Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

BOLT Motorcycle USB Charger

I'm pretty bad when it comes to keeping my phone charged. And on long rides it is a real hassle.

When I went to Bike-o-Pedia, I was suggested to try the BOLT USB Charger for motorcycles. I was even offered the introductory offer of Rs. 1500 ... I said later !!!

After getting with refining the current setup, I finally made time to go there again 2 weeks earlier. Apparently the introductory offer is no more and it is Rs 1750 now :-(

I got it anyways ... and it came in a beautiful packaging like how watches come. Also offered was the USB Cable and tank pouch.


Installation is very simple ... Fix the adapter to your handle



Route the cable through the pegs and hooks in the bodywork so that they wont tangle or obstruct




Finally connecting to the direct power


Instructions are not connect when bike is not running. so this is how the final product looks like ....





It comes with its own APP which is also used to activate your warranty. It tracks your rides as well and there is a log you can maintain and share.

Changed the bar ends while I was at it .... costs about Rs. 26 each

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

Is the BOLT charger waterproof? If so, how?

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

I stand corrected ... the manufacturer claims it is waterproof and provides one year (India) warranty.

The block needs the be connected when you want to charge the phone otherwise it is off the bike. But the two terminals are open (But the circuit is not complete unless the block is placed ... i still have my doubts)

I'm making a little case for it. But it will need time. For now it is protected by a temporary aluminum case. I will post pictures of that as well.

You can also have a toggle switch; but i'm currently out as I'm using them to test a dual U7 projector setup. I personally would not like it as it still is not fool proof unless the switch itself is hidden from the elements.

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

Before the week starts and I get busy again .... changing the engine oil.

As always, with every engine oil change the oil filter also gets changed. We are again doing the Shell Rimula 4 which costs Rs. 320 and OEM Oil filter which costs Rs. 40.

This is the old oil filter


Also check the oil pump assembly and also if the O-rings were in good shape... it takes quite some effort to open it up as it is jammed.



Once that is cleaned we put it all back up. If I find time this week, i'll have to open up the other side and clean the oil strainer as well.

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

@Duoscribe @psr

The part has finally arrived from Aliexpress. It is of good quality and is slightly bigger than the stock.

I believe all the theory behind how the blinker works has already been discussed.

The installation is very simple




This is how it works now. How it worked before can be found in the previous posts where I installed the turn indicators. Though the light in the console is still on always which is still a concern



This is 'Adam' ... Does it look like a 2010 ;-)

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

RUNLeader Voltmeter installation

The History behind this gadget ...

Well see, I was planning to get an K&N replacement filter for my FZ16. After a lot of reading, I realized that those 2000 /- spent might not really be worth it. Around that time I was having issues with Engine surging and was doing a lot of trial and error testing on AFR to get the best mixture for my bike and conditions.

There were multiple AFR sensors up for sale around and they were complicated contraptions :-( But I did see a fancy Voltmeter on display.

I remember from back in my day when we had a boat on Lake Norman, we got all our electrical meters and supplies from RUNLeader. They are a Chinese manufacturer and are on AliExpress which was a grand bonus :-)

This is the link to the product. It is CE and ROHS certified and is water proof. The installation instructions are below.

Voltmeters measure the voltage across the circuit and are connected in parallel to the circuit. Connect the negative to the negative of the battery...


But since this is going to be an always on accessory, can't connect it to the positive directly. So I have connected this to the ignition before it is connected to the positive of the battery.



Below are the instruction manual of the device ...






This is the video of the device turn-on for the first time. We used to use a bigger voltmeter for the boat priming motor .... never mind the OT



Below are my observations ..

1. When ignition key is turned on the voltage is slightly less than 12V ... ~11.65 - 11.85 V
2. When the engine is being turned on, the voltage falls to 10.85 before jumping to 14 V
3. When the engine is running then the voltage climbs to 15 V

1. When the headlight is turned on before turning on the engine, the voltage falls to very low levels < 10 V
2. When the headlight is turned on when the vehicle is running, the voltage is maintained on engine braking. But when the clutch is engaged, the voltage can be seen falling.

After a long days work, the batteries are low :-P The bike shows around 10 V. But then again the battery is around 4 years old ... so its ok I guess.

The only dilemma is where to fix it. It is provided with a proper 3M two sided tape.

Not sure if I can fix it on the console where the 'Yamaha' lettering is as this is on the turn handle. Or should i fix it on the front of the tank where it meets the frame ... Any suggestions

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

While installing the Voltmeter, I also decided to complete the wiring for the BOLT charger.

Their instructions were to connect to the battery terminals, but I was always wary of this approach as this could accidentally drain the battery.

So I have rewired it to the ignition as well ... Based on the circuit diagram I believe I have identified the right terminal on the bike. Well guess only time will tell. Fingers crossed ....

This is the one right beside the battery case if you can identify it ... maybe the community can help me validate my approach

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

HI Naveen,

I intend to use the LED bulbs instead of the full assembly like you used. I bikes in question are Suzuki Samurai 99 and Pulsar 2004.

I am a novice in most of the electrical aspects and would be grateful if you could confirm that these will work with the LED flasher in the second link. Somehow it seems to be too good to be this simple a modification with just the LED flasher plugged in and push in the LED bulbs in place of the existing filament bulbs.A mechanic once said it takes a lot of "conversion" for LED bulb fitting

Link to the LED bulbs.

RED 12V LED bulb motorcycle conversion scooter ride across the car steering cornering lights super bright decorative lights 50-in Flashers from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group


Link to the LED flasher.

High quality 12V 2 Pin Adjustable Frequency Orange LED Flasher Relay Turn Signal Indicator For Motorcycle fix Blinker Indicator-in Flashers from Automobiles & Motorcycles on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

Changed to a 35W Headlight bulb due to Voltage concerns. Will explain in detail ...

Sometimes I feel I was more happier ignorant :-P

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

Your mechanic is right in saying that there is a lot that goes into the planning for LED lights and other electrical upgrades.

Your bike is a 12V electrical system. Lets just stick to lighting for now. If your LEDs are 1V each, then connecting them in parallel (just the lights) would require you to have 12 such in series which effectively makes it a 12V piece. Across a parallel circuit 'V - Voltage' is constant while in series V = V1 + V2 ... + VX. Now if you do not have 12V in the bulbs them you need to have to introduce a voltage drop. Now along the parallel connections you will have to manage if the battery has enough juice to power them all etc . I downgraded from a 55W to a 35W as my system was running out of juice ... and there were noticeable drops in voltage in the AC part of the circuit.

For wiring, some electricians use a solid gauge wire while the good ones will use stranded copper wires (16 guage of mocycle).

As to answer your question, the second link is only a timer relay. So as long as the new bulbs are the same rating as the filament bulbs you are replacing then this will work out of box. Else get a multimeter.

But if they are not you will have to first figure out the voltage drop as well as there are 5V rated only. You will also check what is the amperage and then figure out the fuse rating you want to use as the one with the filament bulb circuit is going to be higher.

Hope this clarifies. I will try to post pictures and explain better if you want.

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

Updates:

So finally after giving up on that pouch provided by bolt, I have purchased one from BikeOPedia that fixes to the handlebar via a claw.

This works brilliantly in terms of keeping the cord from obstructing handle movement.

1. When I had a 55W headlamp, what I realized is that if the bike is idling, the bike's voltage was dropping and would occasionally switch off. Else there would be this weird sound like a Jack Hammer knock (thak thak thak ... will post a video). So I switched to a 35W bulb. The bike works better than before.
Not sure if this is just my mind, but theoretically makes sense. Again novice am I...

2. Changed the grips to Rizoma CNC 22mm handle grips as the factory ones had hardened and now slip when its wet or when I'm wearing gloves. To keep with the theme, I got gold colored ones from Ali Express. They costed me 2200/-. Now are they original ones !!! Well the box is similar to the other examples that are 'original'. Quality, fit and finish are impeccable.

Fast rides:
I had to chance to ride as part of a group with a few recent acquaintances. All round a 500 km ride through beautiful roads and twisties. All I did preparing for this ride was lubing the chain. The engine oil is about 700 kms old.

The MRF RevZ and Zapper held pretty good while cornering at high speeds (for this bike). I get that it is old 150cc bike which is awesomely heavy and I was not confident about pushing the bike any leaner, especially the right handers ... hate to scratch the bike.

On the straights, I pushed to a 118 speedo :-o which even surprised me self. The bike was very smooth and was only slightly stressed at triple digits. There are no vibes as long as I was in the right gear. The chain did suffer this trip as I didn't carry Chain Lube. There was some noise at the rear end.

Gear slips/False Neutrals: I do have this issue of gear slips and the bike suddenly falls into lower gears...happens mostly around 4th and 3rd gears. There is usually no time for Blipping and I resort to disengaging the clutch. Also it is difficult to find Neutral from 1, but is easy to get to Neutral from 2.

Time to change the Engine oil again. Glad I got that 5ltr can of Shell Rimula 4 :-)

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

Great going. Btw were you able to close the gap at the rubber boot?



Bought the flasher relay from ebay. Got it for Rs. 165. I'm yet to install the blinkers.

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

I have Mold-Max 30 which is Silicone rubber fill at home. But it is painstaking to work with and hence waiting on it. You can get similar compounds any paint/hardware shop. You will have to cut the rubber molding. What I did was to cut it just enough that the screw would be a tight fix. That way they wouldn't vibrate and would be very flexible.

Just complete the front and then you can do the ones on the rear as they have complex wiring. Careful about the rubbers as they are hard to find.

In my earlier thread as I have mentioned, the relay was only correcting the timing and not the voltage. Hence had to put in a fuse and a Nichrome wire. But they worked fine as is without the said contraption as well.

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

If you remember, I have gotten myself new Rizoma grips. Reason being the stock ones were old and gotten hard. They slip in the rain and not very comfortable.

Keeping in sync with the black and gold theme, I ordered one's in black and gold. Here's how they look ....



As you can see there is this horrendous gap b/w the bar end and the grip. This is because the grips are shorter in length than the stock ones. The switch gear obviously cannot be moved. So I'm left with the only option of chopping those bars.

This is not a simple DIY and involves power tools. Versatile that an angle grinder might be, it is very powerful tool and needs lot of care while handling. If you have to do something similar please go to a metal worker.

We will be using the cutting disk and 24.5 grind disk for this purpose.



The foldable levers help as well.



The purpose is to shave 2-3 mm off the bar end. After some sparks flying ...





That's not shoddy metal work but limitation in getting proper grip on the tool and tighter working space.

Time for the grinding disc and this is the result...




It needs some filing and sanding ... but I was late for the movie :-P

After the bar ends went on ... it is perfect now and there is no awkward gap. It feels good working with power tools and sparks flying again. Old life ....

I've has issues with scoring if you remember ... tried to solve it by running a slightly rich AFR (quarter turn). Scoring was reduced, but the top speed was limited to 103.

Since I always like to stay in stratosphere of the rev range ... I reverted back to old tune (took some time) which was perfect. Performance is back to normal and I'll change my riding characteristics to keep that scoring in check.

Thanks for keeping up and 'Happy Sankranthi' guys :-)

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

Its was a long tiresome year, this 2015. I was not able to exercise my legs much ... so in 2016 I decided to take care of this.

Choice of exercise being Gear shifting for left and braking for right leg. I have done a trip to Bangalore and one to Pune along with road trips almost every week. These are roads taken prior so I didn't bother taking pictures. But the summary is that since my starting of this exercise, I have completed 7500 kms on the Shell Rimula 4. That last oil change was over 5000 kms ago. The oil is still amber and beautiful. I think on normal use I can maybe push to 10000 kms.

I will change the oil tomorrow again and put in fresh oil. I initially planned to complete this run and shift to FS ... but i'm contemplating ... what if I don't like it. Maybe I will continue with the Rimula. I will check the clutch tomorrow and see if the Rimula does damage as people say. There are mis-shifts and sometimes gear slips to lower gear ... but I'm lucky that I can sense and proactively reach for the clutch when that happens. Thanks to the Road Gods that I have never kissed tarmac, touch wood.

I want to get the K&N Factory replacement filter and the Leo Vince that Bachoo is offering on sale ... but I'm not sure ... I don't want to spoil my current experience.

I have clocked a top speed of 125 kmph on flat tarmac. I have done close to 1200 kms in span of with little rest given to the bike. I average 60 kmph on my office ride in Hyderabad. After all that I can still feel the engine relaxed.

I will admit that there are other weak links. On a certain trip to Srisailam, I could hear a squeaking sound from the rear tyre ... like when there is not not enough lubrication on a rotating part. But it vanished when I let the bike rest .... and came back once the rode 30 mins. But then again, I was keeping above 100 kmph and ripping real hard. The other rides were mostly Solo and I had music playing and couldn't hear it.

Since it is in extreme cases this happens no mechanic were able to figure out where this is coming from ... I'm guessing it is the axle pin guy that is getting hot and expanding. Hopefully the experts can help.

I started lubricating the chain every 200-300 kms with Motul Chain lube and cleaning the chain ~ 500kms. I have a vendor is keeping regular stock for me. This has made a world of difference. Trust me the bike pulls different on a well maintained chain/sprocket than a crappy rusty dirty one ... Mine is close to 10000 kms old and has a lot of life left in it. The older one lasted me almost 20K ... but again I never maintained it whilst the only attention it got was when it went for servicing.

Since I was riding so much, I wanted to get a windscreen. I thought of getting something called an MRA screen which everyone was so raving about until I found out that it costs 8K for the FZ. I said screw that and purchased the windscreen that comes with those FZ-S models. T install it, we need to remove the headlight assembly and there are brackets already on the FZ16 for this ... maybe they were put in for the front number plate. It doesn't make a whole lot of difference in the city but it makes life a little easier on lang hauls and when you crouch.

The extreme runs ... I got a mileage of 37kmpl average. It might seem low but the speeds were too high for the FZ16. In the city I'm got 51kmpl which is a mix of bumper to bumper traffic to crazy runs where I averaged 'quite some speed' to office (3AM in the morning through IT park) and the normal riding.

BTW I use Bolt riders app which works off my phone GPS ... so I'm assuming it is accurate. Moto G first generation.

While always wondering and working on how to make Adam better ... I'm always thinking about upgrading ... excited about every new launch and taking TDs of almost every motorcycle, weighing in pros and cons. The wayward mind always assuming things to be greener on the other end forgetting it is Adam that was along with me all through my journey. A bigger bike may be more useful on the Highways ... but how much faster would you reach your destination ... or how much faster could you go ... 140 ... 150 ... 160 and for how long. A few minutes 5 ... 10 ... 15. Maybe you will go to the stratosphere but eventually you will have to comeback. But I'll always be on my little FZ16 with road under me and the sky over my head ... wind through my hair while your senses are heightened to a level where you can hear your heart beat, feel the flies darting at you kamikaze, that crazy vehicle or pedestrian in your peripheral vision ....

I've never felt more alive ... and I have done some crazy stuff in my time. So what is this post ... this is to confess my unending love of motorcycling and express my gratitude to my dear brother Adam for being there with me and all the other motorcycles in my life.

Re: Pimp my ride: Budget Byson

I really like your logs, keep up the good work .