Charging Portable Battery Cross Country

[ahaussmann123]

Hello All,

Beginning the process of putting together gear for long distance riding on my Jackal, and one idea that I have is to purchase a very large portable battery, keep it in the hard case, and charge it while I am riding so that it can then discharge at night keep me powered, essentially cycling that portable battery daily. Do you think will this create undue stress on the charging system? Bike is a 2000 Jackal V11, I know it has an archaic stator/regulator situation so I want to make sure that it probably wouldn't cause anything to fry on me somewhere far away from home. Suggestions on a foolproof way to make sure it only gets juice when the ignition is on are also welcome.

Also, while I have everybody, what's your opinions on taking a used Jackal with 40k on cross country trips? I'm fairly good with wrenching, and have been restoring these past 8 weeks, although I'm woefully inexperienced and fearful with electrics, gremlins have given me nightmares over the years.

She's getting the standard safety check:
-needs fresh fluids (oil will get analyzed by Blackstone labs)
-fresh front pads on the way, fresh brake fluid after and rotor wear check
-fresh tires
-will check throttle body balance and TPS but she runs pretty good after just valves and a cleaned air filter + fresh fuel filter (low/no idle and popping when I purchased it)
-needs a new fork seal and fluid (should I do both or just the leaky one is fine?)
-shocks are aftermarket from previous, driveshaft boot looks new but is there a check I should preform?
-It has a power commander and lafranconi exhaust, should I double check the tune is good?
-Got new Shift & Brake Bushings from Lee Burns, very excited to try those out!

Thanks everybody!

[Aaron D.]

Are you talking about a power bank type battery for your devices? You wouldn't need to bother charging that during the day if power was available at night. But no, it wouldn't bother it.

Same with if it's a lead acid battery. But I don't know why you'd carry one of those.

The bike should e fine for travel, providing it's been reasonably maintained.

[Texas Turnip]

40K is very low mileage in my circle of riders.
Join the MGNOC as they have a help list and this list will help you.
I don't fully understand the need for another battery.
Go ahead and make the ride. There is a low chance you will have a problem and 100% you will have a good time.

Tex

[kingoffleece]

The bike is 20 years old.  When I got a 2001 a few years ago I replaced all the rubber components.  There's quite a few including all manifolds as they were age cracked.  The charging system was putting out over 15 volts-much too much.  While the front end was off we replaced all the components.  In retrospect, I wish I had purchased the upgraded system offered by (IIRC Harpers) that puts out a few more watts.  I replaced all the wheel bearings, pulled the pumpkin and cleaned everything real good, and spent quite a while scraping and sanding the inside of the stock steel wheels.  There was a fair amount of rust and it seemed to me that wouldn't play nice with tubes.  The fork fluid was completely knackered so we took the entire assembly apart, washed everything, and reassembled with a new rebuilt kit to OEM specs.  Several other minor items were addressed but to your point I also wanted to be sure the bike under me was capable for some long distance traveling.  I feel reasonably assured that after the going thru it's ready.
Oh yea, I also had the wizards at Hamlin Cycles wire up the starter in a different way as to avoid the current going  all over the bike to the starter motor like Guzzi OEM likes to do.  They also added additional grounds.  I then changed all the OEM relays with new ones.  New rear shocks to my specs, a rebuilt seat, again to my specs, and it's ready to go.
I've really bonded with the bike-it's a fine machine full of character and style.

[Perazzimx14]

If doing lots of charging cycles I'd suggest getting a deep cycle battery. It will hold up better.

Probably best to calculate what you'll need AMP hour wise then get a battery based on that. No sense carrying a bigger batter than what you need.

[Dilliw]

I've got a different situation but the solution might work.  I bought one of the boosters off of Amazon.  It's a one use for a main battery but it stays charged for 3 months and packs light.

My bike is in storage with the main disconnected.  My hope is between this booster and the main I won't have to push.  This one isn't available but there are always a couple models on lightning deals


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MG4C2Z5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Wayne Orwig]

Beginning the process of putting together gear for long distance riding on my Jackal, and one idea that I have is to purchase a very large portable battery, keep it in the hard case, and charge it while I am riding so that it can then discharge at night keep me powered, essentially cycling that portable battery daily. Do you think will this create undue stress on the charging system? Bike is a 2000 Jackal V11, I know it has an archaic stator/regulator situation so I want to make sure that it probably wouldn't cause anything to fry on me somewhere far away from home. Suggestions on a foolproof way to make sure it only gets juice when the ignition is on are also welcome.

You did not say what you wanted to power at night. No idea how large a battery you need.

I used to tow a large camper with my EV (same alternator as the Jackal). I put a second motorcycle battery in the camper. I put a rig in there that boosted the voltage, and regulated and current limited it. So while riding during the day, it charged, and at night I used to to run a laptop or charge phones. And if things happened, I had a spare motorcycle battery to put in the bike at any time. But I suspect that is overkill for what you want.

I normally carry a LiPo battery pack to charge the phones and laptop. It is 120 watt/hour, so is pretty large. It requires a 15 volt input to charge so I made a simple boost regulator to charge it while riding.

Put a voltmeter on the bike. And do not worry about the bike not having enough power to charge these. While it doesn't have the greatest alternator out there, you are only needing a few watts to charge up that battery pack.

[Kiwi_Roy]

The Jackal should be fine, it's barely run in. The alternator has adequate capacity even if you are running heated gear
Assuming you are camping you could carry a spare battery or as Wayne suggests fit a Voltmeter so you can keep an eye on the bikes battery, it will give you peace of mind.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Socket-Panel-Motorcycle-Car-Voltmeter-Battery-Gauge-Voltage-Meter/164584599809?hash=item265201b101:g:oxcAAOSwctBf2iON
Wire it to the small park light in the headlight bucket and ground.
I have a "Battery Tender" USB charger thats adequate for charging my phone or any other 5 Volt appliance while camping, you will need a tender cable for it. "Battery Tender" also sell a Voltmeter that plugs into the same tender cable.
https://fortnine.ca/en/battery-tender-usb-qdc-charger
If you really need to carry a spare battery you could connect it to the bike via the tender cable with the wires reversed just be aware you may blow the fuse if it's plugged in while cranking. No that's totally overkill, leave it at home.
A couple of headlights for around the campfire, AAA batteries can be purchased anywhere.
-
The Voltage regulator on your Jackal is not properly grounded, it has a tiny black wire all the way back to the battery that's totally inadequate, if it has to rely on that you will get low battery Voltage. The main grounding is provided by the regulator being bolted to the frame, that joint is more by accident than design. I suggest you add another short #16 ground wire from the regulator case to a nearby engine bolt like a timing cover screw, file the case and add some grease to prevent it corroding.
-
TT is famous for tripping around the continent, you could take his advice to the bank.

40K is very low mileage in my circle of riders.
Join the MGNOC as they have a help list and this list will help you.
I don't fully understand the need for another battery.
Go ahead and make the ride. There is a low chance you will have a problem and 100% you will have a good time.

Tex

[acguzzi]

one word of caution, I would definitely recommend a lithium battery because of the size, weight, and cycling, but don't take the nameplate capacity as real. One tendency with the chinese booster packs is to add up the AH capacity of the cells in calculating the total, that is incorrect, if they claim a 15Ah capacity it is probably one quarter of that (usually four cells in series), if you try to draw an amp it wont last even four hours.

[cappisj1]

I bought an inexpensive jump pack. The one you can jump the bike with if needed. I can charge my cell phone every night for a week before it gets below 50%. Easy to pack too. You can charge the pack from the bike or it will last a couple days if you want to wait for electricity.

Sounds like you have thought things out pretty well and have everything under control. Have fun on your trip.

[Murray]

The real question is what do you want to run off this very large protable battery? Charge a phone a few times/ some LED lights or do you want a mains powered coffee maker and toaster? For the former I'd suggest you can get something like a LED camping lamp or bluetooth speaker these will chage off USB and will give a number of nights service before actually needing a charge and most charge off USB which can be ingintion switchable. After that to supply more you really need something with a DC/DC charger for LIion and things get pricey pretty rapidly although if you are not shy of spending a dollar most of them have input for a solar blanket.

For something like a coffee maker you are way better off with some for of liquid fuel, the size of the batteries needed to power that kind of stuff is not really practicle for a motorcycle.

[Tom H]

Here is USB charger like Kiwi mentioned, but includes a voltmeter that "while charging a device" reads the bike battery, not the output to you device. Downside is that one did stop working after about a year. If you already have a SAE cable to your bars, you just need the charger, but they also list here the charger and cable.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0776NHH3J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Have fun!
Tom

[ahaussmann123]

The bike is 20 years old.  When I got a 2001 a few years ago I replaced all the rubber components.  There's quite a few including all manifolds as they were age cracked.  The charging system was putting out over 15 volts-much too much.  While the front end was off we replaced all the components.  In retrospect, I wish I had purchased the upgraded system offered by (IIRC Harpers) that puts out a few more watts.  I replaced all the wheel bearings, pulled the pumpkin and cleaned everything real good, and spent quite a while scraping and sanding the inside of the stock steel wheels.  There was a fair amount of rust and it seemed to me that wouldn't play nice with tubes.  The fork fluid was completely knackered so we took the entire assembly apart, washed everything, and reassembled with a new rebuilt kit to OEM specs.  Several other minor items were addressed but to your point I also wanted to be sure the bike under me was capable for some long distance traveling.  I feel reasonably assured that after the going thru it's ready.
Oh yea, I also had the wizards at Hamlin Cycles wire up the starter in a different way as to avoid the current going  all over the bike to the starter motor like Guzzi OEM likes to do.  They also added additional grounds.  I then changed all the OEM relays with new ones.  New rear shocks to my specs, a rebuilt seat, again to my specs, and it's ready to go.
I've really bonded with the bike-it's a fine machine full of character and style.

Okay good to know! Headed to Hamlin at some point in the near future I ordered an OEM seat from them (the Corbin is too high up) My rear wheel is actually peeling pretty bad at the chrome, I'm going to sand and paint it black once the rear tire is cooked. The front wheel was off, and it looked pretty good. Sealed bearings, operates very smooth and I didn't see much rust, I'm less inclined to do wheel bearings but I'm going to be putting a couple thousand on it before any trips so that might change.

As far as charging, yeah just a phone, my Bluetooth communicator, and possibly a laptop.  From what you are all telling me about the portable batteries, I should actually probably be ok if I just use the USB to SAE on it once in a while for the morning duration of a ride. I do have a charger hooked up directly for my phone while riding, but I wouldn't want to use that at night and drain the motorcycle battery.

[Tom]

I've been using a small battery pack like Zoom Zoom talks about.  If you camp out 100% of the time & away from civilization.  It's more than adequate.  Most have flashlights and can jump start vehicles.  You can also use to power electric clothing to stay warm. 

[Wayne Orwig]

As far as charging, yeah just a phone, my Bluetooth communicator, and possibly a laptop.  From what you are all telling me about the portable batteries, I should actually probably be ok if I just use the USB to SAE on it once in a while for the morning duration of a ride. I do have a charger hooked up directly for my phone while riding, but I wouldn't want to use that at night and drain the motorcycle battery.

You likely only need to run off of the bikes battery. If you do, again, get a voltmeter. Avoid going below say 12.2 to 12.3 volts when discharging at camp, so you don't shorten the battery life.
One of those little jumper packs may be ideal. You get a USB port to charge stuff, and you can jump start the bike if needed. Rig it to charge off of the bike when riding.

[Aaron D.]

Okay good to know! Headed to Hamlin at some point in the near future I ordered an OEM seat from them (the Corbin is too high up) My rear wheel is actually peeling pretty bad at the chrome, I'm going to sand and paint it black once the rear tire is cooked. The front wheel was off, and it looked pretty good. Sealed bearings, operates very smooth and I didn't see much rust, I'm less inclined to do wheel bearings but I'm going to be putting a couple thousand on it before any trips so that might change.

As far as charging, yeah just a phone, my Bluetooth communicator, and possibly a laptop.  From what you are all telling me about the portable batteries, I should actually probably be ok if I just use the USB to SAE on it once in a while for the morning duration of a ride. I do have a charger hooked up directly for my phone while riding, but I wouldn't want to use that at night and drain the motorcycle battery.

All you need for that purpose is a "power bank".  I use one to power electronics on our boat, it'll go a long, long time.

Charge at night in your room, or hook up a USB charger if you must  (but you don't need it, really). I think it will fully charge a discharged iPhone like 10 times or more.

[SmithSwede]

40,000 miles?   And you are worried?  It hasn’t been broken in yet!

I’d clean all the electrics good.   Put in fresh battery.   Mount good tires.   Change all fluids and filters.  Then GO RIDE

[n3303j]

West Marine. Waterproof and 4 amps total output. I run an Odyssey 925 and throw my stuff on the charger overnight. Son-in-law often takes advantage of a port at the campsites as my outlet is wired as "always on". Charge cables can also be looped into the luggage to charge stored items as you ride. Never had the bike start sluggishly the AM. The USB outlet does have a bit of a parasitic draw and should be disconnected for storage over a month. The '98 V11 had 60K miles on it when I did my cross country (7,500 mi) in 2019. Replace all the old rubber bits and enjoy the ride.

PS: Really wish word wrap worked on this site. I'm frustrated scrolling L/R through some posts.

[malik]

[quote author=ahaussmann123 link=topic=108597.msg1722831#msg1722831 date=1608748948

As far as charging, yeah just a phone, my Bluetooth communicator, and possibly a laptop.  From what you are all telling me about the portable batteries, I should actually probably be ok if I just use the USB to SAE on it once in a while for the morning duration of a ride. I do have a charger hooked up directly for my phone while riding, but I wouldn't want to use that at night and drain the motorcycle battery.
[/quote]

I don't know about your Cali's battery, but on the V7's I will often charge my phone &/or tablet overnight with no affect on the bikes start up.

I once recharged an empty powepack from the bike. Not enough left in the battery to start the bike, but the powe pack was full. Connected that back up, & started first press.

[ozarquebus]

Why doesn't somebody make something like this for a motorcycle? Mechanically engage and disengage as needed with a remote linkage and larger rubber drive wheel.