Possible to adapt phone charger to electrical system?

[Mucci]

With my SuperHawk and all those charging modifications, I was getting about 14.30 volts with the headlight off, and about 13.25 in change with the headlight on, and that's probably at about 4000rpm. I think 13 is probably what you'd normally get, hence my suggesting that it's more of a 'maintaining' system. Does anyone else have better numbers they're getting?

14.30 is a nice increase. Do you know what the charge current Amperage bumped up to?

[conbs]

There are several things that you could do to make a difference. Someone smarter than me would have to tell you if it "engineers" out right.

If I understand it correctly there are two output circuits in the stator. When the headlight is turned on it simultaneously kicks in the second circuit for more output and the theory was that your battery wouldn't drain even with the added draw from the headlight bulb. Vince is right, the original system was more of a "maintain" rather than "charge" kind of set up. I think you could get one of Charley's headlights with the H4 replaceable bulb (or cut the back end out of your sealed beam) and put an H4 LED headlight bulb in place. I bought a couple on Ebay. LED bulb takes much less power so in theory you have some to spare. I don't know if it would be enough to run heaters, but might be. I would be surprised if it was not at least enough to charge a phone.

Get a modern rectifier. The one from Retro Bikes in Port Angeles WA works great and has the period correct look. Or, you can get the one from Radio Shack. This should have a net effect of boosting output from your charging system.

Change the stop/tail light to an LED bulb (along with winkers if it has them). By itself not enough to power a phone, but it is cheap and you might as well if you are doing the other upgrades.

Finally, does this bike have an early or late battery? If it is a late battery, I don't know what replacement to suggest, but there is probably a modern replacement that will store more energy. If it is the early battery, there is a post on this site (G-man?) where a guy in England replaced his early battery with one that is a little taller. He modified the battery hold down and it fits inside the side cover just fine. I think the taller battery was rated at more AH, but even if not, you can get a more modern battery and probably save a buck or two to help pay for other mods.

If you keep the original system, this is about the extent of the mods available. I dont' represent these will be a solution to your specific project, but they are ideas you should consider and get an engineer friend to give you a final answer. If you could find a Rick's rotor/stator that changes everything.

Hope this helps.

[cadman]

Maximum charge is 3 amps - If you have a good battery and don't run at low RPM around town Iphone charging would probably work. I would consider changing the tail/brake light to an LED that draws far less current and not running the headllight during charging.

An alternative would be to run a second small battery that is charged at home. You could easily get multiple charges this way.

OR try an auxiliary solar charger like this - http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-50013-Mo ... B001D6GYLO

5VDC at 5 watts equals 1 amp.

No way on heated clothing. You re looking a 50 to 75 watts - 5-6 amps.

[Vince Lupo]

14.30 is a nice increase. Do you know what the charge current Amperage bumped up to?

Actually I don't know what the amperage increase was (don't forget, non-mechanic here!). I did forget to mention that I also have the H4 replacement bulb kit, running a 35/35 headlight bulb from Scooterworks, and I have a PowerSonic gel battery (not that the battery is necessarily helping with the charging). I do still have a standard taillight bulb, however. BTW if anyone has a specific recommendation for an LED taillight bulb, please let me know!

As a side note, I had an '81 CB900F a number of years ago, and at one point I had a Velorex 562 sidecar attached. The bike had both a brand-new stator and voltage regulator, and simply the addition of the extra brake/running light on the sidecar, and a running light on the front of the sidecar's fender would be enough to drain the battery. So do I have any faith in the charging systems of Hondas prior to 1981?........

Here again, how often is your customer going to be riding this Dream? Going to be doing any long trips from Chicago in January? Not to deny you the labour charge or the opportunity for additional work (as well as the 'customer is always right' sentiment), but for the cost of your labour/parts to do the modification/wiring, not to mention the addition of all those items we have discussed here, she'd be better off buying a nice set of heated gloves/mitts that have a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in them (like those from Gerbing's), and to make sure she has her phone charged up before the ride (How long does a cellphone battery charge last? Three days?). Just a suggestion from someone who has ridden his SuperHawk (and a Dream!) long distances, and in 36 degree weather.

[conbs]

Vince, Type in the above in an Ebay Motors search and over 1,200 items will come up in all kinds of colors. $3.49 with free shipping for a single red bulb and the price goes up from there.

"LED H4 headlight bulb" search will get over 500 hits for the LED headlight capsule, but be careful that you are actually buying a "headlight" (with high and low beams) vs a fog light.
It looks like these reduce power draw to around 5W vs the 35W original.

[Mucci]

Wow 35W to 5W.

Here's some info I got from a heated grips manufacturer about the requirements. I just thought I'd post it here for information sake:

"You need to know the 60's Honda Dream 305cc engine alternator or generator output in watts or amps. Then the electrical consumption items such as headlight, taillights, battery charging output, and running lights if any. Add all the consuming items up and subtract it from the specifications the model has on the alternator/generator output. If you have at least 35 watts excess capacity, then the heated grips can probably be fitted and provide sufficient heat. The caveat is that sometimes the manufacturers overstate their output. We ran into that with a Yamaha snowmobile and a Yamaha snow-thrower machine ourselves in testing.

The voltage of the machine is a factor too. If it is a 6 volt system, then the only models that can be fitted are our 401, Ergo 1 or Ergo 2. If it is a 12v system then any motorcycle model we offer can be fitted that matches the handlebar diameter (I believe the Honda Dream is a 7/8" diameter handlebar)

The amps/watts conversion is 2.5 amps at 12 volts is 30 watts. Other information on the formulas are found at: https://www.hotgrips.com/ohmtable.php"