Mix up positive and negative

What damage can the electrial system suffer
if you mix up positive and negative when connecting the two batteri cables to the batteri?

The bike is an gpz550 H1 1982
Thanks in advance

You might fry the zener diode in the reg-rec >> there's a warning in the 81 KZ650 manual. Your bike probably has virtually the same reg-rec as my 81 650-CSR. I'm not sure if any other electro parts could be fried, such as the igniter.


...

Ok thanks,
I think i have some testings to do.

First thing I'd do is check the fuses & verify they're good with a meter.

If you need a new voltage regulator, you can use one from a Ninja 500 or Vulcan 500 et al (credit to loudhvx). The reg-recs up to about 2009 had a pigtail. I installed one from a low mileage 2007 EX500. The connector & terminal pins were reversed, so I crimped on new terminal pins & got a new connector to match the wiring harness. There are other options such as an SH775 mosfet reg-rec.

...

Thanks for the tips.
I'll check it out, hope it's not a great damage to the system.

I accidentally did this when fitting a brand new Motobatt to my 600Bandit. Other than a loud electrical crack noise, no harm done to battery or bike.