Alta Redshift Fast Charger?

12v inverter?

Ever fill a pool by drinking water then pissing into the empty pool?

Your cig lighter would take forever to charge the bike. Think of trying to fill a swimming pool with
a little garden hose. Yes after 2 days there would be charge but your car battery would probably drain first.
Not so pretty good.

MxKing809 wrote:

12v inverter?

Ever fill a pool by drinking water then pissing into the empty pool?

your anology Is better. Takes me forever to post with this little tablet.
TM

Charging with an invertor is OK if you have a large enough invertor. One that plugs into the cig lighter isn't going to work. My 2000 watt inverter tied to the battery with 2 gauge wire would be... probably.

Need an altanator that can put out enough juice though. I know my inverter with the system going, and lights on will draw the battery down faster than the alternator can charge it.

AFAIK, the Alta already has the correct electronics and automatically senses the 240v input.

Just run a 240v 4000-6000 watt generator at the track/riding spot with the proper plugs (Alta takes a 3 prong) and the Alta will charge from dead to full in 2-2.5 hours. Roughly 1/3 charge per 45 minutes as i've been reading.

theycallmeebryan wrote:

AFAIK, the Alta already has the correct electronics and automatically senses the 240v input.

Just run a 240v 4000-6000 watt generator at the track/riding spot with the proper plugs (Alta takes a 3 prong) and the Alta will charge from dead to full in 2-2.5 hours. Roughly 1/3 charge per 45 minutes as i've been reading.

I can tell you from experience, this is pretty much right on.

theycallmeebryan is correct; the Alta comes with a smart charger with electronics that automatically sense whether it is plugged into 120v or 240v. It charges a lot faster on 240v.

At home I just plug the Alta charger into a wall outlet. When I am at the track, I use a 240v generator I bought off of craigslist, $350 unused:



I built this short cord to go from the 4-prong 240v outlet on the generator to accept the 3-prong plug from the Alta charger. It was just a couple cheap things from the electrical section at Home Depot:



I have ridden a practice (~10 minutes) and 6 motos (~15 minutes each) at couple local races, and I have no problem getting the Alta fully charged between my motos with the 240v generator.

ben990 wrote:

theycallmeebryan is correct; the Alta comes with a smart charger with electronics that automatically sense whether it is plugged into 120v or 240v. It charges a lot faster on 240v.

At home I just plug the Alta charger into a wall outlet. When I am at the track, I use a 240v generator I bought off of craigslist, $350 unused:



I built this short cord to go from the 4-prong 240v outlet on the generator to accept the 3-prong plug from the Alta charger. It was just a couple cheap things from the electrical section at Home Depot:



I have ridden a practice (~10 minutes) and 6 motos (~15 minutes each) at couple local races, and I have no problem getting the Alta fully charged between my motos with the 240v generator.

So you go from the 30amp generator twist lock plug and wire that to a standard 120v female plug to transfer the full 240v feed to the Alta charger?

I'm guessing you wired each 120v wire to the top two prongs and the ground to the ground?

Do you just cap off the neutral?

Jason

Using a motor to charge your bike is sort of opposite/ironic isn't it? Like, you got the bike to get away from engine maintenance. Now you have to maintain a generator lol. I'm not bashing it and I can totally see myself doing this in the future. Just super ironic haha. Where I ride there are normally at least a few camper hookups for electric I might be able to use.

kNewc wrote:

Using a motor to charge your bike is sort of opposite/ironic isn't it? Like, you got the bike to get away from engine maintenance. Now you have to maintain a generator lol. I'm not bashing it and I can totally see myself doing this in the future. Just super ironic haha. Where I ride there are normally at least a few camper hookups for electric I might be able to use.

Not trying to start a debate on this but until you’ve ridden one or driven an electric car you won’t understand. I own 2 Tesla cars and can’t imagine ever driving a fossil fuel powered car ever again. And that has nothing to do w me wanting to be green. That’s just a side benefit. The cars are fucking amazing to drive and I just test drove the Alta yesterday and came away with a similar feeling.

The power delivery is awesome. And even though it doesn’t apply to me, the ability to ride in relative silence is a big deciding factor for many. There is also no oil changes after each ride, no oil filters, and thank god no more air filters. Also, no clutch to maintain or radiators to bend/break when you crash. Ride it and wash it. You’re done!!!

Just keep tires on it and the occasional chain/sprocket and that’s about it unless you crash and burn. Amazing.

People assuming going electric is all about being green and nothing else are really missing out.

kNewc wrote:

Using a motor to charge your bike is sort of opposite/ironic isn't it? Like, you got the bike to get away from engine maintenance. Now you have to maintain a generator lol. I'm not bashing it and I can totally see myself doing this in the future. Just super ironic haha. Where I ride there are normally at least a few camper hookups for electric I might be able to use.

Hahaha very ironic, I never thought of that. It would make more sense to connect to the RV hook ups if available.

kNewc wrote:

Using a motor to charge your bike is sort of opposite/ironic isn't it? Like, you got the bike to get away from engine maintenance. Now you have to maintain a generator lol. I'm not bashing it and I can totally see myself doing this in the future. Just super ironic haha. Where I ride there are normally at least a few camper hookups for electric I might be able to use.

jasonward73 wrote:

Not trying to start a debate on this but until you’ve ridden one or driven an electric car you won’t understand. I own 2 Tesla cars and can’t imagine ever driving a fossil fuel powered car ever again. And that has nothing to do w me wanting to be green. That’s just a side benefit. The cars are fucking amazing to drive and I just test drove the Alta yesterday and came away with a similar feeling.

The power delivery is awesome. And even though it doesn’t apply to me, the ability to ride in relative silence is a big deciding factor for many. There is also no oil changes after each ride, no oil filters, and thank god no more air filters. Also, no clutch to maintain or radiators to bend/break when you crash. Ride it and wash it. You’re done!!!

Just keep tires on it and the occasional chain/sprocket and that’s about it unless you crash and burn. Amazing.

People assuming going electric is all about being green and nothing else are really missing out.

I really want an Alta. I could see myself having a generator at the track too. Did you read the first line or what lol

ben990 wrote:

theycallmeebryan is correct; the Alta comes with a smart charger with electronics that automatically sense whether it is plugged into 120v or 240v. It charges a lot faster on 240v.

At home I just plug the Alta charger into a wall outlet. When I am at the track, I use a 240v generator I bought off of craigslist, $350 unused:



I built this short cord to go from the 4-prong 240v outlet on the generator to accept the 3-prong plug from the Alta charger. It was just a couple cheap things from the electrical section at Home Depot:



I have ridden a practice (~10 minutes) and 6 motos (~15 minutes each) at couple local races, and I have no problem getting the Alta fully charged between my motos with the 240v generator.

Have you noticed if people pitted near you get annoyed with the generator running all day?

jasonward93 nailed it - until you’ve ridden an Alta you won’t understand. The power delivery is super impressive, and being able to ride in relative silence is huge for me. And this afternoon I will be heading out to get in a moto behind my house in my residential neighborhood... because I can. :-) And when I am done I will plug it into the charger so that it is ready to ride tomorrow, with no worries regarding a dirty air filter or how much time my oil has on it.

My generator is actually pretty quiet, and the people in the pits don't get annoyed; they usually come up and ask me a lot of questions about the bike, and think that it is pretty cool.

And, Jason, you guessed correctly as to how I use and wired my short connector cord.

Myke wrote:

Have you noticed if people pitted near you get annoyed with the generator running all day?

I don't know why they would? Generators having been running at the tracks for as far back as I can remember. Tons of RV's and trailers have them going all the time. Guys fire them up to run power washers and so forth. It's a very common thing , especially at the bigger / longer races. If dirt bikes running all day don't annoy them , then I don't see how a generator would. Part of the sport.

Jason, did you see the new Alta teaser video for the Enduro version? You saw my FTR proposal for the electric bikes, right?

MxKing809 wrote:

12v inverter?

Ever fill a pool by drinking water then pissing into the empty pool?

Literally lol when I read this. Haha

This is in no way a slam on the alta, but does anyone find it ironic that you have to use an internal combustion engine and gasoline to charge your bike that is designed to replace just that?

Squirrelings wrote:

This is in no way a slam on the alta, but does anyone find it ironic that you have to use an internal combustion engine and gasoline to charge your bike that is designed to replace just that?

You need to remember, the goal at Alta was never to build a greener motorcycle, but simply build a better motorcycle. In a lot of ways they hit the mark pretty well.

In my case, one of my local tracks has agreed to install 240v charging at a nominal fee. I also am on the hunt for a generator.

Squirrelings wrote:

This is in no way a slam on the alta, but does anyone find it ironic that you have to use an internal combustion engine and gasoline to charge your bike that is designed to replace just that?

Generator is cheap to fix, so it's like paying way cheaper and making the bike last much longer than an IE between major costs.

How much does it cost to rebuild a generator? $40 for a piston and gaskets? That's compared to a rebuild on a 2t anywhere from 20-40 hours, and on a four stroke it's the same in some cases.

Versus a generator which will run for potentially HUNDREDS of hours before maintenance.

That's not even comparing how much fuel would cost to run an IE race bike compared to a generator running at half throttle for 6 hours on race day. That would be HUNDREDS of dollars on pump gas for a season. Not even including race gas for a modified bike.

If you race the Alta for a minimum of 4 years, you made up the difference in price. It's just a matter of paying the lump sum; no one can afford a 15k bike in one payment. THAT'S what is keeping it from catching on. WHEN battery technology increases and prices decrease, people will buy them.

Squirrelings wrote:

This is in no way a slam on the alta, but does anyone find it ironic that you have to use an internal combustion engine and gasoline to charge your bike that is designed to replace just that?

TrailDigger wrote:

Generator is cheap to fix, so it's like paying way cheaper and making the bike last much longer than an IE between major costs.

How much does it cost to rebuild a generator? $40 for a piston and gaskets? That's compared to a rebuild on a 2t anywhere from 20-40 hours, and on a four stroke it's the same in some cases.

Versus a generator which will run for potentially HUNDREDS of hours before maintenance.

That's not even comparing how much fuel would cost to run an IE race bike compared to a generator running at half throttle for 6 hours on race day. That would be HUNDREDS of dollars on pump gas for a season. Not even including race gas for a modified bike.

If you race the Alta for a minimum of 4 years, you made up the difference in price. It's just a matter of paying the lump sum; no one can afford a 15k bike in one payment. THAT'S what is keeping it from catching on. WHEN battery technology increases and prices decrease, people will buy them.

20 - 40 hours rebuild on a 2t? Yikes if you listen to the latest podcast from matthes with skip norfolk they were doing it in 4 hours.

Lets see a parts cost list between rebuilding a generator and and a 2t. I bet the 2t is cheaper.

ben990 wrote:

theycallmeebryan is correct; the Alta comes with a smart charger with electronics that automatically sense whether it is plugged into 120v or 240v. It charges a lot faster on 240v.

At home I just plug the Alta charger into a wall outlet. When I am at the track, I use a 240v generator I bought off of craigslist, $350 unused:



I built this short cord to go from the 4-prong 240v outlet on the generator to accept the 3-prong plug from the Alta charger. It was just a couple cheap things from the electrical section at Home Depot:



I have ridden a practice (~10 minutes) and 6 motos (~15 minutes each) at couple local races, and I have no problem getting the Alta fully charged between my motos with the 240v generator.

Myke wrote:

Have you noticed if people pitted near you get annoyed with the generator running all day?

jeffro503 wrote:

I don't know why they would? Generators having been running at the tracks for as far back as I can remember. Tons of RV's and trailers have them going all the time. Guys fire them up to run power washers and so forth. It's a very common thing , especially at the bigger / longer races. If dirt bikes running all day don't annoy them , then I don't see how a generator would. Part of the sport.

I agree on the power washers being from New England but I don't remember RV's running them all day when I was back in the colder weather.

Here in CA you don't hear them running all day. No offense but I would be super bummed if I had some dude with an Alta running his generator right next to me all day to charge his bike. And yes I would move.

Well, its relative you know. A novice weekend warrior on a 500 would probably, never, need to do a top end. While Barcia on a 125? Probably every 1/2 hour! Most are 50-100 hour deals.

Myke wrote:

20 - 40 hours rebuild on a 2t? Yikes if you listen to the latest podcast from matthes with skip norfolk they were doing it in 4 hours.

Lets see a parts cost list between rebuilding a generator and and a 2t. I bet the 2t is cheaper.

Hard to compare a generator motor humming along for a few hours at the same rpm to what a dirt bike motor goes through. I don't know the cost of a generator needing motor work but even if it's the same or near a 2t it would be in way more time.

Most tracks I'm at there's always at least some generators and pressure washers going all the time, and if it gives a full charge in 2 hours that's not too bad.

I keep my generator inside my van when charging my Alta, with the windows cracked. I dont want to listen to my own generator, Im sure the guy next to me doesnt either.

You guys realize they make nice, quiet (read: almost silent) generators that run forever and use almost no gas right? Thanks Honda

You can't even begin to compare the cost of maintaining a generator and maintaining a dirtbike. Generator top ends are going to last hundreds of hours, your dirtbike not so much. . .

Quiet generators do not put out 220 volts. So buying a quiet 110 means you lose the fast charging option.

In fact I even looked into buying a Euro spec Honda 3000, as that would give the 220 option. Everything in Europe runs on 230 volts, but couldnt find any way to import it into the USA due to regulations.

My generator, a Duromax XP4850EH, is actually pretty quiet. It has a huge exhaust, and is rated at 69 Decibels. My pressure washer that I also bring with me to the track is a lot louder.

I will let everyone know what the rebuild cost on my generator is, maybe 25-30 years from now when it needs a new top end.

Like tkimb, when I am at a race, there are generators and pressure washers going all of the time.

I think that overall, I make less noise over my 10 hour race day than the guy on his 450 4-stroke with an aftermarket exhaust!