Alternative Dynamo Blueprint !

[BoltsMissing]

General Discussion An on-topic open forum, come on in & see what's up.

OK, like the topic on this thread title say's, what's up is I can't sleep cos I've had this niggling thought all week on a practical solution for lights on my bike using a dynamo.

I have checked with the top of the range quality and emailed them.
Forget it, they want over $200.00 just for the basic bottle dynamo.
I am talking quality here, not a HT Land imitation bottle dynamo.
Then they want MORE money for front and rear lights, and more moeny again to get the brackets to mount these things.
It ends up around $500.00 to have lights on ya bike.
If this is not exploitation, I don't know what is.

The alternative they say is batteries.
I don't want batteries cos it messes with the environment to produce the batteries.
Don't these nitwits "get it" ?

I remember back in the days when things were real, I could buy a complete dynamo light set with wires and mounting brackets in a cardboard box
and a cable type speedometer with 2 weeks pocket money selling newspapers at the pubs in 1971.

So, now it's 2008 and the ice caps are melting cos they prefer throw-away type batteries, or pay heaps more for re-chargables.
Fortunately I have a 70cc HT sitting on the coffee table half in pieces and I am staring at the magento, and I am thinking.

This is what I am going to do.
I will remove the crankshaft and chop it up with the angle grinder so I can use the end where the magnet bolts on.
Then I am going to shape it out somehow using both the angle grinder and the bench grinder, so I can fit a sealed bearing on to it somehow.
That will cost about $10.00 trade price.

Then somehow I will bolt it on to something so I can then bolt it on to the frame of the bike near the chain.
That shaft, somehow will have the small front sprocket on in such a way
so itwill spin the whole shamozzle to recharge a small motorbike
battery,( about $40.00 new ?)that will give me lights and a warning device
while the engine is not running.
If I had a lathe I'd be extremely dangerous !

If anyone esle want to have a go, go right ahead cos to me it ain't a race of who gets it done first.Good luck if you do.

But I ain't paying $500.00 ++ to get dynamo lights on a bicycle with no guarantee cos we tell them it's for a motoredbike if thier "high quality" state of the art lights sets can't take the heat.


BoltsM

[BoltsMissing]

That saying that goes something like, "What a differance a day makes" ?
Well, first of all, all of the above I wrote, I take it back.
Why ?
I found my 2, not 1 but 2 Miller Dynamos that I bought AGES ago.
Whooo had them ?
Long story, but we have a hoarder and "junk" colector in our family, and a cool dude to.

I need to get pics to show ya all, these are just soo sweet, I took one apart, cleaned it, buffed it up, oiled it, test lamped it, they works, both lit the test lamp.
Took special note of the copper wire coil, typical English craftmanship, just like the old days. Perfectly wound, perfectly produce copper wire and has that deep brown/reddish coating.
And the bearing, what bearing ?!!
It's a brass bush, the correct way it's meant to be, cos a bearing would
over-heat and seize.
Still has the mounts and spring clips.
I'm in heavan !!
I am set for lights, dynamo style.

Thank You "star in the sky" for looking after my long lost bike dynamo sets.

[monster]

dude just get batteries.

can't you just use a small electric motor as a dynamo? you would only need 50watts, but you still need batteries to power the light when you are still (at the lights).

the electric bikes are good because you can just tap into the main batteries to power all your auxilaries (lights, etc).

[BoltsMissing]

Ofcourse I will still use batteries, I should not have to though if I don't want to and be priced out of that choice.