Starter/Ground Cable Upgrade Resource

[DEcosse]

Posting up a cable resource with respect to this thread

You will get MUCH improved starting (cranking speed will improve and it will give quicker starting) by increasing the conductance of the power cables to (& from!) the starter.
YOMV, but mine (& Triumph's) is that the frame is not intended to be a current carrying component.
That means you add a new cable from the battery negative to the engine ground point.

On most bikes a 'kit' normally comprises three components overall for best results:
Battery Positive to Solenoid, Solenoid to Starter and Battery Negative to Engine Ground
On the R3 of course, there are only two, since the Solenoid is integrated on the Starter.
It's easy enough to execute but for most of us, the difficult part is in accessing a heavy-duty crimp tool to crimp the terminals onto the wire!

Here is a really nice resource to have your cables made up:
http://www.genuinedealz.com/custom-cables/custom-battery-cable-assembly
You can use whatever combo of wire colour and heatshrink you choose and they will pre-assemble it for you in your specified lengths
e.g. you can have both black, with black heat-shrink on the ground and red on the positive;
or if you prefer you can make the positive cable itself red.
You will want 1/4" lugs of course.
Just be sure you give yourself adequate (but not excessive) length for routing. (use a scrap piece of a small gauge wire or string to estimate)
Note that their lengths are in ft so if 30" put 2.5, or 27" would be 2.25 etc

I would suggest 6AWG minimum, or better, you can go 4AWG.
The simplest way to install is just to connect in parallel with the existing cables.

If you want to make them yourself, you can still get all the materials you need from GD - they also sell solder pellets and you can use these to attach the terminals - just stick the terminal in a vice, drop in the pellet, heat it with a torch and then stick the cable in. But I would personally recommend having them pre-assemble & crimp them.

I have no affiliation with Genuinedealz - just a recommendation for a good resource.

How to solder terminate your own cables:

 

[TURBO200R4]

i did the extra ground and the starter and it worked wonders on my bike

 

[ozrider]

i did the extra ground and the starter and it worked wonders on my bike

+1

 

[HansO]

Posting up a cable resource with respect to this thread

You will get MUCH improved starting (cranking speed will improve and it will give quicker starting) by increasing the conductance of the power cables to (& from!) the starter.
YOMV, but mine (& Triumph's) is that the frame is not intended to be a current carrying component.
That means you add a new cable from the battery negative to the engine ground point.

On most bikes a 'kit' normally comprises three components overall for best results:
Battery Positive to Solenoid, Solenoid to Starter and Battery Negative to Engine Ground
On the R3 of course, there are only two, since the Solenoid is integrated on the Starter.
It's easy enough to execute but for most of us, the difficult part is in accessing a heavy-duty crimp tool to crimp the terminals onto the wire!

Here is a really nice resource to have your cables made up:
http://www.genuinedealz.com/custom-cables/custom-battery-cable-assembly
You can use whatever combo of wire colour and heatshrink you choose and they will pre-assemble it for you in your specified lengths
e.g. you can have both black, with black heat-shrink on the ground and red on the positive;
or if you prefer you can make the positive cable itself red.
You will want 1/4" lugs of course.
Just be sure you give yourself adequate (but not excessive) length for routing. (use a scrap piece of a small gauge wire or string to estimate)
Note that their lengths are in ft so if 30" put 2.5, or 27" would be 2.25 etc

I would suggest 6AWG minimum, or better, you can go 4AWG.
The simplest way to install is just to connect in parallel with the existing cables.

If you want to make them yourself, you can still get all the materials you need from GD - they also sell solder pellets and you can use these to attach the terminals - just stick the terminal in a vice, drop in the pellet, heat it with a torch and then stick the cable in. But I would personally recommend having them pre-assemble & crimp them.

I have no affiliation with Genuinedealz - just a recommendation for a good resource.

How to solder terminate your own cables:

Ken I spoke to my local supplier of auto Electrical cable etc and they measure the cable in "BS" is "BS" the same as "AWG" and instead of running extra cable why not just run a heavier single cable, I ask this as I have been meaning to do this mod for some time as I have been caught out on a very cold weekend inland a couple of years ago and been running a tandem battery setup since but want to go back to a single battery

 

[Malcy]

I have already done mine using a short length of welding lead with lugs crimped at either end. The large quantity of finer strands permits higher currents rather than a single and it is easily worked or bent into tight areas. Spins the motor over quicker than standard that's for sure.

 

[mully95]

I will have to check my scrap box of car audio amplifier power cable that I didn't use.... might have some 4 AWG long enough.

 

[DEcosse]

AWG is American Wire Gauge Hans - your wire is probably Metric I imagine
But BS is British Standard wire gauge, which is neither!
Not familiar with your local wire standards

But some research revealed the following:
e.g. 4 AWG is approx 25 mm^2 whereas 4 BS is ~ 35mm^2

So in example if I am saying 6 or 4, that would be AWG and the BS equivalent would be ~ 8 & 6 respectively.

Adding them in parallel is simple, you do not have to undo OEM cable/terminal
Also means you can use the smaller gauge since you have dual current path rather than just the one.

The reason it improves things has nothing to do with current capacity - it is the voltage drop at the starter relative to the battery.
Bigger diameter cable has lower resistance;
The voltage drop across the cable is product of its resistance x the current (V = I*R)
Therefor when you lower 'R' you lower the V-Drop;
Less V-Drop means higher voltage at the Starter Terminal

Exact same principle as to why your headlights are whiter/brighter with the key-switch bypass headlight relay kit
(as well as the obvious reliability gain to the switch) - voltage at the bulb connector is higher, so lamp is brighter.

 

[flyreels]

This is the stuff I used @HansO it is basically 4awg he sells it by the meter as well

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/705-5...0001&campid=5335943355&icep_item=171255107688

Link to cable conversion chart
http://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/awg-to-mm.htm

 

[HansO]

AWG is American Wire Gauge Hans - your wire is probably Metric I imagine
But BS is British Standard wire gauge, which is neither!
Not familiar with your local wire standards

But some research revealed the following:
e.g. 4 AWG is approx 25 mm^2 whereas 4 BS is ~ 35mm^2

So in example if I am saying 6 or 4, that would be AWG and the BS equivalent would be ~ 8 & 6 respectively.

Adding them in parallel is simple, you do not have to undo OEM cable/terminal
Also means you can use the smaller gauge since you have dual current path rather than just the one.

The reason it improves things has nothing to do with current capacity - it is the voltage drop at the starter relative to the battery.
Bigger diameter cable has lower resistance;
The voltage drop across the cable is product of its resistance x the current (V = I*R)
Therefor when you lower 'R' you lower the V-Drop;
Less V-Drop means higher voltage at the Starter Terminal

Exact same principle as to why your headlights are whiter/brighter with the key-switch bypass headlight relay kit
(as well as the obvious reliability gain to the switch) - voltage at the bulb connector is higher, so lamp is brighter.

I give up I looked at al sorts of conversion tables and could not find one that did convert between the two where did you come up with the conversion table, not that I don't believe you but it would be nice to be able to look up if needed in future

 

[Malcy]

Look at the post fly reels posted, it's easy to follow mate. Second link.