TOPIC:

Is there a PMA kit available for my 1976 KZ750B?

I don't think so. This topic has come up before, but I can't recall what the final answer was, regarding using one from a later year.

That one you have is actually way more efficient if it's working properly. The only downside is that you must retain some sort of battery. But you can use a really small battery, which is easy to hide, if that was your concern.

Ok, not being an electrical engineer. Is there an aftermarket Regulator/Rectifier combo to simplify rewiring?

Here you go sir. This guy has every thing you need.
www.roadstercycle.com He has different kits to choose from. I went with the Maxi Fuse kit but I should have went with the circuit breaker kit so I don't have to worry about carrying a spare fuse.

Here is some info I added to my build thread when someone else had questions. "here is a quote from the site. "Although the Mosfet is still a shunting type regulator which means (in layman terms) it takes all the extra juice that is not used by your motorcycle electronics and gets rid of it by grounding it to the frame or negative side of the battery. The great thing about the Mosfet R/R is that it has up to date technology. It uses Mosfet style transistors. The old diode types found on most motorcycles today are 60s technology. The up to date technology lets the regulator perform substantially better and run cooler. I have close to 2000 upgrade kits out there running the Mosfet regulators and had literally no issues with them. I started out with the FH012AA, then the FH015AA and now the latest and greatest FH020AA. All have performed above expectations (actually I'm amazed how bullet proof these have been). As far as I am concerned there is no other choice for a stock motorcycle upgrade conversion. The great thing about this regulator is its ability to work with a 2 wire (single phase) or 3 wire (3 phase) stator just by hooking up either 2 or 3 wires to the gray terminal. The Mosfet technology is the best thing going until someone comes up with an affordable series R/R using Mosfet technology. So if you have been wondering about whether to upgrade to a Mosfet or stay with your stock R/R, stop wondering. Whether you purchase it from me or one of my competitors it's the most reliable and best alternative I know of. If you decide to upgrade and you have an charging issue I'll help you out, it does not matter to me where you bought it. Jack"

You won't use your stock Regulator any more this one has it built in. I have replace all of my lights with LED and the old units are not designed to get rid of that much additional voltage. I also want to use a lithium battery and they are supposed to work better with an up to date R/R. Jack States in the paper work that if you fry one due to an incorrect hook up he will replace it @ cost. I think that is more than fair."

Hope this helps.

Ok, but I think he was originally asking if there is a kit for converting the alternator to a permanent magnet type. He has an excited-field alternator, so if he needs a regulator, it needs to be for the field coil, not for shunting a stator.

The 76 and 77 KZ750 twin regulators are unique as they are solid state from the factory, and have the opposite polarity form the usual mechanical-relay type regulator found on other KZ's.

OregonMotorcycleParts.com has a combo, the VRREM3-KZ750T is specifically for the Kz750 twins, which addresses the polarity issue. But there isn't really a way to simplify the wiring a whole lot. A combo reg/rec will need 3 wires for the stator, a ground wire, an output wire, probably a dedicated detection wire, and at least one wire to the field coil. So that's 7 wires. Separate units will only have one extra ground wire, so you're only saving that one wire.

oregonmotorcycleparts.com/Reg_rec_units.html

Couldn't he use the charging system from an 82-83 750-Twin?

martin_csr wrote: Couldn't he use the charging system from an 82-83 750-Twin?

I don't think so, but I can't remember if we figured that out for sure.
There are a lot of issues.

Will a PM rotor fit onto the earlier crank?
Will a later side cover fit onto the earlier cases?
Does the starter clutch attach and line up the same way?

The answer is probably in one of steell's replies somewhere.
But I thought the 750-Twin was basically the same for all years. ???
Even the 82-83 models had the kick starter & they all seem to use the same gen cover gasket.
If the gaskets are the same, then it seems like the covers should fit the same, even if a later cover is needed.

The Generator diagram for the 76 B1 at Partzilla seems to indicate that the later alternator might be interchangeable, since the permanent magnet type is shown there in the drawing. ????

Thanks for the replies so far. Yes, originally I was asking about changing to a PMA kit, which doesn't look like it exists. Now, I'm intrigued by the later year alternator conversion but that seems to be an untested idea so far. SO, one thing that I picked up on in kaw-a-holics post regarding the Mosfet R/R unit was "You won't use your stock Regulator any more this one has it built in. I have replaced all of my lights with LED and the old units are not designed to get rid of that much additional voltage". That's very interesting because that's what I plan on doing too. I read more about this feature on the roadstercycle website. Does anyone know if the VRREM3-KZ750T unit performs the same way?

Steve AZ wrote: Thanks for the replies so far. Yes, originally I was asking about changing to a PMA kit, which doesn't look like it exists. Now, I'm intrigued by the later year alternator conversion but that seems to be an untested idea so far. SO, one thing that I picked up on in kaw-a-holics post regarding the Mosfet R/R unit was "You won't use your stock Regulator any more this one has it built in. I have replaced all of my lights with LED and the old units are not designed to get rid of that much additional voltage". That's very interesting because that's what I plan on doing too. I read more about this feature on the roadstercycle website. Does anyone know if the VRREM3-KZ750T unit performs the same way?

That post really has nothing to do with the type of charging system you currently have. The type you have is already more efficient since it only generates the amount of power you need. The type you have uses a regulator to control the magnetism in the field coil. When the bike needs less power, the regulator reduces the amount of magnetism in the field coil. This avoids wasting crankshaft hosepower for no reason.

The shunting design, mentioned in the post, regulates the voltage by draining away the excess current, and burning the excess power as heat, thereby wasting crank horsepower.

The regulator for those two types of systems are completely different, and completely incompatible.

martin_csr wrote: The answer is probably in one of steell's replies somewhere.
But I thought the 750-Twin was basically the same for all years. ???
Even the 82-83 models had the kick starter & they all seem to use the same gen cover gasket.
If the gaskets are the same, then it seems like the covers should fit the same, even if a later cover is needed.

The Generator diagram for the 76 B1 at Partzilla seems to indicate that the later alternator might be interchangeable, since the permanent magnet type is shown there in the drawing. ????

This question must come up at least once a year, and I still can't remember the conclusion.
I'd hate to speculate too much. Maybe Steell will see this and can chime in.

loudhvx wrote:

Steve AZ wrote: Thanks for the replies so far. Yes, originally I was asking about changing to a PMA kit, which doesn't look like it exists. Now, I'm intrigued by the later year alternator conversion but that seems to be an untested idea so far. SO, one thing that I picked up on in kaw-a-holics post regarding the Mosfet R/R unit was "You won't use your stock Regulator any more this one has it built in. I have replaced all of my lights with LED and the old units are not designed to get rid of that much additional voltage". That's very interesting because that's what I plan on doing too. I read more about this feature on the roadstercycle website. Does anyone know if the VRREM3-KZ750T unit performs the same way?

That post really has nothing to do with the type of charging system you currently have. The type you have is already more efficient since it only generates the amount of power you need. The type you have uses a regulator to control the magnetism in the field coil. When the bike needs less power, the regulator reduces the amount of magnetism in the field coil. This avoids wasting crankshaft hosepower for no reason.

The shunting design, mentioned in the post, regulates the voltage by draining away the excess current, and burning the excess power as heat, thereby wasting crank horsepower.

The regulator for those two types of systems are completely different, and completely incompatible.

Ok, so I understand this correctly, keep the existing system, no good way to minimize the wiring of the separate regulator and rectifier, and the whole system is OK if I switch to all LED's. Correct?