External alternators, engine power loss? Noise?

[danf]

Hey littlebeaver,

Since were talking about 1983' GL11, maybe that should be your next one.

But you already have a GL11, maybe a GL10, or a GL12.

I would like to have ridden that GL10 that I finished building for my brother-in-law, but he wouldn't let me ride it. It's funny cause i let him ride three or four of my bike's till he dumped my 88' GL15 over on it's side one time, he came to a stop on a pitched driveway, then leaned over toward the low side of the pitch, and lost it, him and my bike went over. From there on I realized that a GL15 was just way to much bike for him.

I had him stick to riding my auto-shifting (CVT trans) Suzuki Burgman 650cc Scooter. It's a fast 2 cylinder bike, But the weight Is really low, and it only weighs 500-lbs I went through the suspension on it and it handles Great, but it sit's much lower, and no shifting, he kinda had trouble shifting. He has a short inseam (short legs), and could not touch the ground very well as it was, probably my fault for putting him on the big boy bike, instead of keeping him on a trainer.

This all happened after a 200-mile day trip up through the mountains I was riding a GL18, he was on the GL15, it was a great ride, but at the peak of the mountain on a remote two lane road, we were riding about 45-50mph, when I sensed something and braked hard, hoping my Brother -law was looking straight ahead, and was not going to slam into me, he saw me and slowed.

Must have been my spidiey senses, that saved us.

It was a good thing i had Braked hard, 8-10 deers flew across the road in front of me, they were really moving. That would have been bad, very bad.

He said he had 18 motorcycles at one time, But it had been a few years since he had ridden, so i figured he was capable. and i think he was, but he needed lots of current practice. I am so glad he did not get really badly hurt.

We had gone on quite a few rides before this happened. We had fun it would be nice to going on some bike rides together with him again.

I think I have a pic from that day ride

Sorry wrong pic that's my 99' GL15 torn apart, I was doing a lot of maintenance, and cleaning.

Wow, you sure are a impressive fella, I wish I could get another project bike, one will come along I want to get this Alt. conversion done first and add some bright lights and fun stuff to it first..I really enjoy reading your post.. :clapping:

 

[westgl]

Hey Littlebeaver,

I think it was dumb luck, but sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart.

Is that alternator conversion going on a full dresser?

I had one on my 86' GL12, I also had all LED's, I removed the alt., when i went naked on my 86'

I have mine sitting on my shelf now. I have the Geo metro alt.

I also put heavier gauge wire, from the alt. to battery, I think i put a circuit breaker, rather than a Fuse.

It worked well, and was hidden behind the fairing.

 

[danf]

Yes, it's going on my 81 Interstate, my favorite bike ever I think, I rode a 03 Kawa Nomad that was pretty cool but I found myself enjoying the goldwing a little more, daughter went to college so I sold it for extra funds.. a guy called Countryboy out of South Carolina is supposed to be cutting pulley's for everyone and I'm just waiting to hear back from him, the crank pulley is what I''m referring to..

 

[westgl]

Hey little beaver,

That is a nice looking bike

I am trying to think who made my Pulley.

It was not centered very well, as you could see lot's of wobble in the pulley as it turned.

You will have to open a hole in the two timing covers so that the pulley can poke through, to drive the alt.

 

[danf]

There is a awesome post here, it's good, it's a must read, on this subject, it's called 4" pulley, go to the alt. conversion in the forums page open it up and look for 4" pulley and enjoy the stuff in that post..I think it's very interesting..Dan has a really good pulley in the photo there..It fits tight no wobble and get this it's keyed for the keyway...hey..how's that..

 

[westgl]

The One I bought fit very tight and had a key way in it also.

It looked professional.

But, it was drilled off center, so when it ran it you could see that it looked like it was out of round.

It was, if i remember correctly a 3" pulley, which produced less current at a lower/Idle RPM.

I would think the 4" pulley would produce more current at idle than the stock stator or the setup i had with a 3" pulley.

I will go over to the 4" pulley thread and check it out.

Thanks

 

[westgl]

The guy that made my pulley, was Don ??? cant remember the last name, he was over at the Steve Saunders site(I think) making those pulley's for everybody over their.

It was the Poorboy setup

 

[westgl]

No it was at GL1200Goldwing site.

Don P

Cant remember the last name.

 

[westgl]

The PoorBoy kit, I had on my 86' GL12 was a little Noisy, with the serpentine belt, it took some power to drive the alternator, so the engine felt less powerful, it was noticeable.

You have to space the radiator out at the bottom, my poorboy kit came with a couple of spacers.

But if you have to have more power it is a option, that can work.

 

[westgl]

I wish I could run a shaft drive out the back of the engine off the existing stator shaft and directly into a alternator.

But there is no room back there.

 

[danf]

Wow, so you could feel it working , wow I never even considered that, didn't even consider it, I was thinking maybe it would be a little harder to start with the drag of the alt. but I never considered noise or the bike working a little harder...

 

[westgl]

Well like i said, it was a little noisy, the belt was, and yes there was a Little parasitic power loss, it was small but i could tell it.

I am trying to remember, i think it seemed to start fine.

On a hot day 95-105 deg. you are putting a little more load on the engine/cooling system.

Just something to think about.

Nothing is free, not even extra power. it may be a very small loss but it is something to consider.

I liked the poorboy system i had except the pulley, that was drilled off center, i had on my GL12 except on a Hot day, MY GL12 never over heated, but it seemed hotter, and i kept up with the maintenance. But it seemed to run a little hotter.

It may have been just me, you have a hot day bike is running hotter and you try to figure out what was done last to make the change.

 

[danf]

I wonder if someone has ever run therir motorcycle without a stator in it, you know, just the poorboy way but without a stator in the engine, I wonder if that would free up some drag. I wouldn't do it but if my stator was trashed I might try it..Now what an idea that is ha ha....think about it what good is it doing in there if it's bad, it's kinda heavy isn't it..

 

[slabghost]

I wonder if someone has ever run therir motorcycle without a stator in it, you know, just the poorboy way but without a stator in the engine, I wonder if that would free up some drag. I wouldn't do it but if my stator was trashed I might try it..Now what an idea that is ha ha....think about it what good is it doing in there if it's bad, it's kinda heavy isn't it..

Very good point. I doubt anyone has tried it though because the motor would have to be pulled to remove it and at that point why not just replace it? :headscratch:

 

[dan filipi]

I don't think it would be worth the trouble to remove the stator since for one the starter clutch is part of the turning assembly and I think removing the flywheel effect the armature has might even unbalance the engine since it was designed into it originally.
Would be worth trying if nothing else to see what happens.

As for the drag effect an external has I haven't found it to be more than the internal, actually the reverse since the external is loading the engine for what it's being asked to put out only. The internal is loading the engine 100% all the time.
Of course if a bunch more loads are asked of the alternator like extra driving lights it will load the engine more.
That's to be expected. While your car is running, turn on the headlights you'll hear the engine slow down a bit usually.

Noise I agree. The belt like on a car does make some noise. That is one reason I went with a flat belt since V belts are typically noisier as they slide and squeeze into the groove, flats lay on the pulley.

The alternator itself makes a small amount of noise, mostly as a whine but both of these noises are minimal, the gains far outweigh this.

 

[danf]

Yes of course you could just replace it, but I was just wondering if it would free up drag to the front poorboy method instead of having it in there, maybe it won't matter much, I wonder if anyone has ever done it because I'm curious that way....If I had a bad stator and I had a poorboy setup I would remove the stator I think and try it just for fun...See, then I'd be the only one in the World that's done it, a stator free bike.. No....I wouldn't do it because I'd always want my backup stator working in the case a belt broke or the alt. failed..

 

[danf]

I don't think it would be worth the trouble to remove the stator since for one the starter clutch is part of the turning assembly and I think removing the flywheel effect the armature has might even unbalance the engine since it was designed into it originally.
Would be worth trying if nothing else to see what happens.

As for the drag effect an external has I haven't found it to be more than the internal, actually the reverse since the external is loading the engine for what it's being asked to put out only. The internal is loading the engine 100% all the time.
Of course if a bunch more loads are asked of the alternator like extra driving lights it will load the engine more.
That's to be expected. While your car is running, turn on the headlights you'll hear the engine slow down a bit usually.

Noise I agree. The belt like on a car does make some noise. That is one reason I went with a flat belt since V belts are typically noisier as they slide and squeeze into the groove, flats lay on the pulley.

The alternator itself makes a small amount of noise, mostly as a whine but both of these noises are minimal, the gains far outweigh this.

I would think the exterior system far outweighs the noise factor...Beside's I can just turn up the stereo a hair and it will drown out any noise...

 

[jerryinmich57]

I don't think it would be worth the trouble to remove the stator since for one the starter clutch is part of the turning assembly and I think removing the flywheel effect the armature has might even unbalance the engine since it was designed into it originally.
Would be worth trying if nothing else to see what happens.

As for the drag effect an external has I haven't found it to be more than the internal, actually the reverse since the external is loading the engine for what it's being asked to put out only. The internal is loading the engine 100% all the time.
Of course if a bunch more loads are asked of the alternator like extra driving lights it will load the engine more.
That's to be expected. While your car is running, turn on the headlights you'll hear the engine slow down a bit usually.

Noise I agree. The belt like on a car does make some noise. That is one reason I went with a flat belt since V belts are typically noisier as they slide and squeeze into the groove, flats lay on the pulley.

The alternator itself makes a small amount of noise, mostly as a whine but both of these noises are minimal, the gains far outweigh this.

I would think the exterior system far outweighs the noise factor...Beside's I can just turn up the stereo a hair and it will drown out any noise...

I agree now that Stella is producing power I can even turn up the radio enough to drown out that small annoying exhaust leak I have. :smilie_happy:
Jerry

 

[westgl]

I would think that if you are wanting more power demand than your current stator can put out then you dont have much of a choice.

I would not even think about removing the old stator, think of it as a spare tire, if you ever decide to go back to less lighting or go naked with your bike, it is there.

When i said it put a little more load, the Goldwing is a powerful bike, and was a little more noisy, it was not bad at all, you will get used to it in no time.

Like I said it worked well, I had installed a digital LED volt Meter, since mine was a Interstate.

The part i did NOT Like was that the Poorboy Kit i bought had a Pulley that was Not drilled in the center of the pulley, this may have made more noise than one that was made right, I am not sure.

Dont worry about this setup, just make sure you get some really good to make those pulley's