The annual Rally is coming up next week so hope to attend. Haven't been there for 15 years or so.
The BMW R75/5 has had some weird electrical symptoms which I eventually diagnosed as a failed battery. Bike ran & started fine, but signals / front brake light switch stopped working...as well as intermittent function of the generator light / oil pressure light. I traced wires / inspected everything / could not find anything wrong. Battery would show 100% after charging, then drop to 55% after sitting on the bench overnight. Upon installation of new battery everything came to life and worked as it should. The Odyssey PC680 battery was 6 years old. After some correspondence found that one high ranked BMW Guru does NOT recommend the PC680's and Odyssey in general due to the same type of "no warning failures". Maybe I'll look at other brands next time.... Mottobatt?
Planned on riding the R75/5 to Colorado.....but looking at the tires, I'm not sure they have 1500 miles left in them. Still have tread, but tread seems to vanish quickly when they get to that stage. Ordered a new set of tires today, but not sure they'll get here quick enough to mount for the trip. With that fact I'll likely end up riding the Honda Goldwing to the rally. The Honda is definitely more comfortable for long mile days. Plus more stable in cross winds / rain. I also mounted a USB port / voltmeter to the bike to charge my cell phone.
After my bad experience with the (crap brand) Heavy Duty tire tube failures on the sidecar I'm a bit nervous as I also installed extra heavy duty tubes (name brand) on the Honda last Winter when I installed new tires. I hope the XHD tubes are up to the task. Lesson learned for me...."heavier" not necessarily "better". I've rode around a 1000 miles on the new tires and XHD tubes so hope they will carry me there and back with no issues.
Don't care to be dealing with a failed tube on the Goldwing on the road shoulder. I'll go prepared though with extra tubes, tire irons and an air compressor.
Been corresponding with a few Airheads over in San Diego who are attending the Rally so will likely see some familiar faces.
This site started out as a way to track a BMW / Jupiter Sidecar motorcycle project. It has gone in many different directions since its' conception. From motorcycle projects, to personal stories, opinions and family histories. I log most of our boring motorcycle riding adventures and experiences. I have completed my "R100S/6" build and changes are on-going.
2 comments:
Did you ever change out the voltage regulator to one of the newe (cheaper) adjustable electronic ones? All AGM batteries including the Odyssey, need a higher voltage than the flooded batteries the original regulator was designed for.
The R75 has a "Wehrle" newer style regulator / Thunderchild Diode Board....but I don't think it is adjustable. Output from battery, while running, never over 13 volts. I think that is low.
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