Best gas generator for a backup battery charging?

[noenegdod]

Since we are taking this off topic and Im feeling warm and fuzzy after seeing everyone nice old bikes Ill share mine (not actually mine but exactly the same). My cousin bought it in '85 and I bought it off him in '91. Spent a few nights in jail because if it. If I was 19-22 again with it today I would probably have a lifetime license suspension.

 

[Batvette]

Since we are taking this off topic and Im feeling warm and fuzzy after seeing everyone nice old bikes Ill share mine (not actually mine but exactly the same). My cousin bought it in '85 and I bought it off him in '91. Spent a few nights in jail because if it. If I was 19-22 again with it today I would probably have a lifetime license suspension.

View attachment 82419

Neighbor had that exact bike too. Horsepower king until the Vmax. I understand a tuneup was no cakewalk, valve shims?
The side profile looks a lot like the cb900c I had before the 500 turbo (with several cars between them- a porsche 914, and a firebird formula)


The magna directly replaced the cb900c. Which has recently enjoyed some cult status in the bobber/cafe modder circles, because of its 10 speed transmission. Which it really isnt, its a 5spd with a secondary gearbox with high low ratios, in high its in overdrive. It loafed on the freeway, in one trip on leave in the navy to my parents house, in 450 miles I got 3 speeding tickets. In one day. Had that bike just 5 months, it replaced a 750 custom I totalled in a left turn failure to yield collision. Bike went under the car, me over the handlebars. Got up and walked away unscathed, took the insurance payout and bought the 900. Totalled it 5 months later, same situation. The 900 remains the only brand new vehicle Ive ever purchased.

 

[wattmatters]

I was in shock and rode home several miles my back was black and blue and swollen from my neck to my ass. I had xrays and a ct scan done at the VA about a year later for something else where it was revealed Id broken 3 ribs and one of my vertabrae.

Ouch. I was carted off by ambulance to emergency. Got out 4 months and 2 days later.

I rode my first race back within 8 months, and after 18 months I raced the world masters (old farts) track cycling championships. By 2011 I was producing as much power output as I had with two legs, except for peak 1-second power, where I lost 250-300W off the top end. Won regular open A grade races and even raced the UCI Paracycling World Cup. I retired from the sport after that season. Track (velodrome) racing was my love, but I did a lot of criterium and road racing.

 

[Wellbuilt]

Since we are taking this off topic and Im feeling warm and fuzzy after seeing everyone nice old bikes Ill share mine (not actually mine but exactly the same). My cousin bought it in '85 and I bought it off him in '91. Spent a few nights in jail because if it. If I was 19-22 again with it today I would probably have a lifetime license suspension.

View attachment 82419

O man you are bring back old memories , I bought a v65 in 84 mine was mid nite blue .
I sold mine in 91

 

[Batvette]

Ouch. I was carted off by ambulance to emergency. Got out 4 months and 2 days later.

I rode my first race back within 8 months, and after 18 months I raced the world masters (old farts) track cycling championships. By 2011 I was producing as much power output as I had with two legs, except for peak 1-second power, where I lost 250-300W off the top end. Won regular open A grade races and even raced the UCI Paracycling World Cup. I retired from the sport after that season. Track (velodrome) racing was my love, but I did a lot of criterium and road racing.

Velodrome always looked badass to me maybe its how muscular the riders look, I always imagined the races could get physical, dirty even. Rollerball on bicycles. Never seen it in person so I have no idea.
I did recently watch a doc on youtube about early motorcycle races on board tracks called "welcome to the murderdrome". So called after an incident where 6 people were killed. Some banking was 50 degrees.

I liked this detail. "The engines had total loss oil systems where the oil was ejected on the track during the race."

OMG

 

[Koldsimer]

So to get this thread back on topic... my 8k Predator inverter generator has been working perfectly it's first 20 hours or so. Perfect 60hz power even with large loads and surges. Best bang for the buck imo. It's charging batteries as we speak.

And for the slightly less important stuff. My 85 v-max was the absolute best mc i've ever owned and i've had at least 10. Stage 7 jet kit with dale walker holeshot exhaust... sounded like a v-8 at idle and could power slide and burnout for days! Cruised all over new mexico with this bike in the late nineties until it threw a rod while i was taking a hot mexican gal for a ride. Ahhhh Margarita!

And Batvette, love your ti bike. I've been a mechanic at bike shops for the past ten years or so. Has all kinds of goodies i dig. BUT... your frame is about 2 sizes too small. That badass seat post must only have an inch or so in the seat tube with it showing off that much shaft!

 

[noenegdod]

Neighbor had that exact bike too. Horsepower king until the Vmax. I understand a tuneup was no cakewalk, valve shims?
The side profile looks a lot like the cb900c I had before the 500 turbo (with several cars between them- a porsche 914, and a firebird formula)

View attachment 82428
The magna directly replaced the cb900c. Which has recently enjoyed some cult status in the bobber/cafe modder circles, because of its 10 speed transmission. Which it really isnt, its a 5spd with a secondary gearbox with high low ratios, in high its in overdrive. It loafed on the freeway, in one trip on leave in the navy to my parents house, in 450 miles I got 3 speeding tickets. In one day. Had that bike just 5 months, it replaced a 750 custom I totalled in a left turn failure to yield collision. Bike went under the car, me over the handlebars. Got up and walked away unscathed, took the insurance payout and bought the 900. Totalled it 5 months later, same situation. The 900 remains the only brand new vehicle Ive ever purchased.

I never personally worked on it. The carbs were a nightmare to set up on them and just never bother to even try. They a known issue with taking out the valvetrain. Lots of them did. It turns out that the bikes that had the issues were the ones that were babied. You needed RPM to get adequate oiling to the head.

Ouch! Buddy of mine had a v65 also. Car turned in front of him and he went over the bars. The mirror ripped his left patella off......

 

[time2roll]

I had the little Magna (VF500C) back in the '80s. Ran perfectly, never crashed it although it did drop once at low speed

 

[Batvette]

So to get this thread back on topic... my 8k Predator inverter generator has been working perfectly it's first 20 hours or so. Perfect 60hz power even with large loads and surges. Best bang for the buck imo. It's charging batteries as we speak.

And for the slightly less important stuff. My 85 v-max was the absolute best mc i've ever owned and i've had at least 10. Stage 7 jet kit with dale walker holeshot exhaust... sounded like a v-8 at idle and could power slide and burnout for days! Cruised all over new mexico with this bike in the late nineties until it threw a rod while i was taking a hot mexican gal for a ride. Ahhhh Margarita!

And Batvette, love your ti bike. I've been a mechanic at bike shops for the past ten years or so. Has all kinds of goodies i dig. BUT... your frame is about 2 sizes too small. That badass seat post must only have an inch or so in the seat tube with it showing off that much shaft!

Yep. I didnt find out the frame was too small until the seller was out of the next size up. They were sold as "blems" from a major mfr in Chehalis WA. The seat post wasnt overextended though, and keep in mind I was using it for a roadie at the time. It does look weird!
The conti gatorskins (with liners) after about 3 years had fused on the wheels before I actually got a flat, but look how skinny they were.

 

[Batvette]

Has anyone heard of Andres Georges... He lives in my city but I dont know him. Hes a former top mc racer from the 60s who builds custom motorcycles. His most famous is a v-12 cbx, two engines mated together. Theres footage of it running and riding under the channel cbxtacy. Hes also built at least two bikes out of ferrari dino v6 engines, I believe one was supercharged.

 

[Batvette]

one of the ferrari bikes, hes built 2 with v6 and 1 with v8.

Apparently his latest project involves an H16, using 4 yamaha 5 valve per cylinder 600 cc engines, its almost 2400 cc and if my math is correct thats 80 valves? Theres pics on it.


ANYway a little more on topic re honda.

Later this year a new inverter genny is coming out called the EU32i. Its just 10 lbs heavier than the 2200i.

Which may be why the 2200i is unobtanium? Seriously try to buy one. Nobody has them except a few ebay sellers asking $2395, with a straight face. Home depot doesnt have a single honda inverter gen in their whole system. Weird.

Another on topic issue, who has looked into building a quiet box for these or similar gens? Apparently the honda can be done without additional cooling fans. Ive got a link to a guy who did it along with a long discussion on it. Also the thread had a bunch of links to videos of japanese guys that built some with amazing results.

I got about 3/4 of the way done with one for my predator 2000, stalled because of other priorities and one blower wasnt gonna fit. I may finish it soon anyway if I get past that sticking point. Ive built enclosures for other things including a shop vac:



Which worked amazingly well, but a shop vac is easy. A genny has a lot more heat and noise to deal with.
I did one for a dewalt 4 gallon 4.5 cfm hand carry air compressor which also worked great after I built a second enclosure over the first. It has additional challenges including a remote tank water drain, and a remote thermometer for the crankcase. It was in my living room and you could carry on an intimate conversation right next to it. No discernable vibration. Note the shop vac box incorporates two labyrinth affairs one on top one in back, with dual fans on each. One switch turns it on, the fans came on and off with the vac through a load sensing outlet box. I believe the fans made the vacuum more powerful by assisting air movement through the head. (The plywood piece was a later addition toward that goal.

 

[noenegdod]

^^^^^ Nice!

This guy has built a bike with a viper v10

A v12

and a couple others in a museum

 

[OM617YOTA]

I wouldn't have thought about a quiet box for the Honda. During our 6 day power outage last year, we couldn't hear our Honda running 30 feet away. We could hear the neighbor's non-inverter generator, though.

To be fair, our Honda was basically running at idle the whole time, only reving up when the fridge or freezer kicked on.

Plenty quiet enough for me, anyway.

 

[Batvette]

I wouldn't have thought about a quiet box for the Honda. During our 6 day power outage last year, we couldn't hear our Honda running 30 feet away. We could hear the neighbor's non-inverter generator, though.

To be fair, our Honda was basically running at idle the whole time, only reving up when the fridge or freezer kicked on.

Plenty quiet enough for me, anyway.

Bumping this thread because someone broke into my van and stole a bunch of tools and my predator 2000.
So based on reviews and the fact Honda stopped production of CARB compliant EU2200s last year, (theyre even on short supply of 49 state) I ordered the Champion 2500 gas only version. It was $489 at amazon.
Ive only run it a few hours, but so far so good. Its more powerful, smaller, and 10lbs lighter than the Predator. Noise is just a tad lower. If theres any complaint its the BRIGHT YELLOW case which screams steal me. It feels a little cheaper than the predator but i think thats related to its light weight. That 10lbs is significant.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

BRIGHT YELLOW

Randomly spray it flat black and flat red rusty metal primer.

 

[A.Justice]

Randomly spray it flat black and flat red rusty metal primer.

Painting mine army green and black is on my to-do list. That Champion yellow screams "steal me".

 

[Batvette]

Randomly spray it flat black and flat red rusty metal primer.

Theyd say warranty void, no?

 

[TOU47]

Honda’s are really proven and reliable option. I’d also consider LPG conversion kit as it gets rid of modern gasoline storage&stability problems. 10 yr old LPG canister runs just the same as fresh.

So does...a 30 year old. NOT so with even "stabilized" gas...after 2-3 years.

 

[Shimmy]

Just to turn the question around a little... what is the best charger for a 48V LFP bank to connect to a cheap 120V ("3kW") generator? Looking at 40kWh battery bank. The AC charger would normally be disconnected.

 

[wattmatters]

So does...a 30 year old.

Definitely a big benefit of propane.

Don’t know about there but here in Australia all propane tanks have use by dates stamped on them. Usually 10 years from issue. Not for the fuel but the tank itself. It’s illegal to refill one past its use by date. They are required to be refurbished by the manufacturer and a new date stamped on or removed from circulation altogether.