| Author | Message | ||
     Buelldualsport |
Anyone beside myself notice that the ground from the battery is terminated into a piece of aluminum. Yes, it goes through a hole in the steel battery box, but aluminum. The other ground bundle under the seat also terminate in an aluminum taped hole in the side rails. Yes the bolts are steel but they have a locking agent on them. Not too conducive to a good electrical connection. Have not gotten there, but I am assuming the one at the steering head is also terminated in aluminum. Does this make any sense? Thanks Just curious? | ||
| Rwven |
Oh yes, we've noticed! I've redone all mine with star washers plus added another 200A rated ground strap from the battery to a different location on the frame under the seat. The ground bundle on the steering head has been reworked also. | ||
| Etennuly |
Well when you consider the bikes are mostly made of aluminum, and the material is a good conductor of electricity, where else are you intending to put the grounds? Maybe on the end of your steel crank shaft?  The problem with aluminum as a conductor on these machines is that they have to mate non similar metals to make the connection, which automatically causes corrosion at the mating surfaces. Keeping them clean of corrosion, sealed from air and water, and tightly biting in, will give you good ground connections. Anywhere steel parts bolt to the aluminum, it needs to be insulated from the aluminum to avoid electralisis(corroding). Steel and aluminum will eat each other given time. | ||
| Rwven |
Etennuly is correct. I used Noalox om the fasteners. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
Indeed you both are correct. We are designing a ground harness to possibly attach to the motor. Details will follow. Cheers | ||
| Uly_man |
"We are designing a ground harness to possibly attach to the motor." If you mean the starter motor I hate to say it but I tried this on my 06 bike. First with a Neg cable direct to the starter case from the battery. Then correct size Pos and Neg leads, from a near new 800CCR Varta car battery, direct to the starter. In either case it made little difference. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
Thanks for the input and update. Cheers | ||
| Uly_man |
Yes the engine will crank better with a 800CCR battery because it will do it longer than the 200CCR OEM one. The problem is not the OEM battery it is the engine. All V-Twin engines can be hard starters. My 06 bike was a pig and my RSV-R was as well. | ||
| Teeps |
A voltage drop test on the ground systems, would quickly indicate if there is a ground deficiency. | ||
| Tootal |
Remember, these are a long stroke high compression engines. If you try and start it on the compression stroke it doesn't have the power to push on through unless it gets a running start. On custom Harley engines running this high of compression a lot of guys put in compression releases for starting purposes. Granted the grounds can cause problems on these bikes but the slow starting is just the nature of the beast! I also ran a ground wire straight to the engine but it didn't do anything. | ||
| Etennuly |
You could install an air powered starter like some BIG diesel engines or even an explosive start system like the old B52's had. Problem is carrying the systems to make them work will be cumbersome and really heavy. The starting system is a compromise of the best of light weight, functionality, and economics. We have one thousand two hundred and three cubic CC's of air/ fuel to crush to make a posted one hundred and three horse power. I have had five hundred CC single cylinder motorcycles producing 42 horsepower with a kick starter, compression release, and a timing mark on the cam, trust me, it started way harder than the Ulysses when hot. I am amazed that this thing we have starts as well as it does. I don't think mine has ever turned over more than three revolutions to be running. The majority of the time it is running on the first compression-fire stroke. I think to complain about it's resistance to wanting to turn over freely upon starting, is to not exactly understand what we have. This is a high performance air cooled engine. I think it could be likened to the difference between basic Lycoming airplane engines and the 2000 hp air cooled Pratt and Whitney motors in the WWII Corsair's. I still think the most amazing thing about these high performance air cooled thumpers is that we can regularly get over 50 miles per gallon of gas while wringing it out in the twisties.  Crank-hesitate-fire. To me is a testament of what we are riding.  | ||
| Tootal |
I have had five hundred CC single cylinder motorcycles producing 42 horsepower with a kick starter, compression release, and a timing mark on the cam, trust me, it started way harder than the Ulysses when hot. I had a 441cc single kick start with no mark on the cam. If you didn't know what you were doing it would put you over the handlebars!! | ||
| Etennuly |
 My TT500 did it to me several times even with the help stuff! Bastard! Gawd I loved that bike! | ||
| Buelldualsport |
We also had a TT500 and a 441 Vic Still have the marks on the shin for when it would "kick back" and give us a free ride. Thanks | ||
| Tootal |
I remember the day my dad stomped her and forgot to turn the handlebars to the left. Jammed his knee right into the bars!! Ouuuuch!  We both had SR 500 Yami's after the Victor, great bikes. After that I had a couple of multi Yami's and then I got a BMW K100 RS. While riding with a bunch of Harley riders, one guys wife was having trouble kicking her low rider. Her husband wouldn't help her since he had told her if she wanted to ride she had to start it herself. Well after she completely wore herself out I shut off my BMW and walked over. Well everybody shut off their bikes to watch the Beemer rider with the pussy button try and start a Harley. I turned it over till I felt compression and let it leak by and then did it again. I could smell the gas so I knew she was flooded. I opened the throttle wide open and stomped her good and she lit right up! Once I cleaned her out one of the guys asked me, where did you learn to start a Harley. I told him I had a BSA 441 Victor and compared to that, Harleys are for pussy's!  | ||
| Etennuly |
Good one Greg! I got my TT stuck in a truck tire rut, 95 degree day, in the bottom of a steep valley, packed solid with mud, I had a fairly fresh broken right ankle joint, I was riding alone and nearly exhausted, and I stalled it. Shit! The rut was deep enough the bike would stand on it's own, it could not be pulled out with it not running, and the kick lever could only get half of it's stroke. I passed the cam marker over one time and lined it up. When I kicked it down it back fired throwing me over the bars into the mud on my back. It was the nasty gooey clay mud that really stinks especially when cooked on a hot engine. So I got out of the mud, climbed back on the still standing bike, lined her all up, opened the throttle and whack! SOB did it again! Over the bars and on my back. I crawled out of the mud and laid in the shade for a half hour or so to recover from the ankle pain and let it cool down a bit. Then I dug out the muck for my foot to pass a full stroke. When I kicked it my boot was going into the water below the peg level where the starter lever slipped off hitting my right chin! At least the bastard started, but that was a move that left me seeing stars for a while. I sure did not stall it again getting out of there! Man.....I loved that bike! It was awesome! Good thing I was only twenty years old! | ||
| Tootal |
I took the BSA apart once because the return spring for the kick starter broke. When I saw how it worked it made sense to me. When you kick it you must go ALL the way down until you disengage the gears and once your down you must stay there until you are sure it's dead and is no longer going to rotate in any direction!! A lesson you obviously learned THE HARD WAY!  | ||
| Etennuly |
I still feel it!  And there are still lumps on my chin bone above where my moto boot covered it. Truly a matter of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!(or scarred for life!) | ||
| Uly_man |
"On custom Harley engines running this high of compression a lot of guys put in compression releases for starting purposes." This and other ways used to be done many years ago. Yes it is the nature of this type of engine. I do not know what, if anything, they have done with the 2010 bike but it starts easy(ish) and the battery is ok standing for many weeks without a trickle charger. The 06 bike was a bit of a "hit and miss" thing even running it daily. It charged right and a brand new battery was no better. I tried everything and no dice. |
