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[Count Johnny]

Good Morning

I have a stripped down 1996 500cc Bullet, which I am running batteryless using a Boyer Powerbox. General electrical spec is standard 3 wire alternator; Boyer Powerbox, Boyer Electronic Ignition; no indicators or any other electrical stuff to run apart from a headlight and rear/stop light.

Things are obviously fairly marginal at tickover as - even running an LED headlight bulb (which barely lights the inside of the headlamp shell, never mind the road!) - using the brake light cuts the engine.

So, living in London, as I do, lighting the road is not a day to day requirement but - with summer coming up and some nights runs into the country planned - I'd like to fit a halogen headlamp, so have just sprung for the (Lucas) uprated stator and rotor to help things along.

Any thoughts or tips would be most welcome.

[simon]

Do you have a specific objection to a battery?

[Bullet Whisperer]

You beat me to it, Simon. I was just going to say 'fit a battery' springs to mind. Cheers,Paul.

[Adrian]

If you have gone for the 4-wire upgrade, the electrical system is different, as the headlights run directly off the alternating current from the two purple(?) wires, this needs its own AC regulator. The other two wires will connect to your Boyer Power box and should give plenty of output to run the DC side of things.

Batteries are smaller and more efficient nowadays, you could always get a small 12v battery and tuck it out of site somewhere.

Regards,

A.

[Count Johnny]

The bike's a really stripped down 'Bobber', so it's more or less de riguer to run without a battery, and with a single sprung seat and zero tin-ware apart from the petrol tank and the rear mudguard, there really isn't anywhere to hide even a lithium battery. We also lost a fair bit of electrics/battery 'real estate' when we fitted the 5 speed gearbox - which also influenced my decision to go completely battery less.

Maybe, at some point, I'll sacrifice a portion of the tank to hide a small battery, but I'd rather make it work by semi 'traditional' means if I can.

Following my earlier post, I've had some useful email dialogue with Peter at Classic Dynamo Thingies, today, so have bought some LED rear/stop light bulbs from him and am awaiting his proper H4 replacement LED bulbs (that actually use the parabolic reflector rather than just filling up the headlamp shell with light!) - which he is expects to have on line within a couple of months.

Hopefully, the combination of LED lights that actually work and a little more output from the alternator will do the trick.

If I get it all to work, I'll let you know. Any more thoughts, in the meantime, would be welcome.

[ajb235]

My 1993 500 is stripped down in a similar way. I have the Boyer power box, points, coil, no battery. The original alternator was. 3 wire( down to 2) and the bike ran fine as long as the revs were kept up if the headlight was on. At low revs it would stall if the brake light and indicators are used together. To overcome this I fitted the Hitchcocks uprated alternator , still 3 wire down to 2, and this seems to have far more power, so no more problems.

[Count Johnny]

Thanks AJB35. That's encouraging.

[Count Johnny]

OK. I've received my 3 wire stator from our hosts and it only has two wires - which I'm assured is fine as two of the wires are joined in the standard configuration (which I already knew, so I get that). So, my question is does it matter which way round I hook up the wires as they're not coloured as they usually are on an Enfield. In my ignorance (I am a bear of very little brain) I'm thinking that it doesn't matter as it's an AC output, but any advice would be gratefully received.

[ajb235]

Count Johnny, the 2 wires carrying the alternating current from your alternator can be connected to the input of your rectifier unit, it doesn't matter which way round you connect them .Are you using the Boyer Powerbox or original Rectifier unit?
The Boyer unit takes AC in and gives 12 volts DC out, and all the lighting and ignition is DC. On my bike I have retained the 3 position ignition switch, and this is used in position 3, which on the original setup was emergency start. There is no battery on my bike, but it all seems to work ok with the up rated alternator. Good luck!

[Count Johnny]

Thanks ajb235. As I suspected, then.

I'm running the Boyer unit and my (non standard) three position ignition switch is Off/Run/Run & Lights. Out of interest, how do you find starting with no battery? With a battery, Slo Poke (my bike) started after one or two - maybe 3 - kicks, from stone cold but now takes some faith (to say nothing of a little nudity, if I don't want to start off my ride soaking wet from the inside out) and a dozen kicks, from cold - three or four, when she's warm.