Baja designs Q

[crazymike]

cliffs at bottom

So I got my Baja Designs kit and got everything on no problem.

Well, I lied. I broke the banjo bolt for the brakes so I need to get another :p I think I will order two and put a switch on the front and back.

Everything is working. I went for a quick ride and after 5 minutes the lights went super dim, I thought it was just running off the battery and not charging. But after I went for a daytime ride today, I noticed the battery had charged.

So heres my question. I didn't change my stator not convert to a floating ground system. The battery is charging off the bike and all the lights work, but when the battery goes flat the lights get dimmer, and dimmer.

I was hoping to put off a new stator for a while. Would rewiring to a floating ground make the lights any brighter? or am I just going to have to get a new stator?

I was told the kit wouldn't work with out a floating ground but mine seems to be working.

Also, I quickly tried to bleed the brakes and I had no luck. I was getting no pressure what so ever. How long should I have to pump the brake for? Or did I put something back together wrong maybe?

cliffs:
- put on baja designs kit
- using stock stator for now
- didn't convert to floating ground
- kit works, but not bright at all
- is this because of floating ground or simply stator

- brakes don't seem to be bleeding, does it take longer than 15 mins before you notice some pressure? or did I screw things up

 

[dirt bike dave]

I've had a Baja kit on two KDX's and an XR250. The stock stator does not put out enough power, whether you ground to the frame or have a floating ground (I've tried it both ways).

You can extend your battery life by adding an on/off switch to your headlight, and turning it off when you don't need it. But this is a band-aid and the light will still dim pretty quick, even on a fresh battery. If you need to rely on your headlight for safety, legality or night riding, you will need to rewind the stator. If you don't want to send it out, you might be able to save money doing it yourself - you can find some instructions on the internet. It's a PITA, but its not exactly rocket science. With some patience and the right wire, it should not be too bad.

On the brake bleeding problem, KDX's are notorious for getting air bubbles trapped in the curve of the front hose. In my experience, the best bet is to remove the entire master cylinder, hose and caliper from the bike and hang it straight on a wall. Tap the hose to knock the bubble loose. Let it hang there for a few days if you can, and the bubbles should rise up and through the master cylinder and you can let them out of the brake reservoir.

 

[adam728]

You NEED to do a floating ground. Mine seemed to work till the battery went dead, then the lights were very, very dim. This is because the bike is putting out AC current. By doing the floating ground and connecting the second wire to the voltage regulator you make a DC system. This is how it was explained to me when I called Baja Designs. With a digital multimeter I found that without the floating ground voltage was jumping from about 10V to -10V. After doing the floating ground I got a steady 13.5V.

And I don't think your stock coil will support the kit. My taillight burnt out the other day and just trying to run the low beam and blinkers was a chore for my 75W coil at lower rpms.

 

[crazymike]

hmm, thanks for the info.

What type of flyweel puller do you use on the KDX? I have a spider type puller but I don't know if it will work on the KDX flywheel.

Also, do you recomend the 75 watt coil or should I buy the 130 watt one from Baja?

 

[adam728]

The KDX uses an external thread flywheel puller. Pretty much every 2 stroke motocrosser since the early 90's uses the same one. I just ran up to the Yamaha dealer to have mine pulled, but since have bought my own, they are around $9 from Parts Unlimited.

My 75w coil works fine 95% of the time, it's just when putting through town with a turn signal on that it dims quite a bit. I almost never ride through town, so it's no big deal to me. I'd say the 120 watter would be ideal, but it depends on if you want to give up close to 2 weeks riding time waiting for your coil to be rewound. I wouldn't do that, so I bought the Moose coil.

 

[razrbakcrzy]

Adam is right, the Moose coil is the way to go, It is really simple and the least down time for the solution. The most recent kit comes with a new control switch that allows you to run the light during the day at a very dim setting that allows the stator to put most of the voltage back into the battery.

Baja designs has made drastic improvments to this kit in the last year.

The banjo bolt should be removed take the crush washer off of it put on the break lite switch the replace it into the break housing.

Break lite switch
crush washer
break line
crush washer
break housing

Jim

 

[crazymike]

Adam is right, the Moose coil is the way to go, It is really simple and the least down time for the solution. The most recent kit comes with a new control switch that allows you to run the light during the day at a very dim setting that allows the stator to put most of the voltage back into the battery.

Baja designs has made drastic improvments to this kit in the last year.

The banjo bolt should be removed take the crush washer off of it put on the break lite switch the replace it into the break housing.

Break lite switch
crush washer
break line
crush washer
break housing

Jim

K, thanks guys. The instructions say that baja designs now sells a 130 watt stator, so I will inquire about this. But I don't feel like sending in my stator for that long if that's all it is.

That's how I assembled the brakes, I must just have a large air bubble in the line.

 

[adam728]

Easiest way to get a bubble out of the bend in the line there would be to remove the master cylinder from the handle bar and hold it up so that it is the highest point of the brake system. You should be able to then just remove the cover and slowly pump the brake, adding fluid as more air comes up. The hardest part will be trying not to spill anything.

 

[crazymike]

Easiest way to get a bubble out of the bend in the line there would be to remove the master cylinder from the handle bar and hold it up so that it is the highest point of the brake system. You should be able to then just remove the cover and slowly pump the brake, adding fluid as more air comes up. The hardest part will be trying not to spill anything.

K, thanks. I'm going to order a new brake switch today and hopefully it will be in before I go riding again. I don't want to bleed the brakes twice.

I'm probably going to just order the moose cable I guess.

Now I just need to get my jetting fixed and hopefully everything will be peachy : )