Tesla ST1300

[Terminator2]

While waiting for a replacement alternator, mine appears to have failed @90k miles...........Experimenting with 65 aH Deep Cycle/500 cold crank Starting Battery, 8gauge cables connected directly to bike cables. The bike battery is disconnected completely. Ridden a total of 400 miles. Charging battery at 2amps once it reaches 12.1 volts.
Disconnected headlights. Any thoughts appreciated. I tested old alternator while bike was running at 5k rpm at the power exit on alternator.

 

[dduelin]

So the battery on the seat supplies the current necessary to run the bike?

I once experienced the failure of the charging system on my 1981 BMW. I was 175 miles from home and the generator light came on the instruments. The MC shop that took me in found the rotor in the generator was open circuit and a new one would have to be ordered. It was 5 PM Friday afternoon of a Memorial Day weekend. All they could do at the point was complete a fast charge of the BMW's (IIRC) 28 Ah battery, disconnect the headlight for me and top off the fuel tank, and send me on my way. The bill was $10. Dusty said "gas has gone up and $10 ought to cover the gas"........ RIP Dusty Miller, owner and proprietor of Miller BMW in Tallahassee, FL. At his funeral several years later we heard lots of stories of his generosity. I rode home non-stop with what was a total loss electrical system like yours. The battery got me home in three hours just as twilight was setting in. In the intervening years I have seen a couple of motorcycles including yours set up like this with a large battery to run the bike for a limited period of time.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

I was on a Blue Ridge trip once when the rectifier of my Shadow 1100 crapped out in Cherokee South Carolina. I pulled the fuse for everything except the ignition and fuel pump, boosted it from the Ford pick-up of a generous local landscaper and made it to Sparta North Carolina. I took the battery out there and had a local auto parts shop trickle charge it overnight. With that charge I easily made it all the way to Staunton Virginia where our truck was waiting. Once there, the battery still had enough to start the engine using the starter motor.

As long as you keep it charged above the level needed to run the ECM, fuel pump and ignition, you are good.

 

[Willsmotorcycle]

The last time I was pillion was in my early teens, my father put the 78 Suzuki GS850 in the van and we drove cross country to the West coast. Arriving in Yellowstone NP, we (he) rolled her out of the van and off we went. Come about twilight we headed back to camp. I don't know exactly what went wrong, but we road in the dark for what seemed like an eternity with my father holding a flash light in his left hand against the bar. I still get anxious thinking about it. Ironically (?) I have that bike in storage waiting for some free time to restore.