My current bike is a Suzuki C50 Boulevard (800cc), and have always loved the look of the Indians (and Kawasaki Drifters). I just got back into riding after a 35 year hiatus, and the larger bikes were just too much to restart on. So after two years of riding my C50 (including a cross country last September), I feel I'm ready to go up to a bigger bike. The last month has been spent researching this and other forums and cruising the 'net to find any problems with the Drifters, and so far the only one that I can't seem to find a solution for is the undersized stator (23 amp).
My C50 has a similar output, and I find I have to cut off my driving lights (4") when running with my heated gear on cold days to keep from draining my battery. Does anybody have a fix (or replacement stator) that can up the output to a regular 1600 Vulcan (43 amps)? I know there are replacement stators that can give you up to 20% more (claimed), but not almost doubling it.
Unless I find a solution, I guess I have to settle on a regular Vulcan 1600. Any ideas out there?
NCDaveD
I rode year round in Indiana with nothing more then thick buffalo leather gear lined with Thinsilate, and even on the coldest days (near 0 degrees when I rolled out of the garage) I would be sweating by the time I got to my destination a half hour away.
You could always swap the stock alternator for a Nomad unit and twin regulators...I have heated gear, and a 500 watt stereo system on my '01 and never have any charging system issues. Even with everything turned on, my battery voltage stays at 14.7-15.3. If you think that 23 A is an anemic output, consider that the H-D TourGlide, when first introduced, had a 13 A system.
Has anybody ever tried to replace their stator with the dual unit from a std vulcan? I'd love to see what was involved as this kind of upgrade usually isn't as straightforward as I hope it is.
Thanks for the replies!
NCDaved
I know we are talking about a 1500 here not sure of the difference between them and the 800 and Stator stuff but here is a list I compiled when I was doing my wiring stuff on my 800...will not let me upload a xl file.....
I'd love to see a list of parts as they could point me in the right direction. Please try to message me with the info if possible. I tried, but got a "You are not allowed to access this area" note.
I did take a quick look at the 1500 Vulcan and 1500 Drifter parts exploded diagrams and see many similarities (as you would expect), but just can't tell whether or not the wiring harnesses are identical or if the Drifter rotor is sized to work with 2 stators. Lots of questions for a modification like this.
NCDaveD
partzilla.com everything you ever wanted to know about part numbers