Member Contributer Dutchy Posted April 22, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted April 22, 2013 I have and can recommend the brand/type Optimate. I have no shares/commercial interest in the company.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRad704 Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 Thanks guys. I borrowed a 12v/2amp charger and charged both of my battery last night. I'll be doing the voltage check today on the presumably dead RR Sent from my handheld-sending-thing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NakedViffer Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Yeah, I've always used the 2a setting on my automotive battery charger to charge my bike batteries, never had a problem. It is a smart charger though and shuts off when battery has a full charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resin Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Someone mentioned to install a Battery Tender. I have three Tenders. I used two on my motorhome, one for the coach batteries, one form the chassis battery, and my third Tender is on my project VFR. My daily bike is getting a voltmeter, however I weekly check my daily ride battery. I check it before it gets cranked, tested @ idle, and again @ 3-5 K. I periodically log in my readings. I feel if at rest the voltage is good, then with my new battery things are holding, and for safety I check @ run condition. I will do this until I install volt meters on both bikes. I hope to get voltmeters installed on both bikes within a month. I've involved with too many projects, otherwise I'd already have meters on my bikes. Once I get my meters installed, I'll post with photos the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resin Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Earlier I mentioned my thoughts on having a dash mount volt meter. Today my two voltmeters arrived. They only cost $5.00 each! These meters should work very nicely for our applications. Making a nice installation can easily be done. I've attached a photo with a link as to where they can be bought. The link will open up giving detailed specifications. http://www.mpja.com/05-07-13.asp?r=364614&s=13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRad704 Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 I bought my on ebay for $5 each also. Looks about like yours, but already has the plastic housing on it. Just be mindful of where you mount them, and whether or not water/rain ever gets in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 I bought a rm r/r for my second gen.worked for a week then started cranking 19 dc volts into my electrical system.battery boiled and leaked out Went to honda and paid big bucks but have never had any problem with oem rr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mk2davis Posted October 8, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2014 For those of you who are keeping track at home . . . show of hands? That's nobody. I've been through 2 Rick's RR's, each one lasting about 1 year or 10k miles, give or take. At $120ish a piece, I'm less than excited when the year is up. In the name of SCIENCE (and not just because I'm cheap), I decided to see what happens when I install a $36 shipped RR from Caltrix. Callix. Celtrix. Something like that. A month in, a rock solid 14.3V. So time will tell. For those still on the fence with a 3rd, 4th, 5th gen . . . my onboard voltmeter has been money! It has saved me twice. Once on the way to Neptune's Net for lunch. I was fortunate enough to not have to work on my bike in the parting lot. The second time, My RR fried in the Valley heat, and the tenths of volts were slipping away. She still ran fine, but I knew what the issue was before I got stranded. Always a plus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted October 9, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted October 9, 2014 ^^^ I'm kinda at - for any R/R replacement, the goto is the Shindengen FH020aa. Purchase at www.roadstercycle.com No Ricks,Caltrix, Electrosport, etc..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Thanks for the update. It's a little discouraging since I just installed a VFRness and a Rick's R/R in my 4th gen. I'd rather not add clutter to the VFR's nice console, but I do have an unused powerlet outlet in the left fairing... maybe I'll jimmy up a meter for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted October 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2014 "I'd rather not add clutter to the VFR's nice console" Signal Dynamics LED volt meter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer pres589 Posted October 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2014 The Signal Dynamics LED voltage indicator is extremely nice. I have mine attached electrically to a switched contact on my VFRness accessory fuse block. http://www.amazon.com/Signal-Dynamics-Heads-Voltage-Monitor/dp/B00AC5J84M Worth every penny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Thanks for the tip on the Signal Dynamics. Definitely less cluttered. I woke up with an interesting idea... could use an analog-to-digital converter with a cheap controller to make a bluetooth/wifi voltmeter. Then I could have my phone display the voltage readout, or have the bike email me when the voltage starts to slip. :) ADC: http://www.adafruit.com/product/1085 Controller: http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-UNO-board-DIP-ATmega328P/dp/B006H06TVG/ref=pd_sim_pc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=08YEEV21PNF1Z3GWPH73 It's definitely a bit of a DIY project; maybe something to play with once the season ends. Would also need a way to get clean power to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 the Signal Dynamics set-up is by far the best voltage monitor i've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted October 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2014 Over on the Dutch VFR forum there is a member who builds a led type voltmeter that will only light up when the voltage it outside the acceptable range.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted October 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted October 13, 2014 Thanks for the tip on the Signal Dynamics. Definitely less cluttered. I woke up with an interesting idea... could use an analog-to-digital converter with a cheap controller to make a bluetooth/wifi voltmeter. Then I could have my phone display the voltage readout, or have the bike email me when the voltage starts to slip. :) ADC: http://www.adafruit.com/product/1085 Controller: http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-UNO-board-DIP-ATmega328P/dp/B006H06TVG/ref=pd_sim_pc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=08YEEV21PNF1Z3GWPH73 It's definitely a bit of a DIY project; maybe something to play with once the season ends. Would also need a way to get clean power to it. Wow, that's an interesting idea. Post up a build thread once you get going. the Signal Dynamics set-up is by far the best voltage monitor i've seen. The thing about the Signal Dynamics LED is that the range of green is way too wide - 15.1 - 12.9 volts. So you could be running all day or all vacation in the green and still end up stranded by the side of the road. With a digital, you can watch the trend of the health of the system and get a handle on preempting a problem if something pops up. Low 13s and 12.9 volts consistantly will get you stranded. Any Amber reading other than idle - chances are your hosed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I woke up with an interesting idea... could use an analog-to-digital converter with a cheap controller to make a bluetooth/wifi voltmeter. Then I could have my phone display the voltage readout, or have the bike email me when the voltage starts to slip. :) Wow, that's an interesting idea. Post up a build thread once you get going. I will if I do. I don't know if it would be that interesting from a pictures viewpoint, since most of the work is writing software. These controllers are great for hobbyist projects... they're like electronic lego blocks. Here's all the physical wiring needed to build a simple programmable voltmeter. That's about $25 in parts. You wouldn't want to mount it in a bike like that; the mighty V4 rumble would shake it apart. :) So there's a little more work to get it properly soldered and mounted in a case. The remaining problem is that it can read voltage, but doesn't have a way to tell you what it is (unless you want to mount a laptop on your tank). A simple solution would be to wire in a speaker or a light. On a VFR, you might connect it to something like your fuel light... program it so that the light is off when everything is fine, on when your fuel is low, blinks slowly below 13.5V and blinks fast below 13V. My thinking was to add a wireless module to it (~$7) so that it could talk to a phone via bluetooth. This lets you do things like displaying graphs and sending emails. But now you have to write a little app for the phone that can talk to it over bluetooth. How hard this seems will probably depend on your background. I write software for a living, and am a 'can turn a wrench' guy when it comes to electronics. But I sweat over my Clymer manual a long time before bleeding a clutch. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mk2davis Posted October 14, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted October 14, 2014 I know its a personal preference thing, but I like numbers on my voltmeter. My brother has an SD that he really likes, but I'm not sold on it. The last time my RR was failing, I was watching it go from 13.8 to 13.4V, dropping .1V every 2 minutes or so. Still within "green" range, but obviously not functioning correctly. So in the comfort of my own garage, I swapped it out with a known good, and 14.4 just like she should be. Long story short, I like knowing I am going to be f'ed, rather than I am f'ed. I tried to mount my Vmeter as cleanly as possible, but glare can sometimes be an issue. There was a Honda Marine dial gauge that looked uber-slick (white background and all for you 4th geners out there) that I found after I already installed mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resin Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I mounted a small CPU cooling fan on top of my voltage rectifier. I have no photos, but if anyone is really interested later I will remove the aft fairings for photos. Right now I'm recovering from surgery, so no wrenching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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