R1100 alternator question

[MotorradMike]

I would like to know how far one can get if the alternator belt breaks. I saw an estimate of 10 miles somewhere which I think is pretty low.

My bike has a 19AmpHour battery and draws 10A(measured) including the headlight.
Theoretically I could go for 1.9 hours but lets say 1 hour to be conservative. I should be able to get a lot more than 10 miles.

Depending on circumstances I might disconnect the headlight and expect the current to drop to about 5A and double that run time.

So my question is: Has anyone had to run without an alternator and how far did you get before the bike conked out?

Thanks,
Mike

[bikerfish1100]

not exactly sure when mine snapped, but from the first symptom (ABS lights flashing after tehy had already gone out) to "ain't going nowhere" was about 2 miles. a buddy of mine got about 30 on his RT.
of course, if you shut the bike off, to disconnect things it might not want to restart.

[MotorradMike]

Hmmmm, that doesn't sound very promising. I don't have ABS and I've read here that it takes lots of current.

I'm assuming your buddy has no ABS and I can get 30 miles like he did.

I'd have to shut the bike off to investigate and clear away any belt remains. I'd push start it after that.

Thanks,
Mike

[j-budimlya]

The problem is that you do not normally have much warning other than when the system (battery) voltage has been depleated enough to trigger a warning.....and then you have very little reserve left....

I have installed a red/yellow/green LED voltage indicator light on my bikes to try to give me a bit more warning.....it goes to yellow from green if the alternator is not working.....this would be easy to notice at night....in the day time....I have to be looking....and I try to keep an eye on it....especially at startup to make sure the that the alternator is putting out normal voltage (green) LED light.....just one way to deal with it...

[bikerfish1100]

Hmmmm, that doesn't sound very promising. I don't have ABS and I've read here that it takes lots of current.

I'm assuming your buddy has no ABS and I can get 30 miles like he did.

I'd have to shut the bike off to investigate and clear away any belt remains. I'd push start it after that.

Thanks,
Mike


His bike was an 1150RT. ABS is standard.
The best method for dealing with a broken alternator belt is to change it before it breaks . Mine shredding was a bit of a fluke- i had just put it on about 300 miles earlier.

[MotorradMike]

The problem is that you do not normally have much warning other than when the system (battery) voltage has been depleated enough to trigger a warning.....and then you have very little reserve left....

I have installed a red/yellow/green LED voltage indicator light on my bikes to try to give me a bit more warning.....it goes to yellow from green if the alternator is not working.....this would be easy to notice at night....in the day time....I have to be looking....and I try to keep an eye on it....especially at startup to make sure the that the alternator is putting out normal voltage (green) LED light.....just one way to deal with it...

I was assuming the ALT light would tell me the belt was broken but I guess the regulator doesn't know about this failure mode.

Thanks,
Mike

[j-budimlya]

I was assuming the ALT light would tell me the belt was broken but I guess the regulator doesn't know about this failure mode.

Thanks,
Mike

It should, I wanted to know if my output was too low, or if for some reason the voltage was falling....

[brainfish]

So you are going down the road at a good clip!
All of a sudden your bike kinda just gives up the ghost. You end up on the side of the road rubbing your ba!!!!, what just happened. no spark! well after changing the hall sensor Maybe your wrong ( perhaps it is something elese) check it out!
Woa What is all this black Worms stuff. Oh the alt belt that I did not renew. And a Hall sensor peice.
Change the belt sooner than too late1 Trust me.
Brian Fisk

[ArthurKnowles]

First, if your belt brakes you might get lucky and the engine keeps running, or it might seize or just stop. Lot's of parts down there that wouldn't take kindly to an alternator belt jaming up the works or beating up your HAL sensor.

But you can definitely run on battery alone. My KZ-400 did 42 miles one way on a freshly charged battery. I used my friends LTD 550 battery to get me home and he charged mine up on the way. I wouldn't want to do it again though.

I replaced my alternator belt at 61K because I just bought the motorccyle and wanted fresh components. It really wasn't due for another 11K, but better safe than sorry. It doesn't take but a few minutes either when you already have the plastic off for a TB sync, valve adjust, or what not. And if you need to do it from scratch, just buy a powered screwdriver and a 3 mm hex adapter for it. I can remove all my plastic in about 30 minutes. A good part of that is the care I take in putting the plastic down and the screws in labeled plastic bags.

[MotorradMike]

I changed the belt, I already had a new one.

I hadn't thought about collateral damage.

Thanks for skeering me Brian and Arthur! I tend to try to get every mile out of stuff and sometimes it makes no sense.

Mike