Integrated voltmeter

[Danman109]

Thought i might share this with fellow racers, i wanted to have a voltmeter on the dash as my battery ran flat a couple of times last year (only trackdays not races thankfully!)

Initially i made a small bracket to mount this on the side of the clocks but this thing isnt waterproof and the wiring is too short.. (i have wiring-phobia)



So given i dont use half of the idiot light section i shoved the N and oil light over to one side then managed to find a way to get it in here:



good enough for me at the moment, all i need it for is a glance to check the battery before im going out and possibly mid race if i know its going to die, i might change it in the future but its water proof in there and not so much of a distraction.

I'll put up more images of how i did this if peeps are interested.

[cargo]

I admire you invention and you've sure got yourself a onboard while your riding volt meter to look at.

However I find that to be completely pointless.

A fully charged battery will easy do 150 miles on total loss..............................what good will it do you to know when the voltage has dropped to a level which wont run the bike during a race ? Its gonna stop.

You'd be better off keeping you battery fully charged that way unless you doing 150 plus mile races you always know it will last the race. Keeping the battery fully charged will also extend its life as batteries are generally NOT intended to be deep discharged and each time you deep discharge it its life is shortened.

[Danman109]

A fully charged battery will easy do 150 miles on total loss..............................what good will it do you to know when the voltage has dropped to a level which wont run the bike during a race ? Its gonna stop.

You'd be better off keeping you battery fully charged that way unless you doing 150 plus mile races you always know it will last the race. Keeping the battery fully charged will also extend its life as batteries are generally NOT intended to be deep discharged and each time you deep discharge it its life is shortened.

Agreed on a lead acid never had a problem!

I probably should've mentioned i have a lithium battery which has about 1/3 of the capacity of a lead acid and died on me during a trackday despite charging between sessions. I'd rather know if its about to conk out so i can pull in and keep out the way, or at least help with diagnostics if i do have any problems.

Just thought i'd contribute to the collective knowledge if it helps anyone, take it or leave it, i know it wont be for everyone...

[cargo]

weight saving I assume ?

[Danman109]

weight saving I assume ?

Yep, 700g vs 3.1kg for £50 seems a fair deal, every little helps and all that.

[cargo]

for my purposes I need the extra mileage from a lead battery

[AFM327]

You can get lipo batteries that will last as long as a lead acid though they are larger than what you would need for sprint races. Weight savings is still significant, cost is too. I have a 4 cell lipo on my bike, but I run a charging system. I takes up about a 1/4 of the space in the battery box.