how small a battery can I get away with?

[flatyre]

Hi all, I'm building a café racer (I use the term loosly) from an old TS150 and would like to loose the bulky side panels. I'm hoping to move the electrics to a new location under the tail cowl and fit a custom air filter. this means i'll need a much smaller battery at least in height, and if possible a smaller coil. Does anyone know of any such battery manufacturers and will a later 6v coil work on the 1977 TS? cheers

[mr_luke]

I wouldn't want to go too much smaller, capacity-wise, than the original, as the little TSes do seem to be a little short on sparks, if you want anything as luxurious as lights and motion at the same time. I seem to recall the original is 9Ah? If so, there are Cyclon gel 8Ah batteries on ebay for about a tenner which might do the trick? I assume you'll be dispensing with those pesky indicators, and you could look at LEDs for tail/brake and sidelights, and perhaps a halogen for the headlamp, which should all reduce the power needed. The big advantage of these is that you can mount them any way up, so they're good if you're lacking in space.

Any 6V coil with two terminals should work, provided it's intended for points, rather than electronic ignition.

I don't know about your budget, but I guess a Powerdynamo kit would solve all your problems, especially as it can allow you to run without a battery at all!

[DAVID THOMPSON]

check on Power dynamo conversion kit -
some of the models will run without a battery
maybe you will get lucky and yours uses the one with no battery
dave

[MichaelTorre]

would a disposable dry cell lantern battery be an option for this kind of project?
M-

[arry_b]

No. Don't do that.

Trying to force current into a disposable dry cell battery is only going to end in tears.

[therealche]

Change the regulator to solid state and use a 6V sealed lead acid is a possiblity. The Cyclon mentioned would be OK especially if you are rewiring the bike... old wiring eats amps!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E-6v-8Ah-Sealed-Lead-Acid-Cyclon-Enersys-Monobloc-Battery-/251447660090

[DAVID THOMPSON]

this also
ZEUS PCSM8-6 6V 8AH 0859-0012 Hawker Enersys Cyclon Monobloc SLA Lead Battery

copy and paste into google

dave

[flatyre]

cheers for the solid advice guys, I'm hoping to use an LED tail light and indicators to cut the batteries work load and replacing the points setup is worth looking into. I'd also like to replace the old headlight with a smaller halogen unit at a later stage, but this will mean fitting a new ignition and clock as well. is this a suitable battery for lying on its side?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E-6v-8Ah-Seal ... 3a8b72ce3a

[therealche]

Yup you can use it anyway up!