Motorcycle Electrical Techbook Haynes Online Manual

Introduction

This book has been written to meet the needs of the practising mechanic, both professional and amateur, together with the increasing flow of student mechanics at further education colleges in the UK, and, in the US, in technical institutes running motorcycle mechanics courses. In the UK it will be of particular relevance to those following the City and Guilds of London Institute 3890 Repair and Servicing of Motorcycles course.

No previous knowledge of electricity is assumed and all terms are explained in a glossary at the end of the manual.

The reader will not find here a catalogue of electric circuits for all machines, but rather a book dealing with the principles of how and why things work. Armed with an understanding of fundamentals it will be easier to follow developments which will surely take place in electrical equipment design. There may be a description of components which do not at the moment figure in actual production machines but, in the opinion of the author, may appear in the future.

Modern motorcycles are remarkable examples of high technology and much of it is due to the electrical equipment designs of recent years. Electrical power requirements now demand generators of greatly increased output and because of the sensitivity of on-board electronic units, voltage regulators of high stability are needed. Not surprisingly these are also electronic!

The language of electronics is sometimes strange to beginners so a glossary of terminology is included as is emphasis on fault finding and testing.

Readers are introduced to the transistor, Zener diode and thyristor (silicon controlled rectifier) and other devices, for these vital rugged components lie at the heart of most electronic circuits found on the motorcycle. A basic understanding of the on-board computer, which finds so many applications in ignition, fuelling and chassis systems is now essential and is described in sufficient detail for most purposes.

For all this, it would be folly not to include an account of older electrical equipment for there are still many earlier motorcycles on the road; a description of dc dynamos and magnetos is therefore included.

Tony Tranter

Coverage

Ignition and combustion explained

Spark plug types and construction

Ignition : Magnetos, coil and battery, CDI, transistor and digital

Fuel injection and engine management

Alternators, DC generators and starters

Batteries

Lighting and signalling

Braking and traction control systems

Electrical fault finding

Practical testing and test equipment