Newer electrical on older bike??

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried putting a mid 80's to mid 90's electrical system on a older kawasaki?
I am thinking about trying it. I have a 1980 kz550. If i found a complete electrical system from say a 600 Ninja, minus the generator of course. Any thoughts on this? Am i crazy to even think about trying this? My bike current electrical system is almost non-existent so i thought this might be a better alternative.

Thanks
Tom
MI

Why? Without the alternator you are gaining nothing, and the chances of the alternator fitting are slim to none.

What do you mean when you say "My bike current electrical system is almost non-existent"?

If you really mean "non-existant", mid 80's to mid 90's won't work without some modifications. The ignition housings are slightly different and there really won't be much gain to it.

What you want is the electrical system from an EARLY 80's 550. If yours is an "A" (standard), get one from an 81 D (gpz), and that will have electronic ignition that will bolt right on to your bike and it has a 3-phase alternator stator that should bolt right on, and the harness should fit. If yours is a "C", then you want the electricals from another "C". The 81-83 "C" (LTD) is the almost the same as an 80, but has 3 phase stator/reg/rec instead of single phase.

You'll need the harness, the coils, the ignitor, the pickup plate, the advancer, the stator, regulator/rectifier, probably a bunch of other tiny odds and ends, and a whole lot of time and patience. That stuff comes up on ebay except for the harness. If you want to do it right you would make your own harness using a high-quality crimp tool and all new wires and connectors.

In reality, the only real performance/reliability gain will come from a new ignition if yours has points (as is on the 80 A, the 80 C had electronic ignition).

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/10/26 09:55

Thanks for the input!
I do have an "A" model. I was thinking it may be less expensive to find a complete wiring system on Ebay. If I can't find a 1981 GPZ harness I could stick with what i have and find a regulator and buy dyna pickup coils and ignition coils but that is fairly expensive.

Thanks again
Tom
MI