1986 XR600R Basket case - Hope to revive!

[LandsVW]

I found a laptop battery at a recycle store for 5$. it was approx 14 volts. I figured it would be worth buying in the attempt to make a dry cell small system for my bike. I got it home, broke it open, and found that it had 8 3.7 volt rechargable cells. They were dual series ( I think that's what it's called) then paralleled for a total of 3.7X4. I cut the circuit board away from it, and soldered on leads, directly. I am charging it on a 12v 600ma trickle charger. So far so good! the cells are taking the charge and are up to around 10 volts. I will charge it overnight and then check again. I figure I can attach this very compact battery system to a place just inside the right hand sidecover. May not work, but I think it will.

I have found several more parts bikes including one for sale in the Medford area listed on Craigslist. Haven't bought another one though.

Enjoying the journey: current goal is to title/tag during my spring break which comes up in early March. Every day I want to go ride, but with the thicker oil, the temperature hovering around 40, and not being street legal, the effort really isn't worth it. Once I get at least 2 of those 3 things in my favor I'll ride ;)

[Mike the Yank]

They sound like Lipo's, hate to say but you will need all that circuit board stuff to make sure they don't over charge, over charge them and they can exploded and burst into flames.

[elsalvadorklr]

Originally Posted by Mike the Yank

They sound like Lipo's, hate to say but you will need all that circuit board stuff to make sure they don't over charge, over charge them and they can exploded and burst into flames.

well said

computer batteries are not lead acid batteries or similar they need a very specific charging rate...

I used to be a very skilled electric hobby car enthusiast...and batteries and how to charge and DISCHARGE them is a science that you can learn a lot from

lipos
and all the new lithium style batteries need very specific charging and especially the need to not be overcharged they are also designed to be drained to almost zero volts...and charged back up fully...

nicads and nimhs are better at this but they simply are not designed to be topped off all the time..its really easy to make a battery pack the problem is on a bike they will simply burn up(how long do tusk brand battery packs last? like 6 months?) even the big dualsport kits come with crap batteries.

you need to think about getting a small deep cycle marine style or rv type unit...

just my thoughts and cents

good luck on the bike, coming along great

[LandsVW]

Originally Posted by elsalvadorklr

well said

computer batteries are not lead acid batteries or similar they need a very specific charging rate...

I used to be a very skilled electric hobby car enthusiast...and batteries and how to charge and DISCHARGE them is a science that you can learn a lot from

lipos
and all the new lithium style batteries need very specific charging and especially the need to not be overcharged they are also designed to be drained to almost zero volts...and charged back up fully...

nicads and nimhs are better at this but they simply are not designed to be topped off all the time..its really easy to make a battery pack the problem is on a bike they will simply burn up(how long do tusk brand battery packs last? like 6 months?) even the big dualsport kits come with crap batteries.

you need to think about getting a small deep cycle marine style or rv type unit...

just my thoughts and cents

good luck on the bike, coming along great

thanks for the good info. I guess my question is this then: I have no room for a bigger battery. But I'm scared running w/o a battery is going to damage the charging system?

any thoughts or ideas?

thanks,

L

[JensEskildsen]

Capacitor? :)

This is what's on my xt350:



Oeh, and heres videos of Lipo's on fire, they burn really nasty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixIOEPnsgbI

[LandsVW]

Originally Posted by JensEskildsen

Capacitor? :)

This is what's on my xt350:



Oeh, and heres videos of Lipo's on fire, they burn really nasty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixIOEPnsgbI

Aha, perfect! Source? I can google it, ;) anything special about the wiring, or just hook to battery terminals?

I guess Boeing is having probs with lipo's, I shoulda paid attention to the news...

I also did google research and sealed lead and niCad might be appropriate... Just enough to protect electronics and get the lights to come on.

[LandsVW]

Now I am learning all about capacitors. Voltage, obviously must be higher than the charging rate - so 15 or higher? What about the top number? Does the capacitor care if it is rated for 450 but only 13.5 is being fed? Second number mF or uF. This is the amount of charge that the capacitor can hold. Bottom number? I see 150000 on the one in the picture, and another post had 68000. What is the practical range?

Thanks,

L

[JensEskildsen]

Cant help you much, that one came with the bike when I bought it

[mcma111]

I've got one if you want it. I'll have to look for it.

[LandsVW]

Originally Posted by mcma111

I've got one if you want it. I'll have to look for it.

Awesome, I'll take it! :) PM me?

[davek181]

I built a capacitor pack for my XL out of off the shelf capacitors ar radio shack. I bought three 2700 mf capacitors. (the biggest ones they had) Soldered them together in parallel on a circuit board I bought there too.

Put it in my XL, changed all my instrument lights and taillight to LED. When I kill the engine the neutral light will stay on for about 15 seconds on reserved power. Turn signals, horn and lights all work great when running. Heated grips too.

[elsalvadorklr]

very nice

I want to do the capacitor and bridge rectifier for my horn off my ac regulator...one if these days on an xr6

[LandsVW]

Originally Posted by davek181

I built a capacitor pack for my XL out of off the shelf capacitors ar radio shack. I bought three 2700 mf capacitors. (the biggest ones they had) Soldered them together in parallel on a circuit board I bought there too.

Put it in my XL, changed all my instrument lights and taillight to LED. When I kill the engine the neutral light will stay on for about 15 seconds on reserved power. Turn signals, horn and lights all work great when running. Heated grips too.

So far, I think I've figured out that 4500uF and 20 volts is about the minimum. I have seen people (on the web) using 150,000uF and up to 40 volts. I dunno what the top voltage could actually be, but the uF determines amount of power stored, or practically speaking, the length of the charge - how long the lights will stay on... Steve mentioned possibly having one for me, but I'll have your plan as a backup... maybe rob some capacitors from some old electronics or something... I could try some higher voltage ones from a computer power supply maybe, just to see if the capacitor 'cares' what the higher voltage is. The higher uF also takes longer for a charge to be built up but that shouldn't be anything to consider in this application, especially as the ignition circuit is separate from lights on these bikes.

[LandsVW]

I spend an hour installing the capacitor that was sent to me (thank you Steve) and rerouting wiring, finding places for odd electrical bits, and etc.

Got it! I finished up about 7:30 - just in time for dark! So, rode around the block admiring turn signals, and brake lights. The speedometer lights don't work, the high/low beam switch is kinda crazy so i guess I'll clean it, and the rear brake light switch has yet to be installed.

Verrrry nice. Tomorrow I think would be a good day for a longer ride down the road to see what she's like.

Continued updates! Maybe even a picture!

[LandsVW]

I took the bike out on Sunday. Seemed to run good but felt a little 'poppy' for lack of a better term as the RPM's went up. I don't know if this is jetting, or because of my newer muffler and baffle (XR400), or maybe another carburetor problem that I need to work out. Went very quickly to highway speed though in 1-3 gears (which was 45 in our residential are). Was hard to start but I've figured out a bit more on how to start it: compression, then compression release. the kick start goes from hard to easy then hard again. If I push it just a little more into the next 'hard' spot, then bring it to the top and give a kick, it usually pops. Doesn't usually catch but gets better with each kick until it's running.
Then, I came home and changed the oil and filter to Rotella 15-W40. I will pull the plug at some point and see how rich or lean she's running. May go out and ride a bit tonight after Track practice...

L