The batteries were charged by generators, a device that produces DC power.
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Adding horns and electric lighting, for instance, made the addition of a battery and a charging system almost a necessity. Riders then wanted top-of-the-line tech, just as they do today. However, electrical geegaws were bound to make their way onto motorcycles. Lights at the time were non-existent, or later, acetylene-powered. This very limited system worked because there wasn’t much electrical demand on a motorcycle of the day. The very earliest motorcycles used a magneto (a small, isolated system run by the engine) to create spark to provide electricity needed by the spark plug to fire. This is a later magneto fitted to an earlier motorcycle that was once equipped with a timer, but magnetos were OEM pieces once upon a time. Think of it as a mechanically driven, self-contained sparkin' box. Let’s take a fast trip through history and talk about the differences between them so you know why you have a stator, and what it does differently from other devices that make electricity - and why the related jargon is a little confusing.Ī magneto. All of these items have been used on motorcycles, and all serve (sorta) the same function. “Alternator” is usually referred to casually to mean “belt- or chain-driven electrical unit that looks like the thing on a car and spits out massive amounts of DC electricity with stator, rotor, regulator, and rectifier all contained in the same compact housing.”Īnd “magneto” is usually “the self-contained thing on an older dirt bike or chopper that simplifies the wiring and makes spark so one can eschew a battery if the motorcycle is also equipped with a generator.”Īs the above section indicates, you may hear the terms “generator,” “stator,” and “alternator” tossed around with much casualness. “Generator” equates to “the cylindrical can that‘s usually gear-driven indirectly by the crank (but sometimes is spun with a belt) that spits out DC power and has an armature, commutator, and permanent magnet field coils inside it, with a discrete regulator located elsewhere.” “Stator” is often used to mean “the thing that spits out AC electricity on a modern bike that usually burns up because a magnet on a steel flywheel doesn’t really go bad.” Think of your stator as the piece that makes electricity to keep your battery charged up to make all that electrical stuff on your bike work. The battery would quickly be depleted, though, if not for the star of the charging system show, the stator. In simple terms, the battery provides this power. Lighting, ignition, the fuel pump, and the starter all consume varying amounts of power. In simple terms, if you’re riding a modern bike, it has many electrical needs. Your stator is a pretty vital piece of the electrical system on your bike. If you don’t, congratulations for being proactive!
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If you clicked on this article, I’d imagine you have an electrical problem, and you’re looking to understand what went wrong (maybe so you can repair it).