Question about ignition and battery

[FlyingSteve]

Howdy, hope you are all having a wonderful night.

I have 2 questions about my 1980 GS550E. I am slowly converting it over to a cafe racer style. I've always been a fan of the "naked" bike look and I love what some of these "modern" cafe racers look like.

My first question is about the battery. I would like to move the battery to the tail section, under the tail cowl. However, I will need a slightly smaller battery for this work. The battery I have now is 6 1/8" tall. I need to be more like 5". If I buy a smaller battery, that has a slightly lower charge rate, am I going to nuke it? I think the stock battery is like 1.1 charge amp/hr... A smaller one might be just under that, say .8 or so. I'm worried that I will cook the little acid filled SOB lol. I am using an engine from a '79 gs550 and it has the starter motor and kick-start, but I plan on ditching the starter motor anyway.

My second question is in regards to the ignition system. Is there any handy guides on the internet to the ignition systems on these bikes? I would like to check everything out and make sure it's in top condition. I don't have a Clymers manual yet.

Thank You All!

[Steve]

Since you don't have a manual yet, go to BassCliff's site and download one. That will have everything you need to know about checking your bike.

About the battery ... If you spend a few dollars extra, you can get a sealed AGM battery that you can lay on its side. You might be able to retain a full-size battery that way, and maybe even keep your electric starter for those times you aren't quite macho enough to kick it to life.

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