TOPIC:

I got a new batter for my 77 KZ-750 twin and the battery terminals were reversed from the previous battery. Needless to say, I made an amateur mistake and hooked it up backwards.

I fried some wires and rectifier before I could unbolt the terminals. Luckily it was very localized damage. I stripped the harness a bit and checked it all out.

So, I replaced the wires and put a newer style rectifier from another kawasaki on there which had the same wire colors and plug. I'm getting 14.5 volts running and the bike runs great.

I just wanted to make sure this is ok and there are no side effects to doing this. Thanks for the input.

I'd check the wiring real good because you don't want to be stranded when a wire(s) was missed that's now marginal(burned insulation,melted connectors, etc).

I agree. I replaced everything that was suspect. I stripped the wire harness a ways back, so I know it's all good. I got pretty lucky that it didn't short long enough to melt adjacent wires.

The difference between Selenium and Silicon rectifiers is the voltage drop across them, Selenium about 0.2v,Silicon 0.7v:)