Electric vest

maia · Post by **maia** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 8:40 pm

Up in the "Great White North" electric vests are popular and I'm wondering if my '63 Superhawk will support it. As I understand it the superhawks charging system is adequate at best. Not finding a voltage regulator anywhere I assume the charging system is dependent on every load in the system being constant and as prescribed by the factory. Does that mean if I put in a LED tailight that my battery will overcharge? If I want to run an electric vest then If I can switch on that extra charging coil by turning the light switch on but somehow disable the actual light does that mean I could run the vest? Would just converting to an LED do the same thing? So many questions....I'm sure this has never been an issue with anyone in Texas so maybe my northern neighbors have something to say about this. In any event I will try all of the above once I jump through some more hoops to get it registered. Thanks in advance.

MBellRacing · Post by **MBellRacing** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 10:08 pm

Can't help, but is that front tire on correctly? Wouldn't that push water toward the inside of the tire instead of clearing it?... sorry I'm fairly useless, just curious.

hillhudson · Post by **hillhudson** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 11:09 pm

i am planning on running an LED tail and head light, the answer is no it won't effect anything as long as you use the same voltage light. cb77's are 12 volts systems, just be sure you don't put it anything under or over 12 volts. you'll be good.

p.s. your bike looks freakin awesome !!!!!!!

cyclon36 · Post by **cyclon36** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:31 am

electric vests pull a lot of juice. I doubt the stock system could handle anything like that without draining the battery. You might be able to pull that off with an upgrade to Rick's stator, modern rectifier, and more heavy duty battery.

Wilf · Post by **Wilf** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:04 am

Hi Maia,

I switched out the stock rectifier for a silicon bridge to improve charging efficiency, and then put in an LED tail light and LED winkers. There have been no overcharging issues so far.

Do you have any idea how much current an electric vest draws? If it's the same or less than the headlight current then you might be able to do the switching you mention.

What kind of registration hoops are you having to jump through?

Wilf

Snakeoil · Post by **Snakeoil** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:40 pm

First, the bike is gorgeous, Wilf. I love the shouldered rims and those Dunstall mufflers are a perfect match for them. Also love the red and silver. I've got the little brother in my garage, an S90 in the same colors.

Regarding the tires, I'm pretty sure they are on correctly. The grooves in a tire are sipes, not scoops. The place you have water is under the non-grooved area (grip) and you want enough sipes to allow a place for the water to go when it gets squished under the tire. I'm no tire expert here, just offering an opinion on how I think they work.

When the bike is moving forward, the water is in essence moving backward relative to the motion of the bike and tire. So if you think of the bike as stationary, when those sipes are at the point of contact, the grooves are angled toward the rear or in line with the flow of the water relative to the motion of the bike. If they were in the other direction, they would impede flow and cause the water to back up in the sipes and prevent the water from escaping from under the tire. The key to understanding this is the tire is not spinning on the pavement. It is stationary relative to the pavement at the point of contact and it is the water that is moving. And the reason the water is moving is because the pressure of the tire is pushing it out from under the tire. Some is actually moving forward as well as in all directions 360 from the point of contact. So if the groove were in the opposite direction, they would be directing water towards the front which would add to the water already there. This could result in enough water pressure to lift the tire. But by angling the sips to the rear, the flow the water away from the oncoming water and away from the approaching contact patch of the tire.

Regarding the electric vest, I suspect you are going to need a long extenstion cord, Wilf.

Could you not make up a battery pack of one or two VHS camera (remember those?) or computer batteries and a switch so you could switch from the dead battery to the fresh one? Just the battery discharging alone should provide a lot of heat. I know my laptop keeps me warm when running on battery power. Then just recharge at your destination or when you get home. That said, don't you own a snowmobile, suit? You're a Canadian, right? I thought a snowmobile suit was considered haute couture in the Great White North. And you call yourself a hoser. Shame, shame.

regards,
Rob

maia · Post by **maia** » Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:24 pm

bellracing, yes that tire is on right. The directional arrow is pointing the right way.