The argument for doing this Wayne is that if the battery runs out, the bulb headlight light isn't affected if there's a dynamo supplying it.
On eZee's bikes with LED lighting which we have here, they are powered from the main battery since when the battery runs out to the controller cut off level, the LEDs can still run for many hours off the remaining battery charge given their tiny requirements.
So there is some logic in it, though as you say, using electrical power to generate electrical power does seem odd!
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Yeah, that makes sense if the headlamp and taillight are (as is certain to be with a low-end bike) incandescent instead of LED. I am such a believer in LED lights that I have replaced all the brake and turn signal lights on my pickup with LED lamps. They are expensive and usually require replacement of the turn signal controller box as well, but it's nice knowing that the bulbs will never burn out. Also, if I get stuck by the side of the road but have a fully-charged battery, the hazard flashers will blink essentially forever before the battery runs down.
If I switch over to an LED headlight and LED taillight, I should have a small-enough draw on the main battery to run the whole lighting system off it. Since I intend to do a good bit of experimentation, I'll probably set up a power bus in a weather-proof box with switches to allow accessories to run on their own internal batteries or get their current from the main battery. I have an ammeter laying around here somewhere that can be enlisted for the project. It should be interesting to watch what current I'm drawing moment-by-moment.
I just got word that my Liv has indeed arrived in the U.S., and estimated shipment is Thursday, August 2! By this time next week there's a good chance that I'll actually have an honest-to-goodness Liv in hand, ready to start testing. That will actually be almost the perfect time for me to do some experimenting, since Mississippi State University will be out of session that same day and is not back for the fall semester until August 20. I usually have almost a holiday during that whole period, with almost no service calls (or phone calls, period, many times).
My $300 box of accessories for the Liv (LED headlight, LED taillight, emergency bike tools, etc.) arrives today, so I'll be ready to go when the bike arrives.
At the very least, I'll be connecting all the accessories' batteries to the TuneCharger + solar cell, and continuing on to seeing eventually if I can come up with a cheap, easy way to do some charging of the Liv's main lithium battery via the solar cell.
Since there are no reviews of the eZee Liv posted on the forum yet, I'll try my best to get one together and uploaded as soon as I've put the Liv through its paces. Although MSU will be out, the MSU Bicycling Club has some activities while the university is out, and there is "Little Sturgis" the last week of August. This is a micro-version of the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally which starts up this coming weekend (
The 67th Anniversary Sturgis Rally 2007. Schedules, Lodging, Merchandise, 35,000+ Sturgis Rally pictures and more....). Since our Sturgis (Mississippi) Rally just happens to be only about eight miles from the tiny community we live in, it will be an easy trip there on the Liv. I'll be dwarfed by pretty much everything else at the Little Sturgis Rally, but I might get a second glance from some motorcycle enthusiasts. Considering that people will be coming from up to a thousand miles away for the Little Sturgis Rally, it's the least I can do to pedal down the highway to check out the festivities!
Here's the URL for our Little Sturgis Rally:
Sturgis South Motorcycle Rally.
Things really couldn't have worked out better with the timing of the shipment of my Liv, with me having huge slabs of time off to test out the Liv pretty thoroughly.
Stay tuned!
Wayne
