Read the link in the last line of my post above where it says "THESE".

 

Alright my stock stator died - what a POS. Purchased Cycle Electric ... methinks it's shunt, too. Now when I see it and think of it there is no way to regulate voltage on a brushless alternator with permanent magnets.



Edit: I take it back, there is a way to save energy using thyristors. Although it makes the power "dirty", high frequency component will be present in DC.

cHarley, can you confirm thyristor solution is used?

 

check your ground wire and conection at the starter, my volatage regulator was bad and it acted similar to what your describeing

 

Who are you replying to?

 

This has been a very interesting thread thus far and got much better when I decided to get a cold beer after the first page.

I'm not a Electrical Engineer or a Electronics Engineer but I might be able to give my 2 cents worth of advice.

I've got three bikes in the garage and never enough time to get them all on the road. Hence why they are all fitted with battery tenders. I have never had a flat battery issue and I have read that the tender increases the life span of your battery as well. Plus, those things are bloody handy when you are doing a road trip and you want to charge your phone.

 

Yeah ... you gotta have a working charging system if you get those bikes on the road ... unless you have veeeery loooong tender cable.

 

Man...this thread went from helping a member get bike started to elec. engineering 101...interesting twist gents.

 

OK. Did some math, thought I'd share with you.
Looking at Cycle Electric regulator and considering it's size I'm pretty sure it is a shunt.
Let's say you install this on a 883 Sportster.
CE alternator outputs 38 A at 2500 RPM. This is 532 W (at 14 V), ~0.7 HP.
It seems 883 speed at 2500 RPM is about 47 MPH.
Cruising at this speed requires approximately 4.5 HP to overcome the air drag.
The conclusion: In these conditions 15% of your horsepower goes to running the alternator. This sucks. It comes out of your fuel tank, BTW.
(Yes I know about 120 W is actually useful and needed to run the bike, but still.)