6v or 12v?

With the advances made to electronics these past few years, is there anyone still flying the 6v flag?? I have converted my bike to a CE 12v and I love it. I used the external regulated version (hiding the regualtor behind my battery on the lower part of the fender) with great success. I would like to hear from others on their thoughts.

My FrankenChief will be 12v.
Better parts availability and more options.
But then, I'm not a great one for originality...

I had my stock generator rebuilt and wired for 12v and put a led bulb in the tail light and a brighter headlight. My thinking was I was going to do some cross country riding and bulbs and coil would be an easy find in a jam. 6 volt lighting almost got me rearended. I ended up not using the original generator and put a new 12 volt gen with solid state regulator on and run it. High output, electronic, and no cut out to adjust. Not stock looking, but works great and in a jam as 12 volt parts easier to pick up at a auto parts store. ~T~

I stayed with the 6 volt when I rebuilt my 48. I do not think the lighting is any worse then my old 12 volt BSA and triump, but I do not travel as much on the indian as I do on my Harley Ultra,

Here's some high powered 6 volt bulbs if you are so inclined.

http://www.classicandvintagebulbs.com/page2.html

thanks I am looking into getting them

No problem, good to see someone in this "Ghost town" forum. I like this site, wish more came here!

have you tried these sites http://www.caimag.com/forum/f27/46-chief-girder-forks-1949.html and http://www.starklite.com/

Yep, I'm trying to find one not made outta unobtainuim. I'll prolly wait tiill Davenport or Rhinebeck to pull the trigger. $1200 hurts

what? that part cost about $1200? that's very expensive

indianfrank wrote:have you tried these sites http://www.caimag.com/forum/f27/46-chief-girder-forks-1949.html and http://www.starklite.com/

Yes I am registered on both, as well as AMCA and Indian Motorcycle Community Forum.

msandream wrote:what? that part cost about $1200? that's very expensive

Welcome to the world of classic Indian Motorcycles

Hi,
If you plan on riding with your headlight on all the time, the 6V original unit just won't cut it. I have found that even with the third brush maxed-out you can barely get 1 ampere extra out of the unit with the lights on. Add the brake light now and then and then add the horn now and then and the battery will eventually become discharged. I used to get by with a daily trickle charge from the battery charger but that is a hassle. On my machine I wanted to stay somewhat original so I am currently running the 6V fan cooled Police generator. I have all the power I need for headlight, spotlights, extra rear running lights and a pair of extra horns on my front crashbar. The biggest drawback of the Police generator is the scarcity of the generator and mounting bracket. The Police generator is a shunt-wound automotive-type unit and for generator regulation, I am using a three-relay Delco-Remy regulator mounted in the front of the engine. With the Delco unit I have fully adjustable independent voltage and current regulation. The original Auto-Lite Police regulator had a combined voltage/current regulator, which works but the negative ground original regulator is very rare. Most guys in Central New York that ride their bikes a lot have converted to the Cycle Electric 12V unit and have had very good results. I am not running any 12V accessories, but if I wanted to I would choose the Cycle Electric 12V unit. Converting the 6V original Indian generator to 12V is an option, but the original generator case is not fan cooled and pulling extra power out of the case will lead to an overheated condition. Short brush life has been reported as a result. The Cycle Electric 12V generator will fit into the original generator mount and today costs in the vicinity of $365.00 from several different vendors. Sincerely, Steven Bailey baiste@sgu.edu