Battery Clamps

I did something very similar to franko, but used 1/4" stainless rod in place of the spokes. The bottom ends were bent to about 100 degrees so as to hook into the existing anchor holes in the battery box. Then, a piece of aluminum angle was cut and drilled to accept the ends of the 1/4" rod. Of course, the top ends were threaded to match 1/4" wing nuts. Since the cable ends come into my battery box about centered ('74), it was easy enough to spin the battery around, putting the posts into the back (right) side of the battery box. Also, rubber-faced washers were used between the wing nuts and aluminum strip to add a touch of cushion. So far, it's been very stable.


Nathan

Some interesting hard clamp designs. Anyone got any shots of a velcro strap with the battery in the stock position? As the stock tray is much larger than the battery, do you use 1 or 2 straps?

Does the velcro hold tight with time?

The SS clone has a transverse tray with the strap attached on the oil tank side and the clip on the outer side of the tray, just like buck's. The Titanic has the longitudinal tray and I reproduced the original straps with inner tube on both. There are better methods than the latter.

On a 72 I was working on, I pulled out the battery tray and cut a sheet of 3/8 aluminum plate to cover the entire platform. Four countersunk #10 screws held it in place. Now, with some planning, you can drill and tap the plate to fit any brackets you want. And use the double sided automotive tape to mount the podtronics and ignition black box.

Here’s mine.
I use Shorai batteries, so they are light and thus perhaps easier to secure that some.
I tried elasticated Velcro straps, but the none elasticated ones felt more secure to me
You can see on the back side of the battery where I have padded the smaller battery out with firm foam so it’s still a snug fit in the battery carrier.
For added security, I stuck some Velcro to the end of the battery and inside of the oil tank.
Works for me!

Not a Commando this time, but still on the Velcro theme...
Here’s the battery on my ‘68 Bonnie. Again, it’s padded out with foam (Shorai provide a load of this sticky backed firm foam with their batteries) and two none elastic Velcro straps.

Fast Eddie said:

Not a Commando this time, but still on the Velcro theme...
Here’s the battery on my ‘68 Bonnie. Again, it’s padded out with foam (Shorai provide a load of this sticky backed firm foam with their batteries) and two none elastic Velcro straps.

Click to expand...

Snap!
I, too, have a '68 Bonnie, but sticking with the Motobatt:



I dislike those glass fuses, preferring ATO blade fuses.
Sorry for straying off topic...

bucksfizz said:

Snap!
I, too, have a '68 Bonnie, but sticking with the Motobatt. I dislike those glass fuses, preferring ATO blade fuses.

Click to expand...

Well, I dislike the glass fuses, and more so, their fuse holders too to be honest. On the Commando I used the in line rubber holders for blade fuzes. I fitted two, one for the ignition circuit and one for everything else.

I intended to get one for the Bonnie as I just used what was on it when I did a partial rewire job, and then forgot, so thanks for the reminder !

BTW... that motobatt battery looks nearly as heavy as the engine! Have you converted the bike to hybrid drive...?

Fast Eddie said:

Well, I dislike the glass fuses, and more so, their fuse holders too to be honest. On the Commando I used the in line rubber holders for blade fuzes. I fitted two, one for the ignition circuit and one for everything else.

I intended to get one for the Bonnie as I just used what was on it when I did a partial rewire job, and then forgot, so thanks for the reminder !

BTW... that motobatt battery looks nearly as heavy as the engine! Have you converted the bike to hybrid drive...?

Click to expand...

LOL - yeah, those AGM batteries are heavy compared to a Shorai.
I went to town on the Commando with fuses, as there's nothing worse than that single fuse popping.
It's a bit like a computer when you get the error message: "Oops, something went wrong".
So, I have a main fuse box:



The 5A on the left controls ignition switch, and the other two are for horn and head lamps.
I have another two fuse boxes:



The single fuse on the right is for the charging system (regulator/rectifier).
The other four fuses control the ignition switched circuits: indicators, ignition, horn relay, head lamp relays, etc.
If a fuse were to blow, I would be easily able to isolate the circuit.