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Alternator

H

Harrington

Guest
Did I see a misprint or is the alternator only 580W in the new 1600 platform. The RT is listed at 720 and IIRC the 1300GT was over 900W. What am I missing here?
 
Did I see a misprint or is the alternator only 580W in the new 1600 platform. The RT is listed at 720 and IIRC the 1300GT was over 900W. What am I missing here?
That is correct. The real question is: Does it matter? There have been other threads on this topic which suggest that 99% of the time, nearly 600W is more than enough -- much like 99% of the time, the RT's 720W is more than enough. On the airheads, 180W, 260W and 280W alternators were marginal -- the K16 has more than twice that, and the base electrical load (ignition, lighting, computers) is not twice as high on the new bikes. Simultanteous two-up with full high heating on heated jackets, heated gloves, heated pants, heated socks, etc., plus high beams, radar detector, audio/intercom, GPS, etc., and yeah, the system can be pushed to its limits -- just like it would be on an R12RT. And even if you fall into that 1% category and are draining so much juice the battery can't stay charged, the bike's instrument panel will turn on a battery warning light to let you know you should turn something off.

Don't let yourself get too caught up in the specs on paper, vs. real world performance -- while the bike is still very new, no one has posted yet about inadequate electrical power, including none of the magazine testers or the European riders who have already had their bikes for a couple months and done some several thousand kilometer trips. Until a real problem is reported, I'd suggest putting this one out of your mind and focusing on other things -- like how are you going to pay for it! :D
 
Did I see a misprint or is the alternator only 580W in the new 1600 platform. The RT is listed at 720 and IIRC the 1300GT was over 900W. What am I missing here?

From the BMW parts listings:
K1300GT - 70A or nominally 840 Watts
K1600GT - 55A 660 Watts
R1200GS (04-07) 40A 480 Watts
R1200GSA (08 ->) 60A 720 Watts
R1200RT (-> 09) 55A 660 Watts (the amp rating for the 2010 model is not given but it is a different part number than any other earlier R1200)
It also appears that there is a 50A alternator spec'ed for the K1300GT but there is no information on when this unit would be used and when the bigger one would be used. BMW may have used different alternators in different markets. Incidentally the K1600GT/GTL alternator has the same part number as the K1300S/R.
Just some trivia to fill in some of the missing info.
 
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