Solo to Sidecar by STD

[Nortonist 592]

I brought the power from the battery to the deadman and then split it to the ignition and fuel pump switches.  Two switches, one kill switch.   Voltage drop was my Warterloo this year.  Next year I'm going back to a BIG battery with some oomph to it.

[Koncretekid]

If you want the lanyard to shut off both the ignition and the fuel pump, even if the fuel pump uses a separate battery, you can use a simple relay (horn relay should work).  The relay would be disconnected by the lanyard and the connection would drop out (assuming you have a normally closed lanyard switch), but the relay circuit would be hooked up to the 2nd battery.  If you use a normally open lanyard switch, then you'll need a normally closed relay (power to open the circuit).
Tom

[Bruin]

My kill switch is open, when the contacts close it grounds out the coil. The XR 500 is powered by a cdi unit so no battery.

What I know of relay switches I learned from my shovelhead.
1. They fail.
2. They can be bypassed touching a points spring across the solenoid.
3. Save $15 

[Koncretekid]

My kill switch is open, when the contacts close it grounds out the coil. The XR 500 is powered by a cdi unit so no battery.

What I know of relay switches I learned from my shovelhead.
1. They fail.
2. They can be bypassed touching a points spring across the solenoid.
3. Save $15 

1.) Save $15
2.) Fall off (it happens)
3.) Watch ensuing inferno as fuel pump keeps pumping
4.) Bruin wishes he'd spend that $15

Just a thought.

[tauruck]

 

[Bruin]

Reminder to self: Bring marshmallows.

Or... it just struck me, I could leash my passenger to the fuel pump fuse, if he gets tossed, or decides to pull it, the pump stops.
1. Failsafe
2. Simple
3. Free-ish
On the other hand, toasted marshmallows are yummy.

[Bruin]

Dennis was kind enough to donate a muffler to my "hand tune exhaust" project. The size and mass of the stock can is best described as "substantial." Today I hacked 8 inches off the rear of the can and discovered more baffle-guts than I thought necessary. Chiseled them out and now the remainder only has a shower drain baffle between the megaphone taper and the cylinder. On good advice I'm toying with the idea of fashioning a bit of reverse taper in the end.

[wobblywalrus]

A wave traveling out an open pipe end reflects a returning wave with opposite polarity.  A wave hitting a flat pipe end returns a wave with the same polarity.  That might be a good design and intentionally done that way.  The best way to do those muffler mods is to put the standard system back on and make a dyno run or two.  Then, one by one, make the changes and watch the torque and power curves.

[Bruin]

Bo, you're 100% right about tuning the exhaust on a dyno. As a writer I'd have to sell 43 paperbacks or 87 ebooks for a single dyno visit. So until Oprah's book club discovers me, I'm on a "wild-a** guess-n-salt-test" budget. (People with real jobs should do as Bo suggests.)

I will leave the shower drain baffle in place. As the Beach Boys sang, "Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top o' the world."

Hmmm, maybe I can make the reverse mega cone end removable so I can try with and without at Bonneville.

[salt27]

As a writer I'd have to sell 43 paperbacks or 87 ebooks for a single dyno visit. So until Oprah's book club discovers me, I'm on a "wild-a** guess-n-salt-test" budget. (People with real jobs should do as Bo suggests.)

Bruin, would you mind telling us about your books?

If the words aren't too big I will read a book now and then.  

 Don

[Bruin]

Thanks for asking. I have a couple short story collections and a paperback on Amazon under "Brian W Allen." The book, "My Paradise Lost- Misadventures to manhood in the Panama Canal Zone" is a coming of age story about life along the Panama Canal during the turbulent years before the US turned it over to Panama. It has been described as "Huck Finn grows up on the banks of the Canal." Reviews credit it as being funny and poignant. It is a warts and all adult read. Check it out on Amazon, kindle versions are available.

(Though it is about life and trouble in paradise, I do mention my first motorcycle misadventures.)

http://www.amazon.com/My-Paradise-Lost-Misadventures-manhood/dp/1481954237/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385836573&sr=1-1&keywords=my+paradise+lost

[4-barrel Mike]

Sorry that I'm so cheap.   :|  The reviews look good.  Bought the Kindle version.

Mike

[Bruin]

Mike, I'm happy to have the business of Kindle readers. My experience has been that the ratio of paperbacks to e-books sold is almost 1:1 on Amazon. The times they are a-changing. Hope you like it.

[wobblywalrus]

Bruin, the simple header into megga cone with a little reverse cone on the end can be designed close enough without dyno work.  Pipemax will give you a good idea of the primary header length to the small end of the megga taper.  There are some good formulae for the cone taper on the net so you do not need to do a lot of dyno work.  I will post them when I can find them.  A bike with a four speed tranny that is pulling a load needs a wide power band.  A properly designed megga system can help with that. 

[Bruin]

I am a big believer in not reinventing the wheel. If you can turn me on to any exhaust mod plans (Doable by hand tools based on the piece that I already have) I'd appreciate it. This stuff is uncharted waters for me. BTW, my XR500 is a 5 speed. I've got it geared tall enough now that I need all two miles of the mountain 0 course to get to 6,400 rpm in 5th. (106 mph)