SuzukiSavage.com - How much power to spare

Yan YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 30	How much power to spare 10/08/10 at 20:03:17 Does anyone know if the alternator outputs enough power to plug in a heated jacket (77W) and heated gloves (21W)? Thanks!
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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Online Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28890 L.A. California Gender:	Re: How much power to spare Reply #1 - 10/08/10 at 20:15:55 hmmm... 98 watts, well if you changed the headlight to a 10 watt bulb you should be just fine.
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Yan YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 30	Re: How much power to spare Reply #2 - 10/08/10 at 20:21:39 verslagen1 wrote on 10/08/10 at 20:15:55: hmmm... 98 watts, well if you changed the headlight to a 10 watt bulb you should be just fine. do you mean Savage has only 50W to spare?
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Lupo

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Re: How much power to spare
Reply #3 - 10/08/10 at 20:23:52

That's a good question. I've tried looking for a number but haven't found it. I'm guessing it would be fine. I have a Honda VLX with about the same specs and it puts out 335 W. I'd think as long as you keep the revs moderately up and aren't running extra lighting it would be fine. Generally you won't run the heated gear on high except to get it warmed up then you put it back a bit. More in the medium range. Daytime probably wouldn't matter at all if you rig a switch to the headlight to shut it. I don't know , but I've been thinking about the same for awhile.
Vest alone would be fine I'm sure and just put good liners (silk) in winter gloves.

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verslagen1

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Re: How much power to spare
Reply #4 - 10/08/10 at 21:18:43

Yan wrote on 10/08/10 at 20:21:39:

verslagen1 wrote on 10/08/10 at 20:15:55:

hmmm... 98 watts, well if you changed the headlight to a 10 watt bulb you should be just fine. Cool

do you mean Savage has only 50W to spare?

People have run 95 watt bulbs and they're fine.
Others have run near 200 watts and they ran the battery dry.

My guess is 120 to 150 watts

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Yan

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Re: How much power to spare
Reply #5 - 10/09/10 at 08:19:58

verslagen1 wrote on 10/08/10 at 21:18:43:

Yan wrote on 10/08/10 at 20:21:39:

verslagen1 wrote on 10/08/10 at 20:15:55:

hmmm... 98 watts, well if you changed the headlight to a 10 watt bulb you should be just fine. Cool

do you mean Savage has only 50W to spare?

People have run 95 watt bulbs and they're fine.
Others have run near 200 watts and they ran the battery dry.

My guess is 120 to 150 watts

In other words I should be fine, right? I will have a short commute, less than 2 miles one way, the battery is charged over night, I doubt I will run it dry in 10 minutes of total riding time. Thanks!

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verslagen1 YaBB Moderator ModSquad Online Where there's a will, I want to be in it. Posts: 28890 L.A. California Gender:	Re: How much power to spare Reply #6 - 10/09/10 at 09:14:00 You need a heated jacket for 2 miles? I can see the gloves, maybe socks, but a jacket too? You must have some great snow tires...
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Yan

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Re: How much power to spare
Reply #7 - 10/09/10 at 09:23:53

verslagen1 wrote on 10/09/10 at 09:14:00:

You need a heated jacket for 2 miles?
I can see the gloves, maybe socks, but a jacket too?
You must have some great snow tires... Huh

Yes, I like to stay warm, even on a 5 minute commute

If you are cold you start dreading the ride, as oppose to looking forward to it. As for snow tires - contrary to the popular belief even up here the roads are bone dry for most of the winter. It takes city crews a day or two to clear them off snow after a heavy snowfall, but once that is done you are good to go. There is a 'but' though - in the neighboring province of Quebec vehicles MUST have snow tires between Nov 15 and Mar 15, and since there is no dedicated winter tires for motorcycle guys up there simply can't ride in the winter. Luckily I live in Ontario

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Re: How much power to spare
Reply #8 - 10/09/10 at 17:52:21

Yan, I was going to put two 50w halogens on my bike, but two people on here said they used these same lights on their bikes and drained their batteries in a couple of days. I would use caution for a week or so till you know for sure. I think Verslagen is probably close in his guesstimate. Have the wife or a friend by the phone for a few days during your commute times just in case. Let us know what you can get away with. Many of us have wanted to use add-ons, but we don't have much info on what we can stand. Thanks, Boofer

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Lupo Senior Member Offline Posts: 356	Re: How much power to spare Reply #9 - 10/09/10 at 18:44:10 He's only going 2 miles He can walk back home.
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Yan

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Re: How much power to spare
Reply #10 - 10/09/10 at 18:45:13

Boofer wrote on 10/09/10 at 17:52:21:

Yan, I was going to put two 50w halogens on my bike, but two people on here said they used these same lights on their bikes and drained their batteries in a couple of days. I would use caution for a week or so till you know for sure. I think Verslagen is probably close in his guesstimate. Have the wife or a friend by the phone for a few days during your commute times just in case. Let us know what you can get away with. Many of us have wanted to use add-ons, but we don't have much info on what we can stand. Thanks, Boofer

Sure thing Boofer, I will report back once I start using the jacket and gloves. You say people drained their batteries in a couple of days, but I always plug the bike into the charger when I pull into the garage so I may not even notice the discharge. Thanks for the advice on having someone on the phone, but even if the battery is dead I will still be probably able to start the bike. A few weeks ago I came to work and forgot to turn the key off - left the bike with ignition on and headlight running. A couple of hours later an email is sent throughout our office building - someone left his bike with the lights on. So I run downstairs and sure enough the battery is already flat dead - no lights, push the starter button and the bike makes no sound. That's when I was glad the Savage has a carburetor and not fuel injection - it didn't take me more than a couple of minutes of push-starting to start the bike.

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Lupo Senior Member Offline Posts: 356	Re: How much power to spare Reply #11 - 10/09/10 at 20:20:02 I just found what seems to be a pretty accurate number and it is a very anemic charging system. This is the statement: the savage alternator is three phase, output 210 watt at 5000rpm, standard charge output equals 14-15 volt dc at 5000rpm , standard no load performance equals more than 100v ac at 5000rpm
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Routy Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 2280 Winston Oregon Gender:	Re: How much power to spare Reply #12 - 10/09/10 at 21:09:22 Amps ?? 210 watts divided by 14 volts equals 15 amps total at 5,000 R's
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Boofer Serious Thumper Offline Nearly too old. Posts: 1760 N Ms Gender:	Re: How much power to spare Reply #13 - 10/10/10 at 18:34:28 Lupo wrote on 10/09/10 at 18:44:10: He's only going 2 miles He can walk back home. In a cold rain, on a moonless night, this close to Halloween. Ever seen Ghost Rider? LOL
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mornhm - FSO

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Re: How much power to spare
Reply #14 - 10/11/10 at 06:05:33

You would have to really keep your revs up on a Savage (probably unrealistically so) not to be pulling too many amps with your heated clothing turned on. Do you have a heat controller? You can reduce your watts (amps) this way.
If your battery is in great shape what you are describing (2 miles there, 2 miles back then onto the tender overnight) will probably work. If your battery is marginal, you might find the MC quitting (low voltage) when you take it out of gear and let the revs go down. Very few MC's cruise around at 5,000 rpm. Even at interstate speeds, my sport tourer is loping along at 4,000 rpm, on secondary roads, I run about 3,000 rpm. The output curve of an alternator can really drop off as the rpms drop slightly. I know there are tables on this site that show what your rpms are at various speeds.

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