Automotive Menu

Why use electronics | The Special V-Reg II | Quality | Versions | 12V Upgrade | Order

Why use an electronic regulator?

• Readily available and pre-calibrated ... no setting required.
• Long term reliability (no contacts to wear) ... just fit and forget
• Small enough to 'hide' in the original type regulator boxes.
• Cheaper than original mechanical regulator (if you can even find one!)

So what is special about the V-Reg II?

After 6 years of continuous development with the original V-Reg, the improved V-Reg II, was released in April, 2001. The design stayed basically the same, an encapsulated electronics box measuring 40*40*20mm with a small heatsink on top.

Improvements introduced with the V-Reg II:

• Current limit to the field winding, allows excellent performance when using a  6V dynamo on a 12V system.
• Tougher electronics, with the introduction of higher energy spark suppression, to reduce spikes generated by the dynamo.
• Improved "thermal fold-back" which progressively reduces output power if the regulator gets too hot, indirectly limiting the dynamo from excessive current.
• Higher specification voltage reference.
• Better servo loop stability, with new electronics which 'predict' when the output voltage is nearly correct and control the field current earlier.

There is no regulator yet seen on a British motorcycle with active power limiting build in to it although the V-Reg II addresses this situation indirectly with its thermal overload protection and field current limiting.

Quality

Our analysis shows that very few had problems with the original V-Reg, nearly all of these were due to initial fitting problems (not reading the instructions!). It is an unfortunate fact that with 4 wires there are 23 ways to get it wrong and only one correct! We have analysed all problems drawn to out attention and have improved the survivability of the V-Reg II and now have problem rate of only half of one percent. The V-Reg II is a tough product and if you get it wrong in many cases you do get another chance ... but we don't recommend you try 'Russian roulette' with the connections! The regulator is supplied with comprehensive instructions and telephone support is also available from an expert in "Classic Motorcycle" electrics, on +44 (0)1953-884681 or visit AO Services

Which Version?

There are two versions of the V-Reg II ... to suit positive or negative earth machines, the two types are not interchangeable. A dynamo system can have its polarity changed relatively easily; however for a regulator, changing the polarity involves replacing all of the internal semiconductor with reversed polarity devices! However, with the operating voltage the V-Reg II can be used with either a 6V or 12V system.

At least one other manufacture's regulator uses a mechanical switch to change voltage settings, we believe this is an area of potential failure, unless an expensive(!) sealed switch is used. The V-Reg II uses a link wire to make the voltage selection; as supplied, the link wire is in place and the regulator is set for 6V operation, cut the link wire and it becomes a 12V regulator. So you can upgrade to 12V at any time without having to buy a new regulator and because the 'switch' is a link wire there will be no problems with corroded contacts.

12V upgrade for your 6V system?

There are two basic ways of upgrading to 12V, each has its own issues:

6V Dynamo with a 12V regulator
This is the first and cheapest option, especially with the V-Reg II since it only involves cutting the wire link.
The first problem occurs in that the speed of the dynamo is often not fast enough at tick-over / town speeds to get a good charge to the battery. Provided you are aware of this, keep a good battery backup, i.e. start a run with a well charged battery, make sure the AMP-Hrs are adequate. Do not expect to sit in town traffic for long periods with headlight on (especially with up-rated lights). Do not expect a 'town' bike with such a conversion to cope well with coil ignition (electronic or points). On a more positive note you could expect to safely use 50% more power from your dynamo as long as you keep is 'spinning' with this type of conversion.

12V Dynamo with a 12V regulator; In this case the dynamo gets rewound with more turns in the field and armature windings. This should result in the dynamo system starting to charge the 12V battery at about the same dynamo speed as it did with a 6V system. However, most people want to change to 12V to obtain more power but with this option only a modest increase in power output seems to be acceptable, this is because in order to get more turns of wire into the field and armature windings a thinner wire must be used, which can not carry as much current.

One fact to remember at all times, any motorcycle battery used on such a system using Lucas E3 or similar dynamo on a Classic motorcycle over 250cc must be fitted with a battery of at least 5 Amp-hrs capacity, smaller batteries will tend to overcharge.

How to order a V-Reg II

The V-Reg II costs 38.00 (pounds sterling)
It is available from our "Classic Motorcycle" electrics specialist AO Services - Tel: +44 (0)1953-884681.

Why use electronics | The Special V-Reg II | Quality | Versions | 12V Upgrade

Automotive Menu