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inadequate electrics on VStroms?

4K views 29 replies 19 participants last post by  Julles 
#1 ·
#2 ·
#3 ·
I highly doubt that running the engine takes 135W.

What the article has to say about V-Stroms powering heated gear is uselessly oversimplified and should be disregarded. The main point of the article, (which is obvious), should be heeded: The power available for heated gear is the excess of what the regulator output can provide over what the bike needs.

Many V-Strom owners run heated gear. You can see that for yourself if you search this forum carefully.
 
#5 ·
I didn't find the video offensive at all. The limited amount of extra power available on a DL650 is pretty well documented.



That is why all the back in 2007 I started recommending the signal dynamics voltage monitor (SDVM) if the rider was planning to use heated gear. The bike can provide some heat for both the rider and passenger, but you need to stay aware of whether your drawing more current than the bike is able to produce and you will likely need to reduce the heat with a heat-troller if your heating two people. You can exceed the bike's power producing capability with just heated grips and a rider heated jacket liner under stop and go traffic conditions.

I like the SDVM much better than a digital volt meter because it gets your attention when your attention is needed. A digital volt meter will not do that and unless you just happen to look at the read out you may go a long time before realizing you have been in a discharge situation.

Check this out. Signal Dynamics Heads Up Voltage Monitor - AdventureTech, LLC.
 
#8 ·
Gear heat; when?

I've been thinking about how a regulator ought to work and how it can help with the loads presented by heated gear and headlights. (I'm replacing a regulator which has decided it likes a lower voltage than the battery needs to be well charged.)

It seems to me that the regulator should contain a switching power converter instead of simply blocking or shunting the alternator. This would make more power available and de-stress the alternator windings at higher RPM. It would outperform a series regulator.

I think the power converter should have an auxiliary output for heated gear which would reduce or kill its output when the battery gets low and engine speed is too slow to keep the engine, lights and gear powered without further draining the battery. I figure this would obviate the need for a voltage monitor to be watched by heated gear users.

An output for headlight drive would only be on when the engine had been running for a few seconds and for a few seconds after the engine stops. (The latter is to allow coasting to a stop if the engine quits for some reason, such as inattention to fuel level.) This would serve the same purpose as the headlight cut-out switch on the start button and eliminate any need for a relay.

Thoughts?
 
#16 ·
I have some aftermarket heated grips, same jacket ... and have hit a problem. I have a CVS on the way - that will help me know whats up.
 
#13 ·
Here's my understanding on my 2015 DL650

I have measured total battery current with key on and engine not running at 10.8amps
The 2 headlights at 55watts each gives a current of 9.2amps so the remaining 1.6 amps should be the ECU, tail light and license plate light.
When running there will be additional current for fuel pump, indicators, horn and stop light, all intermittent loads, lets say 5amps in total of average current.
This brings us to a total current draw of ~16amps

I understand the alternator is rated at 400watts which equates to around 33amps.

That would suggest your alternator is only 50% utilized but I think this is a bit of an unknown.

If you want to increase the current consumption by having heated gloves and jackets might I suggest you fit LED headlights which will draw a lot less than 9.2amps and thus provide for your extra current needs.

I think this is also where you need to look at your regulator and do as others have suggested and replace it with a series unit.
 
#24 ·
Don't forget to factor in the voltage. With the engine off, the voltage will probably be under 12 volts, with engine running at least 14 or a little more, so that will increase the current. Also, it may not be much, but the ignition (spark) will take some extra when it's running.
 
#15 ·
A big 2nd on the SDVM, I've been using them since their inception on all the BMW's I've had in my stable. You don't notice voltage change on a meter when riding, but that glowing green light changing color jumps up and say howdy! This was one of the first add ons to my '07 Vee along with the Eager Beaver headlight relay upgrade. Also make note of the wiring thread and what NOT to connect to for the positive lead.
 
#17 ·
You can turn off one headlight to save 55 watts .You can go LED tail light bulbs to save maybe 10-20 watts I'm running a Easter Beaver 2 relay setup that includes the switch. I run a Dynamics charge light to verify charging. I ran 2 wolos for years before changing to one Wolo. 2 Wolo's pull 38 amps. The charge light would go to red(discharge) after 2-3 secondson the horn button.
 
#19 ·
You do realize that the "GS" has an actual alternator right? I am not sure about the new Tiger 1200 or the Tenere, but the Tiger has like 900 watts I believe? The Stroms are budget type bikes, no matter how good they obviously are. How many motorcycle ever made actually had/have an adequate electrical system?
 
#25 ·
I believe Randyo is correct on the Tenere's output....it uses a stator like the Suzuki. The new water cooled BMW is stator too.

On my 2007 Vee I ran a vest and GPS most of the time for long intervals. Never had an issue and never had a stator fry.
 
#26 ·
There are several ways to make a coil of wire and a magnetic field to move with respect to each other, creating electricity. It's usually done with a stator and a rotor. V-Stroms use a permanent magnet rotor spinning around a wire wound stator. My old BMW had a wire wound rotor getting power from the electrical system through a pair of brushes on slip rings. The electromagnetic field it created spun inside a wire wound stator. My 1978 Yamaha XS11 had two wire wound stators. One was in an outer ring and the other was in an inner ring, one of which received power to be an electromagnet. An all steel rotor with staggered poles ran in the magnetic field to move that field through the other stator.



A wire wound electromagnet has the advantage of having its magnetic field adjusted as needed by the regulator so the proper amount of power can be generated. A permanent magnet requires the system to always output its maximum for the rpm the rotor is moving. If more power is generated than needed, the excess is either shunted to the coil or turned on and off by the regulator to average out the needed amount depending on whether the regulator is a shunt type or a series type.

V-Stroms are limited in alternator output by size and by the fact that the stator is in the engine, also making it hotter than necessary and raising the resistance of the wire in the coils. Physics Zone: Resistance in a Conductor

Putting the alternator outside of the engine can make it larger and cooler plus more easily handling an electromagnetic field rather than a permanent magnet field.

Alternators put out AC that is rectified into DC to serve batteries that are always DC unless you count battery output through an inverter. A generator uses a segmented commutator for the brushes instead of slip rings. The segments flip the polarity as each segment of coil passes the magnetic field so the polarity is the same approaching the field as leaving it.
 
#28 ·
I think the new wethead bmw has a wet alternator instead of the previously used car type "dry"alternator. I "think" BMW no longer utilize having a 900 watt alternator setup. I"think" it's in the 400-500 watt range. This may cause BMW's to not be utilized for police dept purposes.
The clutch on the new wetheads are in the front. The clutches are now wet. I read somewhere that "wet" alternators are hard to achieve more than 475-550 watts.
 
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