Hey Mike
I have been a follower of your webpage for years and always enjoyed reading your comments. I am curious to know what you would suggest to those who want to improve their stock charging system to be able to do the things "jason41987" just mentioned i.e. heated gear for those of us in the North, brighter lights for night driving, heated grips, etc.? Perhaps start a new thread and put it in the "Tips and Tricks section - imagine it would be slightly different for CB550s and CB750s.
Thoughts on this?
Thanks
Andy
Thanks for the note, Andy, and the kind words. I don't think any of those things are a problem on a 550 or 750. As I say, I ran a weedburner headlight and double-draw ignition coils for most of the 94,000 miles my 500 four had on it when I sold it. Just turn the regulator up and you will have plenty of juice to handle the usual stuff. (I have a booklet on my website about this.). Now, heated clothing I would make an exception for, as much of it is in the 100 to 300 watt range, which of course represents a huge hit on a 170 to 230 watt charging system. So my advice? Limit heated clothing to heated gloves and small vest, and avoid adding lights unless they're LED. But pretty much anything else short of a travel trailer goes, including a high wattage headlight and high performance ignition coils.
Ninety percent of charging issues is, as with any electrical problem, in the connectors. Get 'em clean and tight. Remember also that even electrical niggles not normally associated with the charging system can affect it. For example, a keyswitch with bad contacts will reduce charging output because the alternator's field coil is energized through the keyswitch. Similarly, bad connectors and sloppy wiring anywhere on the bike is going to increase the standard full-time electrical loading, putting a larger burden on the charging system. Even a mis-adjusted brake light switch (whose light comes on prematurely) on older lower-output charging system models can make a big difference. It could be that my experience was exemplary largely because I did not allow these things to get out of hand. If after all this you think the system is still outputting low, check your field coil's resistance. For max alternator output it should be closer to the low end of the range than to the high end. Whatever the manual says, I call the range 2 to 6 ohms. I would much rather have a 3 ohm unit than a 5 ohm one. Although these parts from Honda are of course long gone, aftermarket sources exist and I would insist on the lower spec, as I say. As long as it is above 2 ohms. Later (75 and later) bikes whose headlights are on all the time can be converted to on/off systems, and that will help. Later bikes having solid state regulators can be retroverted to the adjustable kind. 550s need to have their regulator mountings checked as a Honda publication warns that some 75 models had vibration issues that interfered with the regulator's correct function. A similar memo indicts some 75 model field coils as needing premature replacement also. Finally, these bikes (SOHC fours) are high revvers compared to many of the cruisers and whatnot today. They are designed and geared to be used at 4,000+ rpm, not 2,500. Those are my recommendations and the operating modality I used personally.
http://www.motorcycleproject.com/motorcycle/text/defense_chging.html
