Going on 11,000 mile trip - suggestions for preparation?

[argonsagas]

Other than the rainsuit.....get a very good quality one.....and first-quality tires, you need to spend the money and get yourself a new headlight.

You obviously already have seen the need for light in looking to install the extra lamps, but these will put too much draw on your electrical system.

A good motorcycle headlight with replaceable H-4 type bulb is absolutely essential. It will actually show the word motorcycle on the lens.

The standard halogen bulb works well with with them, and you will notice an immediate difference in the light pattern it places on road. The lens is not the same as used in cars, but specifically designed to place the light in a pattern useable by motorcycles.

With the change from a standard sealed-beam to a good bike lamp with H-4 halogen, you will think you have a new bike when riding at night.

Switching to the recommended Sylvania or one of the other bulbs with a whiter output (Xenon) will be an improvement of almost the same magnitude as the H-4 was over sealed beam.




There are protective canister-type containers available to safely store a spare bulb. They are finned inside to hold the bulb securely, and protect it from damage, and should cost about two dollars.

You MUST carry a spare bulb.



A flashlight or a small lamp that can be connected to your battery will help if you need to do something at night. (such as changing a headlight bulb )

Buying one with an LED is a good idea as the electrical draw is significantly less than with incandescent bulbs for similar output, and the battery will be be happier.

An LED lamp will also be more likely to remain functional, as normal bulbs sometimes have filaments break even when not being used, as they are more susceptible to vibration.

[redliner1973]

Get yourself a backrest.....Make one if you have to....I have one on my 'GK, and weas made from teh backrest of a Goldwing, with it's mounting bar, and installed at the top shock mounts, with braces clamped to the chrome bars surrounding it. It is SO much better riding with it....and If you are going that far.....Save your back!! :twisted:

[nert]

toiletpaper

[Don Lobacz]

Make sure that the main jet works correctly with the pods. Since you will be running consistently in the 5000-6000 RPM range, the mains will cause problems if they are wrong: too rich and you will be changing plugs every 50-100 miles, too lean and you could burn a hole in your piston.

[Dark Jedi]

11,000 miles on a bike?

the only preperation I can see not covered is Preperation H....

[HiSPL]

One of the big reasons why I want pod filters is not for the performance from better breathing, but rather for how easy it will make it to work on my carbs, and the ability to use what is now the airbox under the seat as a good-sized tool storage compartment.

I do the same thing. I have a good sized tool roll that sits on top of the battery. I also have space for a can of pj1. I wrap the can completely in electrical tape before putting it in there in case it contacts the battery.

What's the procedure for checking coils? My Haynes manual wants me to pay someone to do it. What I've always done to check a coil is to just pull a spark plug, plug it into the wire, ground it on the engine, hit the starter, and notice the size, color, and sound of the spark.

I would not be worried about the coils themselves so much as the plug wires (which are molded into the coils). The wires will rot out and your faced with replacing the coils as a set or jury rigging some new wires onto your old coils.


The lights will kill your charging system.

Hope you have fun...

[Anonymous]

OK, I'm trying to figure out this electrical stuff. There seems to be a real consensus among you guys on the effect of mounting driving lights, that it will be too much for the system. I'm inclined to believe that, but I want to know if anyone has some hard numbers on this stuff. What is the alternator output in amps? Does anyone know? If you don't know the alternator output, how can you know what will or won't be too much for the system?

Here's another thing. Having read The Stator Papers, it seems that there are 2 main causes for R/R or stator failure - bad wiring (poor grounds, too much resistance causing heat on the wires) and too much electrical power being created with nowhere for it to go but get dissipated as heat in the R/R heatsink or in the coils of the stator. This excess heat melts and fries the components. That all makes sense to me, but all those problems are caused by too much power floating around in the electrical system with nowhere to go but to create heat in the R/R and stator. Here we are talking about the "bad GS electrics" and how they fry electrical components, because the system is not able to deal with the power from the alternator, and now I'm hearing something nearly opposite about the driving lights consuming too much power. Is the system really that delicate, that it needs to have a certain near-constant load put on it, a bit too little load and it fries the stator, a bit too much load and it drains the battery - is that true? That seems to me what's being said here.

I'm not trying to be antagonistic or prove anyone wrong or anything - I just want to be sure I understand exactly what you're saying and why these things are the case - I want the hard numbers on the alternator output and some explanation of why I read about GS electrics being bad because the alternator power is too much and causes heat, but then I read about the alternator not having enough power for extras like driving lights. Do Goldwings or other big touring bikes like HDs or BMWs have bigger alternators or something? Those guys run tons of extra electrical stuff, seemingly without problems.

I can get a motorcycle headlight for my bike with an H4 halogen bulb from denniskirk.com for $38. I don't need more light, I need the light in a better spread pattern, and it seems that is what argonsagas is saying will be the difference - a better spread pattern on the road. Can anyone else confirm this? I think I'm just about to return my driving lights (which is why I bought them from Walmart - they sell crap but they have a wonderful return policy) and get the H4 headlight. And yes, I will be carrying a full set of replacement bulbs - headlight, tail light, turn signals, etc. I have a good LED flashlight that's waterproof, brighter than a AA maglight, and runs 150 hours on a set of alkaline batteries, so I'm set with that.

HiSPL, you talk about plug wires rotting out - is this visible from the outside? I've seen plenty of bad plug wires, and sometimes they look bad physically, sometimes they look fine physically but the conductor inside is broken. My plug wires and coil look great just from a physical inspection, and they seem to work great too.

Gotta run and keep working on the bike - as I expected, your input has been invaluable. Thanks.

Alex

[Planecrazy]

I don't have the hard numbers you're looking for, but tracking the history of the GS series it is considered "common knowledge" after all these years that the system can't handle the kind of load you want to put on it. I know there are several GS gurus who do have the numbers you're looking for -- they should be arriving shortly

The reason Goldwings sport so many electrical doodads is that they have a second alternator (so I'm told) dedicated to running the accessories. Harleys presumably have a larger alternator than our bikes. Regardless, you're asking your little 550 to do more than its design permits. First timer has a 550e with the H-4 mod, and when we rode together about a month ago my GS1100G stock headlight could not even begin to compare with the blazing spot his H-4 put out -- it lit up the whole road, and not in one small spot!

If you're deadset on using multiple driving lights, the only suggestion I have is to convert EVERY other light on your bike to LED in order to conserve energy. Of course if you do this, you'll also have to replace your turn signal flasher with an electronic unit, because there won't be enough load present for it to flash properly. A side benefit, of course, is that you probably won't ever have to replace those "bulbs" ever again, but the cost is prohibitive. I'd stick with the H-4 mod if I were you and, in fact, I'm planning to do it on my bike very soon.

Regarding the pods, heed the advice given regarding protecting them with a shield. First timer has pods on his 550e, and whenever it rains the bike sputters or dies because of water problems...

Good Luck! When you swing through Chicago feel free to give me a ring if you need anything. I'll PM you my number.

Regards,
Steve 8)

[Anonymous]

Well, even without the numbers on alternator output, you guys have convinced me that the differences between the stock sealed beam that I have and the H4 upgrade are the differences I want and was trying to get by installing driving lights, so I shopped around and found JC Whitney selling the 7" headlight with halogen H4 55/60W bulb for $16.99. In my experience with JC Whitney, it's a crapshoot - sometimes you hit crap, sometimes you hit great stuff, but it's always cheap, so I decided to give it a try since it looked identical to the one from Dennis Kirk.

I guess I'll just have to find out about how pod filters and my 4-1 exhaust affect the performance of the bike, and what kind of jetting I'll need to do. With the pod filters on the bike, it'll only take me about 30 minutes to change jet sizes - I can do that on the road if necessary. And about the sheild, I'll just run with it and if I find the outside pods getting wet, I can stop at any old gas station, get a 1-liter pop bottle, drink the pop, cut the bottle in half, zip-tie it on the outside pods, and be on my merry way.

Looking at where I am in preparation and time before I want to leave, I'm realizing I should have started sooner, but that's always the case, and I didn't have the money for bike parts until a week ago. Well, you live and learn, and I'm having a crazy time of it so far.

Alex

[argonsagas]

I don't recall the exact numbes, but if you try searching for them, you will find they are already here on the Forum, from older posts.

I had the pleasure of having my daughter ride with me for part of a long trip last year. She had her own bike, only two years old, and fitted with an H-4 bulb. When daylight disappeared, and we were on roads with zero ambient light, her H-4 bulb worked well, but we were the only ones on the road, and the difference in visibility delivered by my xenon bulb, with identical wattage rating, was significant.

Halogen puts out a brighter, and whiter, light than standard incandescent sealed-beam, but the light emitted is still in the yellow range, whereas the xenon bulbs (which often look blue) actually put out a light considerably closer to white. The cleaner output punches farther into the darkness, and lets you see more, and more clearly.

I strongly recommend putting the halogen bulb away as a spare, and buying a xenon one that fits directly into its place. Look for something that is over 5000 degrees Kelvin, which is close to sunlight in delivered colour.


Note, also, that you can buy these bulbs in different wattage ratings. Be careful with going too high. There are obvious benefits in increased light output, but in some areas there are upper limits on wattage on public roads. Worse, the additional wattage is readily seen, so it tends to attract the attention of police. Of reduced concern, higher numbers increase the load on your electrical system and, of even less concern, the additional heat they generate in the headlight shell may shorten bulb life.

Other than those concerns, they are well worth it for improved light output.


Cool the Regulator/Rectifier.

Buy a computer exhaust fan (12 volt) and install it above, on or near your R/R. Wire it to run whenever the bike is running. You could relocate the R/R so that it is exposed to more air flow, but the fan will provide more air than the unit normally gets on most bikes, and that will extends its life.

The additional electrical load is so small it is irrelevant.

[HiSPL]

HiSPL, you talk about plug wires rotting out - is this visible from the outside? I've seen plenty of bad plug wires, and sometimes they look bad physically, sometimes they look fine physically but the conductor inside is broken. My plug wires and coil look great just from a physical inspection, and they seem to work great too.

They can have either condition. Rot from the outside in is the most common I've seen. They can lose enough insulation that they will arc to the block before reaching the spark plug. New coils are not that expensive on eBay, and give you the peace of mind that your plug wires are not 20+ years old.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7903137152&category=35617

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10534&item=7903230990&rd=1

Or get one of these and buy any plug wire you want.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7903487253&category=35594&sspagename=WDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7903349529&category=10066&sspagename=WDVW

[earlfor]

I went for a late ride last night (about 200 miles) and the Sylvania Silver Star
60/55 xenon on high beam, lights a path 4 lanes wide and aproximately 450 feet long.

Earl

[quote="argonsagas"]

Halogen puts out a brighter, and whiter, light than standard incandescent sealed-beam, but the light emitted is still in the yellow range, whereas the xenon bulbs (which often look blue) actually put out a light considerably closer to white. The cleaner output punches farther into the darkness, and lets you see more, and more clearly.

[earlfor]

Just some comments on GS charging systems........
Automotive charging systems are load regulated. Output is regulated to match demand of accessories and battery state. GS systems are "fixed" output. The stator produces a charging current relative to the rpm/engine speed. The stock stators produce 280 watts at 5000 rpm. Wattage varies with rpm, so at 1000 rpm, output would be 56 watts, 2000-112 watts, 3000-168 watts, etc. Regulator/rectifiers regulate voltage, but not wattage to the battery. A new battery is aproximately 85-90% efficient in accepting a charge. An older battery (still in servicable limits) may be only 70% efficient in accepting a charge. The design point charging voltage of R/R's is about 14.7 volts. This is the upper limit and if your R/R charges at a rate greater than that, it is faulty and should be replaced. A fully charged new battery will show about 12.8 volts after it has "settled" for a bit.
87% efficiency at an electrical charging pressure of 14.7 volts would result in a battery level of about 12.8 volts ...depending on battery and wiring harness condition.

I dont consider the GS charging system to be delicate, but it is an unregulated, load balanced system and consequently operates correctly within a narrow set of parameters. Too much draw and the battery will not be charged. Too little draw and the battery will be overcharged. Slight amounts of excess charging current can be shunted to ground and disappated through the R/R cooling fins as heat. It is why you do not want to cruise with your headlight off (among other reasons :-) )

Also, the harness wiring and lighting switch are not sized to carry an additional 110 watts of driving lights. It would be necessary to run wiring and switches for that addition rather than piggybacking the load onto a circuit that is already operating near max capacity.

In looking up accessories/lighting wattages in my Suzuki manual, average electrical load with a 60/55 headlight is aprox 90 watts plus engine, plus harness/switches resistances, plus use of turn signals and any running lights. My estimation is that aprox 125 watts is needed to run the electricals and overcome 20 year old harness resistances plus the engine's requirements. From experience with a dead stator and lights off running on battery alone , beginning with a half charged battery, the engine will run for aprox 30 minutes. If we assume there were aprox 5 amps usable in the battery, that would be a power consumption of 60 watts or so.
Total electrical consumption would then be about 185 watts. If we take a total output of 280 watts @87% charging efficiency. we find we have 243 watts available. That leaves 37 watts going to battery, or about 3 amps.

****(edit)..... 243 watts available and using 185 leaves 58 watts and not 37 as I had stated. I'll leave the following numbers though as that does not alter the point I was trying to make******

This assumes all operation is above 5000 rpm and we have maximaum charging current always available. You can see that since the stator is producing 56 watts per 1000 rpm, then a reduction in rpm from 5000 to 4400 will result in a charge rate to the battery of zero. Below that rpm, the system will be operating at a loss. Due to variances I cant be more precise than that, but at least this demonstrates the situation. 4400 would be perfect rpm (based on my numbers). All electrical demands would be met, the battery would be maintained and there would be no current shunted to ground by the R/R and no excess heat.

The system needs to remain electrically balanced. That is why I do not use LED tail light or running lights. The energy I would save would need to be shunted to ground and that heats up the R/R. The ideal is to consume all the output with just enough left over the keep the battery charged.

Earl

[Planecrazy]

Thanks for the primer, Earl! I knew the "cavalry" would be around to help out here soon!

I have contemplated putting LED bulbs on the bike to increase visibility in the rear, but after reading your in-depth explanation of how the charging system works and what it requires in terms of load, I think I may hold off until I can plan a conversion that maintains the "desired" load while still incorporating the LED's.

Regards,
Steve 8)

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Wow, lots of replies so I could'nt read them all. You have lots of advice regarding the electrical system.
I did notice you want to switch to pipe/pods and mainly because the carbs would be easier to work on in case of a problem. If the carbs were cleaned/synched and the floats adjusted, and the tank flushed, you should have no problems.
Even if you had some dirt get into them from the gas tank, a stubby screwdriver would allow you to remove just the float bowls and fix most fuel flow problems.
Installing the pods will require re-jetting and you really don't have time.
If you put off re-jetting and try to run the bike, I CAN GUARANTEE you will run too lean and overheat the motor. On a trip like that, I'm talking pre-ignition of the plugs and holes in the pistons. You'll never complete the trip.
And please don't think you can just put in a larger main jet and go. You'll have to change the mains, needle positions, and pilot circuit. Do yourself a favor and stay with the stock set up until you have more time to do a good jetting job.