maybe wasnt such a good idea after all..sore ass and all...

[trippivot]

a battery eliminator is just a great big capacitor


are you going to for go the lighting system too??

ok then you need to look for a 4 post magneto!! belt drive it off of the crank where the TPI system used to be. sheeve pulley, belt, and mount plate

very common and 50K ++ volts is great fun in the rain

[beergood]

wkmpt sent me a PM asking for advice. I've decided to reprint my reply here:

Worth it is kind of subjective. I like it, but I can see how some people might not. The way I did it was by wiring a series of capacitors together and using them in place of a battery. They help even out the charge on the bike, absorbing electricity when your charging system is putting out over twelve volts and releasing it when it is less.

I wired my own from ones I bought off ebay (can't remember the specs now, but if you want I can dig the info out and tell you the ratings). There are off the shelf capacitors for motorcycles. I think they are called battery eliminators, Harley guys use them. They are about the same cost as a battery. I think I spent $10 wiring my own.

Here are some thoughts:

1. Make sure your charging system is in good order before trying this.
2. You are going to want a really reliable wiring harness, because chasing shorts without a battery can be tough.
3. Make sure your bike is tuned up well, because you are going to be starting it with your kicker from now on.
4. I kept my starter motor, and hid the cable. When times are tough I can still jump it if I need to, but it is a pain to do so (no relay or starter button).
5. You will probably need to crank the kickstart a few times before turning the key to start to charge up the coils.
6. You are going to want to wire in an off switch for you headlight. The bike will have a hard time starting if this is also draining power while you are kicking it over.

One thing I can tell you for sure, is that it definitely makes people interested in your ride. I have had more than a handful of people walk away inmpressed with the work.

[wkmpt]

...But I will say that unless you do some work to the frame IE welding some extra bracing in places, and do the hardtail CORRECTLY, you are headed for disaster. These frames are mass produced mild steel tube, NOT designed to have a rigid suspension. READ: IT WILL FAIL EVENTUALLY if its not braced and set up correctly...

Thanks for the insight and concern; that's very cool of you. I think when I go about the frame work I'll be in good hands, though. My uncle's a frikkin' zen buddhist master welder with a great deal of experience with cycles (it's not his main bag, but he has worked with/for several custom shops in Indy), so I'll definitely be working with him, and playing on his experience, and most likely a bunch of his experienced co-workers as well.

That being said, I'm also completely open to frames fabricated from the start to be hardtails, and fitting my engine/drive train to that. One way or the other, I want to build the bike right, so I can enjoy it for years to come.

[wkmpt]

...are you going to forgo the lighting system too??

At the risk of sounding like a total noob, what do you mean by 'forgo the lighting system'? Isn't the voltage produced by the charging system enough to power head and tail lights? On a stock bike, what stops the lighting system from draining the battery to zero if the charging system isn't enough to compensate for them?

ok then you need to look for a 4 post magneto!! belt drive it off of the crank where the TPI system used to be. sheeve pulley, belt, and mount plate

In all seriousness, do you know where I can get all of this stuff for a GS? I'd be all over that like white on rice.

very common and 50K ++ volts is great fun in the rain

Are you suggesting I'm going to zap my jewels when I hit a puddle? That doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun...

[beergood]

My headlight is a little dim at idle, but brightens up immediately once RPMs increase.

[Billy Ricks]

Rigid frames handle just fine. One of my brothers had a '56 panhead with a rigid frame and a VL springer up front. Once while riding his bike with a friend on his suspended Harley we hit a turn that had a big dip in it that took us by a little surprise. The rigid bike I was on went around the turn and through the dip without a hint of instability. My friend's bike floundered through the turn and he nearly lost it.

[Hammered]

Beergood, Id love to see your setup or atleast a drawing. Im going to pick up an older 2 cyl. sometime soon and would like to set this system up. I had an old 66' Thrump that was running a Joe Hunt mag but was running an old 12v cap, off of some old car. The PO had set it up for me since I was just 18 and dumbas dirt about this kinda stuff. That bike cranked first kick EVERY time and never left me stranded. Im still kicking myself letting it go.

[zathros]

I think if I made a bobber I'd get the biggest, fattest, tires I could get to cushion the blow and get a springer front end. I have seen many a bobber with them. I'd also make sure the tires were the same size front and rear, it really makes the bobber look.

[hillsy]

Properly designed hardtail frames will flex and absorb bumps to some degree - and they will handle fine for how they are ridden.

Swingarm frames with struts in place of the shocks are a completely different kettle of fish....

[hikermikem]

Swingarm frames with struts in place of the shocks are a completely different kettle of fish....

This is my favorite line in this entire thread...