LOL! You're new enough on the forum that I'm sure you weren't around for the flame war over the proper way to shunt a stovebolt ammeter. I use a piece of stainless steel hose clamp shaped into an approximation of the "Ohms" symbol, bolted across the terminals of the ammeter. Since that meter was always about as accurate as a 9-lb. sledgehammer used for driving carpet tacks, the shunt turns it into a charge/discharge indicator, which is all it was to begin with. The screams of protest over that common-sense solution were epic!
Jerry
BTW, I ride an 82 GL1100! I crashed an 86 GL1200 two years ago, and almost lost my left foot! Bikes are much more fun on top, not so much under one!
Jerry