79 GS 550 regulator

[CNCLee]

OK its like the title says. I am bobbing a 79 550 the voltage regulator is bad & the price is $128. my question is can i use any 12 volt regulator or does it have to be 4cyl specific. I'm just lookin for a cheaper out .:-D
Enjoy the ride
Lee

[Steve]

Some early bikes had separate rectifiers and regulators. Is yours a one-piece or a two-piece arrangement?

If you have a one-piece r/r, then look on eBay for just about any Honda r/r on a bike that is 500cc and up. The Honda regulators had larger wires and better heat sinks, making them considerably more reliable than the stock GS regulators.

What you are looking for specifically, will be a regulator that has three input wires (usually yellow), one or two output wires (usually larger and red), and one or two ground wires (usually larger and black). There might also be another wire called a 'sense' wire that should connect to a switched wire on your bike, like the tail light wire or the brake wire (before the brake switch).


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[CNCLee]

Steve
Yea im looking for the voltage regulator ( 2piece set up)
Thanks for your help
Enjoy the ride
Lee

[davewallen]

Not to be a commercial break, but I picked up a r/r from regulatorrectifier.com for $79. The first one they sent was bad, but I am waiting for the replacement.

[Nessism]

Steve
Yea im looking for the voltage regulator ( 2piece set up)
Thanks for your help
Enjoy the ride
Lee

The ’79 GS550L model has a one piece integrated R/R.