Electrical Inquiry

[SFTripod]

Hey Guys,

         Working at a Ducati/Triumph dealer here in the Bay Area, we are approached by all kinds of vendors during the year. Most recently, we were offered the opportunity to try a product from  a local vendor supplying "premium power leads", by the name of "MotoLectric", out of Santa Rosa, CA.  I have ordered a set for my 2000 V11, before pulling the trigger for a set for my 900 SS.

         Was just wondering if anyone on the site has any knowledge about this company.  You guys seem quite knowledgeable about what keeps our Guzzi's on the road & thought you might have heard about them.  Here at the shop, even though we were impressed with the quality of the materials, none of us have had the opportunity to use his product.  I am the first one to try them out. I will keep you posted about what I find out....

Thank you,

[docc]

Welcome SFTripod!  I don't have a recollection of this product being applied to the V11. Do you have a link we could investigate the product further?

[MartyNZ]

All the electrical problems on my V11 were caused by degraded connections. Tarnishing or corrosion between the cable terminal and the battery post or gearbox ground point for example.

This is fixed by cleaning the contact faces of the terminal and the face of the thing it touches. This fix can be made permanent by applying grease/vaseline/dielectric grease to the joint before assembly, then tightening the connection. The grease squeezes out to allow a good electrical contact, and prevents air or water causing more tarnishing or corrosion. 

New cables can also fix electrical problems, so long as you make sure the new terminals contact clean and bright metal. Bad crimping of a factory cable could be fixed a new cable, but this is rare. New cables will look nicer, but cost more.

https://motolectric.com/faq.html appear to make a good product, but their copper terminals are not tin plated. Bare copper tarnishes without this protection. Strike 0ne.

They claim "As wire ages it flows less current " and other statements which defy the laws of physics. Strike two...

 

[po18guy]

Since electrons flow on the surface of the wire, could tarnishing or corrosion limit that? Maybe that is what they meant? I recall here also that the cheapest vendor is used on almost all ancillary components and battery lead wires are not likely to be an exception. I also see no tin plating, but perhaps a swab of NoCo or other similar corrosion preventative would do the trick? I have emailed them to see what they say.

https://motolectric.com/makes/moto_guzzi.html 

As to starting in 'one second', well, they are clearly used to port injection. The V11 throttle body injectors squirt quite a ways upstream from the chambers. So far, the best starting aid I have found is Iridium plugs. Noticeably better. 

[MartyNZ]

1 hour ago, po18guy said:

Since electrons flow on the surface of the wire, could tarnishing or corrosion limit that?

You are thinking of AC current. That AC "skin effect" becomes more pronounced as the AC frequency goes higher, and is only noticible at kilohertz ranges. 

DC current flows through the total cross sectional area of the conductor. Exterior tarnishing cannot limit current in the cable, except at external connections like crimps.

I agree that Iridium plugs are worth the money. 

[SFTripod]

Regarding Iridiums, maybe I shouldn't, but, I put them in all my vehicles....Z's like them, Guzzi like's them, even my '87 Jeep.

Guys, thanks for the feed back on the cables. This is what I was looking for. I'm getting ready to run extra grounds on the Rectifier, ECU & starter. I pull the 30amp when she's on the battery tender---looking at the Optimate instead of the Battery Tender----& fuse hasn't been caught melting like before. 

Once again, thank you guys for all the feedback & pointers. My Baby has become such a beast;

New fork seals & fluid, fuel filter, BMC air filter, BIG oil change (engine, tran, final drive) with pan off to clean out any sediment, new NGK plug leads, new heat shielding under tank, ASV levers, carbon Mistral slipon's, & fresh rubber(Metzeler Z8's). Love that thing !

[SFTripod]

DOCC, I have that same fairing !...it came with the bike when I picked it up last year, but haven't installed it.....missing some hardware, but, thank goodness for MG Cycle....

[docc]

35 minutes ago, SFTripod said:

DOCC, I have that same fairing !...it came with the bike when I picked it up last year, but haven't installed it.....missing some hardware, but, thank goodness for MG Cycle....

Wow, SFTripod, good on you taking such care of your Sport!    Being mindful of the battery and charging parameters are good methods. Check out the "How to . . ." section as well as FAQ for methods that have been well derived by  this amazing community over a considerable period of time.

I love my little Stucchi bikini. Somehow, in my latest headlamp "LED bulb" change, and motivated by our member "Kane" , I left the Stucchi off and am really digging the nekkid thing . . .

[po18guy]

Here is the answer I received from MotoLectric:

We use plain copper because when put under multi-ton pressure the copper from the terminals grows into the copper of the wire and they merge into one mass.

 

It’s called cold welding and is done in some other electrical industries.

 

In a vacuum, you can actually put 2 flat pieces of copper together and they instantly merge and there is no 2 pieces anymore, they are now 1 piece.

 

We have planned to document that that is why we use the bare copper but it is on a long list of tasks yet to be done.

 

We actually coat the exposed copper with a Shield product that seals the surface.

 

I have the details below.

 

Tinned terminals and wire is less conductive as tin only flows 15% the current that copper will flow and the crimps are not as good as the tinned copper takes more pressure due to the hardness of the tin vs. copper. The lower current flow of the tin is not a super big deal but every little detail adds up and we want to make the best circuit upgrade we possibly can.

 

———

 

[Special shipping update / new version announcement - 

We are constantly striving to improve our products and we were in the midst of revising the kits (slightly) and you are receiving the very latest design.

We now apply a new surface sealant during fabrication of the kit and it replaces the dielectric grease

- >  (the grease is no longer included in the kit).

We found that some riders were forgetting to apply the grease and just leaving the copper bare.

This coincides with our product name change to

HICAP•SCDC

High Capacity • Sealed Current Distribution Circuit

This new high technology treatment seals the copper surfaces against harsh environments and so the circuit is 100% sealed.

The new version kit has a colored tiewrap through a positive terminal hole because although the chemical is blue in quantity, the treatment is invisible after it bonds to the metal.

———

 

Thanks,

M./

Michael Heth

1 (415) 992-7840

[po18guy]

1 hour ago, SFTripod said:

Regarding Iridiums, maybe I shouldn't, but, I put them in all my vehicles....Z's like them, Guzzi like's them, even my '87 Jeep.

Guys, thanks for the feed back on the cables. This is what I was looking for. I'm getting ready to run extra grounds on the Rectifier, ECU & starter. I pull the 30amp when she's on the battery tender---looking at the Optimate instead of the Battery Tender----& fuse hasn't been caught melting like before. 

Once again, thank you guys for all the feedback & pointers. My Baby has become such a beast;

New fork seals & fluid, fuel filter, BMC air filter, BIG oil change (engine, tran, final drive) with pan off to clean out any sediment, new NGK plug leads, new heat shielding under tank, ASV levers, carbon Mistral slipon's, & fresh rubber(Metzeler Z8's). Love that thing !

IMO, the older the engine design, the weaker the igntion system, the longer the plug leads - all are valid reasons to install Iridium plugs. I am hedging my bet, but I installed Autolite Iridium XS plugs to try out. Starting immediately improved. Visually, even engineering-wise, there is virtually no difference between them  and NGK or ND. Except they are made in North America, there are no Chinese counterfeits running around and they are about $7/pair in the US. Sure beats $15/ea. Redline Motorsports in sunny South Carolina is blowing them out for the princely sum of $7.12 per pair w/free shipping. But, I also was patient and scored a pair of NGK Iridiums to have on hand.

Comparoing them to the OEM NGKs, it is easy to see that he spark is far less shrouded than with the standard plug. Perhaps there would not be as big a difference with carbs, but with the finely (haha!) metered MM injection, that mixture needs all the access to the spark that it can get. 

Being familiar with Italian electrics since the late 60s, I might just take MotoLectric up on their cables.