Electrical Capacity for GS1100GK bikes

[Anonymous]

I've owned my GS1100GK for about 7 years now and have replaced the stator and regulator/rectifier with upgraded parts. I've heard from several of my GS friends (and this web site) that the GS bikes are notorious for having weak electrical systems. Does anyone know the electrical charging capacity in watts for the GS1100GK?

Please let me know.

Regards,

GS1100GK

[Anonymous]

Wattage

I have a GS850 and the service manual for it. No where in the manual can I find the wattage rating of the charging system. This is a ballpark way to compute the wattage. My GS has 5 fuses. A main 15 amp fuse that sub-feeds three 10 amp fuses and another 10 amp fuse that feeds what is called the output terminal (for accessories). Using a nominal voltage of 12vdc (in reality it is higher= 14 to 15vdc) and ohms law you can calculate that the main fuse can supply 180 watts and the output terminal is capable of 120 watts for a grand total of 300 watts.
Looking at what the main fuse feeds = Headlight=60w, Tail/Brake= 8/23w,
Turn sig= 23w x 2 = 46w, indicator lights= spedo,tach,hi-beam,neut.,oil pres., =3.4w x 6 =20.4w, License plate = 8 w for a total of 165.4 watts, and add to this the small amount of energy consumed by the ignition system. So sitting at a stop light at night with your turn signals on, in neutral, foot on the brake, hi-beam on & with low oil pressure your charging system is just about tapped out. Add a couple of bad electrical connections and you are over the edge.

[Einar J Skog]

HI

Gs1000 has an output of 18 Amps at 5000rpm

Ca:250 watt

My engine take ca: 2.5 -3.0 Amps Fuse 3
Flashers and breaklight and horn Ca: 0 -7 Amps (as needed) Fuse 2
The rest is for lamps ca:5-6 Amps (always) Fuse 1

From Fuse 4 I take ca: 1.- amp to feed parklight with keyswitch fully to
right(if needed).And I take out ca: 0.2 Amps to trigging a relay that feeds Fuse 1-2-3 direct from battery.

So I feel that in 4000 rpm ,any amps unused should go to the battery..

[focus frenzy]

I did some testing along these lines today on my GS1000G
I used my MAC EM110 inductive amp probe and have found that peak amps are generated at 3500 rpm (at least with my bike)
I also tested and found that with the engine running, the ignition system, lighting system (headlight, dash lights, neutral light, tail light (LED) and front running lights including the side running lights, draw 11.7-11.9 amps

at the time my regulator output at a semi-high idle was 15.5 amps.
at a normal 1000rpm idle the charging system just manages to stay ahead of the bikes systems, the charging rate does rise quickly right off idle, but I only registered a peak @3500 rpm of 16.8 amps, but my battery is fresh and has a good charge so full output wasn't needed.

[Anonymous]

Moral of the story:

1. Keep the battery fully charged at all times.

2. Keep connections clean. Check them often. Protect them.

3. Run strictly stock electrics. I have an automotive horn (just one). That's the only aftermarket item on my GK. No extra tail or headlights, no nothing. The system is, obviously, marginal, but in 17 years of GS ownership, (four 850's and now my GK), I've had only one stator failure, and that was back in 1988. I must be doing something right since then...

4. Run the hell out of the bike -- fast -- on long rides. That's what I do! 8)

Nick