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[jefrs]

OTOH a visit to a good garage may cost more than a good new battery. A good battery is not only about the charge it can hold e.g. 14Ah but also about how much current it can kick out when needed, typically for a starter motor.



Personally I would stick to ye olde lead-acid. Lithium may seem like a good idea but no one has yet invented a proper charger for automotive lithium batteries, they do not charge correctly on a bike, by which I mean they are never brought up to full charge nor are they intended by design for constant charging. They work fine in a laptop but they do have special chargers. Gel filled are safer for off road bikes but often cannot put out the current of a wet lead-acid. Plus lead-acid are relatively cheap.

[ChrisD]

Hi guys. Thanks for all your continuing advice.
Tim, I hadn’t realised the alternator had such a low output – I always knew it was low but ~70W is ridiculous. With the recently emplaced 60W headlamp+tail I must have been exceeding the total charge just there (indicators are 23W each too), let alone the coil which must pull a couple of amps or more. Actually does anyone know how much the coil pulls – I have the EMGO dual. It is charging for about 2/3 of a cycle for the full 12v through the 3.5 Ohms resistance, so presumably that's an average of 30W - maybe? Since all the pigtails on the 3-wire alternator are cracked right through, slowly corroding wires show everywhere, I have indeed placed an order for a new one from our host.
All wires are now tested and no hidden resistance draining power and warming the bike.
Jefrs, I had indeed thought the battery to be on its way out and have in fact just replaced it – but I'm yet to test it (which I will do asap before the alternator shows up in a week or so).
Cheers, I’ll keep all posted.
ChrisD

[zonggong]

You could also consider using an LED headlamp to reduce current draw. I have put one in my B5 and find it extremely bright and white. I used an H4 40W/20W type with 4000 lm/2000lm output to meet local regulations. There was a little fiddling to get it to fit in the casquette with the speedo cable behind but not insurmountable. The current draw to the headlamp was reduced from 5 amps to less than 2 amps and the voltage at idle stays around 14 volts. There seems to be a big variety of LED headlamps available. The one I chose has a small fan mounted on the front to cool the LED element and has the smallest profile at the rear to avoid interfering with the speedo cable. It was AUD$20 from a HongKong online supplier.