which one of these headlights do you guys like best?

[Dave Ireland]

Really straightforward with the GS - since most, if not all, of the troubles start with bad and corroded connections, both in the loom (bullet connectors) or in the switchgear (strip and clean). Once you're sure of how clean they are, you've got a starting point. A decent voltmeter will tell you what's going on.
On the GS Resources site, the recommendations of posplayer about making a single-point ground are worth doing. If at the very least, you follow his Quick Test routine, you'll know what's what with your system.
I'd thoroughly recommend replacing the reg-rec with the aforementioned series unit from Polaris, as it's only a matter of time before your stator is taken out, usually at the most inconvenient tiime, too.
Seriously, if series reg-recs had been around 35 years ago, the GS range would never have developed the reputation for dodgy electrics that it did.

 

[GS850_Mike]

If you have a voltmeter I would at least test the voltage at the coils (and headlight) first just to get a reference point. My 550 was at 8 volts (12v system) my 850 was closer to 10 volts. The lower the voltage just shows how much work you have to do to get it back to par. If your bike was well maintained you might be good with just some dielectric grease on all the connectors and upgrade the regulator rectifier. If you're closer to the 8volts pull everthing apart and start cleaning contacts and upgrade the reg-rec.
Depending on what you're planning on doing with your bike there are several options. The method above (Dave's) is probably one of the best. Due to the limited range and hp of my 550 it will never be a long distance bike so I did a quick fix a simple relay at the coils to ensure 12v. The 850, which I have started to use on longer trips, completely re-wired. I stayed as close to the original as possible (hard to find some colored wires) so I could still use a standard wiring print.
The main thing is at least have an idea where you're at so there is less chance of a surprise later.

 

[Seth Matthews]

That's great advice guys. I guess I just assumed that if the battery was charging, everything was ok. Looks like I have a project ahead of me. lol Any idea how much, (ballpark,) that this might cost if I do a complete electrical overhaul? I'm pretty decent at Doing my own wiring, so I shouldn't have to hire it out.

 

[Dave Ireland]

You might find the connectors will clean up fine, and if the bike's been reasonably well taken care of, the switchgear should be good for years yet. My own switches are starting to get replaced, but they've been to the Moon and halfway back, so hardly surprising they're simply worn out.
If push comes to shove, a decent used complete main loom / harness can be had off ebay for $25, and switches tend to run at $35 per side. If it's necessary, the multi-pin connectors are available from various sources, Eastern Beaver has a good name for these
http://www.easternbeaver.com/main/elec__products/connectors/connectors.html

A Polaris reg-rec (beware of fakes) will cost you $70 new from a Polaris dealer - part no 4012941 - at the new price it's hardly worthwhile buying a MOSFET masquerader, which the cheaper sellers are punting out as being 'equivalent to' or 'fits' the Polaris. To easily fit the Polaris RR into the loom there's a Triumph matching harness piece that costs around $15 or so. From any Triumph dealer, part no T2500676

Where you are, in Ohio, is a gold mine for barely-used spares from bikes that were only used for a few months of the year - until the shipping prices went crazy, I was buying a lot from Mid-West bike breakers.

 

[GreggS]

Learning curve! My '80 GS1000G lost its rectifier and I bought an aftermarket, which was probably not a good decision. I did not get the voltage I should have for charging and after contacting the supplier, they sent me another one. On a whim, I decided to solder the first one to get rid of the crimping splices and big improvement. still not were I wanted to be, but workable. Other changes I made in the right direction. Changed the glass fuses to a blade fuse system with a relay that put lower amps to the starter switch. Added a digital volt meter (useless in the sun). Changed the bulbs in the trunk to led tail/brake and added a flasher to just the Vetter brake lights. Upgraded the battery that actually did improve the voltage situation.
All of this brings me to why I joined this thread: I changed the H4 headlight to led. Not so easy I found out. Had to work on the Vetter bracket to make it fit. So, did that change my headlight voltage draw - Not significantly- it seems that the H4 conversion I bought has a fan for cooling. (It is bright!) I can hear it when I turn on the ignition! I do get comments on the daytime visibility. Find that I attract more bugs at night, especially when I stop!
What did I learn - soldering connectors is good thing for high draw circuits. Led bulbs has some mild pluses. A good battery is a good battery! Biggest improvement was replacing the glass fuse panel. I bought it from a Canadian living in Japan! Easternbeaver.com. Very happy with it and highly recommend the relay kit. The momentary flasher on the Vetter brake lights is very good idea!

 

[Scott-E]

Stator Life actually depends on how well the stator coils are cooled by the engine oil and how much carbon is in dilution in that oil. Most people don't know that engine oil is sprayed on the stator coils from a tiny slot cut in the crankshaft. Those coils get really hot so they must have proper cooling to keep them from overheating and shorting out. Clean oil is the key to long stator life. Oil circulating in your engine has carbon resulting from combustion is broken down by detergents in the oil. That carbon remains in dilution until it's drained and replaced with fresh, clean oil. If the oil has a lot of carbon in dilution that carbon will come out of dilution and stick to the hot stator coils. That carbon coating on the stator coils reduces the amount of heat that can be drawn away from the coils. Eventually the coils overheat and burn up. As an engine ages due to use more carbon slips by the rings and valve seals so it's important to change the engine oil more often than on a new engine. My Bikes manual calls for an oil and filter change every 7,000 miles. Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to go that far between oil changes. I change my oil and filter every 3,000 miles.

 

[Dave Ireland]

It's part and parcel of the same thing - the enemy is heat. It only shows how necessary the cooling oil is if hot engine oil is actually cooling the stator - that's because of the shunt current being dumped back into the phases is overheating the windings - as an unfortunate consequence of the design.
My XS650 Field Coil alternator has no need of oil cooling, and has no airflow through it, although some owners have drilled their cases to allow that.

******************** CAUTION!!!!!!!!**************

DON'T FIT AN LED HEADLIGHT TO A GS SUZUKI BEFORE YOU READ THIS!

If you fit a lower-current demand headlight, you WILL kill your stator if you are still using the original shunt regulator. You MUST use a series type, as mentioned further up.

 

[Seth Matthews]

well, my current dilemma is debating on a high wattage bulb for the headlight, or to get LED and a new shunt regulator. so what would you do in my situation?

 

[Dave Ireland]

Having killed a stator or two prematurely because I wasn't diligent enough in making sure the 55W driving lamp wasnt' switched on, I learned the hard way about shunting regs and the Achilles Heel of the GS.
I've had a Series type for a couple of years now and don't care whether I switch the headlamp on or not

 

[Seth Matthews]

So I need to get a series type regulator, any brands you'd recommend?

 

[desert_SOHC]

Question, my 750 is having charging issues and I was going to replace the reg/rec with one of the new electronic units. Should I go with the Polaris unit?

 

[Dave Ireland]

Sorry for taking so long to get back - yes, in both instances, the Shindengen SH-775 from the Polaris is the choice I (and many others) made. So far, there have been next to no failures and any I've read about seem to raise the question of how well it was fitted, and/or was it simply badly/wrongly wired.
These units aren't perfect - nothing is - and they go out of regulation above 9000rpm, but simply avoid the red line and you'll be fine.

 

[GreggS]

Wow, you guys are starting to worry me about these regulator issues. That's what makes forums like this so valuable. I went to the GS Resources pages and read a major article about this problem. Also, many articles at different sites and all saying the same thing. I had posted my bikes electrical problem history about 7 or so postings above. Fortunately, I've not put very many miles on the bike since buying the "inexpensive " regulator. It appears that the SH-775 is in the transition of being replaced by a higher capacity unit and the price, of course, is much higher. I ended up purchasing a Compu-fire unit for 3 phase systems - part 55402 from Amazon. ($156) according to GS Resources, both it and the Shindegen unit are good choices. I'm not taking my bike out of storage until I can get this corrected. I do wish to thank the number of members that educated me!

 

[desert_SOHC]

My charging system is up and running as designed now. I had a bear of a time adjusting my regulator to the correct voltage, little inputs do large voltage adjustments, but I got there.