motorcycle headlight installation

[Evil Turkey]

Hi,

As you have guessed, this thread has nothing to do with Z's. This is another (very small) project I have.

Basically, I have an enduro bike that I'm trying to make street legal/useable at night.

So, at the moment, it has no light and no battery (it's a kick-start) so my question is:

How/where do I connect the headlight (and any other electric device) in order to get power to them? My biggest weakness is electricity and related stuff so sorry if it's really obvious, I just don't want to screw anything.

At the moment, I have the headlight, flasher and taillight rigged and ready to install with on/off switches. Great, but... what now?

Thanks!

EDIT: in case this can help, this particular bike (it's a honda CRF100F) has no other "electrical" apparatus other than the alternator and related parts. (it's carbureted, kick-start with no lights).

I thought about somehow rigging it to the distributor (I think that's what you call it in english) but I guess that wouldn't work since it's, well, a *distributor*... Then, I thought that if I could somehow "split" the electricity going to the distributor before it enters but I foresee the problems that can come out of this setup.

EDIT 2: I was also thinking about the alternator. (same idea as above)

Any thoughts, ideas?

Edited January 19, 2011 by Evil Turkey

[grantf]

I have a kick start kh400 it uses a motorcycle battery with I think magneto's. I know this is not an answer but perhaps a hint???

[Evil Turkey]

Well, I'm still thinking about it but the major "difficulty" I have is that it dosen't have a battery and that's why I have no idea what to do

[geezer]

Its been awhile but I had a pair of Honda 125 trail bikes that I had adapted lights to and only used a rectifier on the alternator. All I used was a 9 volt battery that I kept in my pocket to provide the spark for kick starting. There has to be a ton of info on the net explaining how to do this. It was easy to do, the rectifiers were cheap.

Edited January 19, 2011 by geezer

[Evil Turkey]

Thanks geezer, that just pretty much answered my question. The only thing I can't figure out is: Why did you need a battery to provide a spark?

[5thhorsemann]

I had an older MR250, same basig powertrain on a different frame. That motor does not have a stator (alternator) in it. only makes enough power to support ignition. I think you need to put a stator and rectifier in her.

[geezer]

I forgot more than I know about this subject but I believe 5thhorsemann has hit the nail on the head. It depends on how your particular model is outfitted. Without a stator or battery, spark is provided by a magneto, same as a lawnmower that doesn't require a battery to provide spark to start.

The 125 Hondas that I had, originally had batteries and were stator equipt and at one time had lights, turn signals, horn, etc., everything needed to be road legal. They were basket cases that I built for use 2 weeks out of the year on hunting trips. Using a 9 volt battery was just a means of providing spark, starting a stator equipt engine with no magneto or onboard battery. The old style bridge rectifiers were very durable and powered the lights as long as the engine was running. The extreme cold of the north and limited use was the reason for using 9 volt batteries. I dug up an old pic of one of these frankenstein bikes. The headlight bucket is made out of a Maxwell House coffee can.

Edited January 19, 2011 by geezer

[5thhorsemann]

A coffee can? SWEET!!!