Old Motorcycle Generator

[RED1959]

Hi, I have a old Triumph motorcycle. I am now attempting to wire it up to charge battery. The Generator checked out okay by the specs from a shop manual. The regulator did not. The generator is a six volt d.c. However it puts out nearly 20 volts @ high RPM when I jump the field wire to the generator output wire.. The circuit is 6 volt Positive ground. My first question is, can I use a 12volt battery,lights and regulator? Will a 12 volt battery harm the generator? Thanks, If I get an answer to this I'll move on to question #2!

 

[Resqueline]

Yes, you can use it for 12V with no harm, with a 12V regulator (and even for negative ground too if you switch the field or armature wires around inside). You'll get the same amps out of it (& twice the wattage) but it requires almost twice the rpm's though to attain twice the voltage, so you'll get no charging at idle. You might improve this a little by gearing it up, but don't go too far as it has a burst-limit.