Hitchcocks Forum

Hey guys , i am almost ready to wire the model G , and i am more exited than i have been in a long time , still have had no joy with finding a reputable nickel plater though , but i guess that is the way things are in New York ,that being said as i mentioned , i'm ready to wire the bike , so i got a great new battery , 6v , as i really want to keep her origanal ,, and i was wondering if anyone could tell me what gauge negative battery cable , i am grounding to the frame , i should mention i had the dynamo rebuilt and converted to a two brush, i am also converting to a dvr2 converter , and like i said negative earth, also what would be the appropriate gauge of wire , there are a million opinions and i trust you guys to have the right information , also i know i said i wanted to keep her origanal but without reliable starting , they tend to stay in the garage a little to much.
Thanks guys !

Ohms Law is your friend. In this instance, you want W over I and V. W is Watts. I is Amps and V is volts. We know that V=6, so all you have to do is add up the total load (In Watts) of the bike, then divide that figure by 6. That'll give you a figure in Amps. In it's a case of selecting a cable that'll support that current (With a little bit extra to prevent over heating).

Not sure I would want a bike without reliable starting
I would always over spec wire size to be on the safe side but as Barry says.

Thanks a million guys , i guess to do the job right , one has to do the job right , a little math never killed anyone !

For your plating problem you could try asking the question on BritBike - http://www.britbike.com/forum/ - there are quite a few folks there who live in or around NYC and upstate NY & NJ too. It is a registration site but quite easy to register.

Thinking about platers, perhaps Hugh at Sixth Street Specials might know someone - Address: 703 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009 Phone:+1 212-979-6535
He has no website but a Google search will bring up some information about his business

For the earth strap I would look for mechanical strength as well as electrical capacity. You can get some pretty feeble looking cable that would take the electric load. Go for something stronger and fit good quality terminals even though it can carry well in excess of the amps required.

Hello SAboy,
If your are making yourself the wiring, a very good idea is to fit earth wires for the different elements, and especially the front ones : the earth is conducted via the frame, and tries to go through the steering (ball bearings, grease and so)
Not only the earth is not good, and it is a problem with 6v, but it damages the steering head ball races. So the best is to have an earth wire that goes from the frame to inside the lamp. An earth wire to the rear lamp is too a good idea.
Hope it will help you
Claude

Hi SAboy, good to see you are still going with your G. Here in OZ I use an Electoless Nickel kit which I buy from Jane's Kits at www.janekits.com.au. I realize you will not be able to buy from them because of the hassle of shipping chemicals but there must be something similar in the USA. It's fairly clean and simple and can be done at home in your garage/shed( nothing excessively toxic). I have used this method for years on my restorations and done correctly it's very good.

Hi Brian , thanks for the info , i found a vendor in the States that sell kits , but it is very expensive and apparently they won't ship to New York , something about shipping chemicals they said , that being said i am expanding my search to other states maybe i will get lucky.
Thanks again for all the info , i really appreciate it