Hello,
I am a new owner of a R100 GS PD Classic 1995. Upon reading other members posts, a lot is mentioned about the failure of the actual electrical system. I want to travel a lot with the bike, and I will be needing an electrical vest . I also wish to purchase a fog & rally light...therefore I'll be needing a lot of juice!....This lends me to believe the charge from my actual system will not be enough...any comments on reliability on the Motorrad Electrik system 400 watt, I think it's called the OMEGA. ...or should I stay with my actual system due to the challange of finding replacement pieces in South America or Asia??? All comments greatly appreciated!!!

If you are riding alone without a passenger then the stock alternator will work fine, sort of. If you are 2-up with 2 elect. vests and extra lights get the Omega 400 watt system. If you stay with stock get a rewound rotor and diode board from Rick at Motorrad Elektrik.
John

Note that you WILL NOT be likely to find replacement pieces for the stock system in Africa/Asia/South America.

So since you have to order anyway, might as well get the Ricks Omega kit or upgrade parts. MUCH less likely to fail anyway.

NOTE _ I do NOT recommend adding extra lights for travelling anyway

1. They will get broken/stolen.
2. DO NOT travel at night in Africa / Asia / South America. FAR too risky. So no need for them anyway.

See pic here. And note where the middle of the road is - the YELLOW line. This is NOT uncommon.

Extra lights are fine in N.A., Aus/NZ and Europe. Waste of time and money and weight anywhere else - for obvious - now - reasons.

------------------
Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

I have a 1998 p/d which i have rebuild the loom on I found these two articles helpfull

http://www.airheads.org/index.php?Te...Wire%20Upgrade

http://www.ibmwr.org/r-tech/airheads...ing.info.shtml

I would not put extra lights on totaly agree with grant
cheers chris

In terms of extra light, I have had very good luck with a higher wattage headlight bulb (80/100 or even 90/110). I was amazed at the difference this $10 part made, with no extra wiring or brackets etc. While they may not be legal in some (most?!) places, I hightly doubt that a cop will pull you over for this. The increase in daytime visibility is remarkable as well. Of course, Grant's comments about night driving are to be heeded, but for extra umph on the hwy at home, this is a cheap and successful solution.

hi
I also have higher wattage bulb 55/100 works a treat but upgrade the wiring I burnt out the earth wire .
I rebuilt the wiring with heavy duty wire from the battery to the headlamp and also replaced the earth lead direct to the frame
riding with 100 watt bulb like riding in daylight they do a 130 watt bulb interesting
Other things to do the two solder points replace them with ring conectors and the main leads with heavy wiring replace the voltage regulator with a hi output version
I can now stand stationary with head light on incators going brake light on and I am still showing 13 volts on the meter
One useful company is vehicle wiring products in Derby England no website they sell the pins inside the block conectors easy to rebuild
need any more help drop a e-mail
chris

The alternator (or rotor) fails from time to time. Mine lasted 110.000 km.

I don’t agree that it’s hard to get new parts. In Africa and Asia the police and army used to drive airheads and there is tons of old bikes which are not in use and tons of spareparts. I bought a new rotor from the police in Zambia. The rotor was from an R100 but after 50.000 km it still works in my R80 (I also changed the stator).

I got my old rotor rewinded for a few dollars and brought it as a spare.

Imho the rotor often brakes because you have another fault on your chargingsystem., mine broke because the diodeboard (from Motorrad (?)) was not grounded properly.
The diodeboard is a weak part but if one diode breaks you still have 60% of the power, in this state you can go on forever but the rest of the diodes might burn if you still wear your west.

If you have a good battery and your cables are okay then most of the parts will last for a long time. It is smart to mount a volt-meter on the handlebar. If you have a voltmeter you will always know the state of your charging-system (incl battery). When my rotor broke I had seen for days that something was wrong on the volt-meter but I ignored it… If I had stopped and tightened the bolts on my diode-board the rotor would not have broken.

The charge-lamp will not lit if the rotor breaks or if one of your diodes breaks.
So with a voltmeter it’s easy….. If the voltage drops then turn off the lights and electric west and you can drive for 5-15 hours, dependent on your battery! If the voltage oscillates then find the loose connection…

When it comes to electric west I don’t see the point in using it…. My bike never starts at –20°c anyway…