Gs1000g bloated/overheated/overcharged battery

[Duodecillion]

Hi, i am restoring a 1980 GS1000g. The old stator was shorted so i replaced it with a new one. After hooking it up to the regulator and taking it for a spin for a couple of minutes everything died on me and upon further inspection the battery had gone hot, started to smoke and bloated/swelled a bit.

My best guess is that the regulator didnt regulate, sending to much voltage to the battery and therefore destroying it. I have a new SH847 that i plan to install, but want to make sure that i dont destroy that aswell. Could there be any other reasons?

A followup question is also if this overcharging can have destroyed other components like the coils?

Buying a new battery today and planning on running the bike with the generator disconnected. (Will the bike run without the R/R connected? With just battery power?)

Thanks for the help

// Duo

[Brendan W]

Most likely the regulator was not regulating because it has an internal fault or it wasn't wired up right and had no idea what the system voltage was.
Unlikely the coils are damaged. Bulbs blowing would happen first.
Bike will run on battery power alone for a time although at 12 Volts rather than 14 Volts so lights will be dimmer etc.
Before setting of on a ride, check the battery terminal voltage at 5000 rpm. The R/R should have clipped it off to something just over 14 Volts.

[Suzukian]

More like 13.8 volts. I would run new stator wires directly to the rectifier, the order doesn't matter. Run the +/- wires, with a fuse on the positive, directly to the battery. There are probably around 6 feet of unnecessary wiring in the harness. Make sure you Regulator/Rectifier regulates all 3 legs of the stator. "Electrosport" has one that does.

Read up on what they have to say of that era's poorly designed charging system. Suzuki only regulated one leg of the Stator, relaying on the load to take care of the two swinging voltages coming off the stator. Also, check the ground wire going to the engine Suzuki did not scrape the paint off, and relied on the bolt for ground, which would rust (electrolysis) and you lose your ground, this starts a cascading effect leading to failure. I actually used a huge one of of an Yamaha XS1100 for my 1983 GS750ES I got from EBAY for $30 bucks. Solved all my problems.

I am a certified electronic technician, it took me a while back then to figure out what was going wrong with my bike, as I purchased it new. I still own it.

https://www.electrosport.com/collections/street-motorcycles-suzuki-1980-gs1000g-shaft-drive

[Duodecillion]

Appreciate the responses fellas. Makes me more confident. Put a new battery in and it looks like everything is fine when running from only battery.

Planing on installing the SH847 R/R and redoing all the wiring from scratch after i have repainted the frame! The "headlight loop" will be removed!

Thank you!

[Suzukian]

Wire the Stator the way I mentioned, Stator straight to Regulator /Rectifier. You motorcycle will thank you, and you will have more available voltage to run other things. No other changes need be made. You could pull the other wiring from the Stators out of the Harness, just cut off the ends, they pull straight through, are too long, and the gauge too thin.