hondaman,,heres those stators,,the one on the top is the 350,the markings are "ND 021100 0780 7M JAPAN,my 500/550 ones have no markings.
the right hand one here is the 350,they both seem to have the same winding count as best i can see and the same resistance?
its a bit optical here but they are the same diameter and both have 36 segments.
See if you can attempt this: try to measure the wire gauge (like with calipers?) and see if you can physically count the wire turns around at least 3 different "posts" (I think this might be what you are calling 'segments'?). The amount of current the pole (or post, or segment) generates per magnetic switch pass is mostly related to the number of windings there. The amount of heat loss is inversely proportional to the wire size and spacing between those wires.
For example, on the 1967-68 SuperHawk (305cc twin) the alternators had insulation issues because the last of the 'Hawks had bigger valves and ran hotter. The windings were wrapped in linen, which retained heat and hastened their breakdown. So, removing all that, and using slightly smaller wire with better, thinner insulation allowed me to rewind them to make about 1 amp extra current (i.e., 11 turns more wire on each pole). In the 500/550 alternators, the windings were often smoothly and evenly wound until about 1975, after which they looked a lot like these pictures. The 350F looked like this, too. The uneven layering of the wire wrap drops the efficiency of the poles by as much as 12-15%, and the 350F suffered a lot more from what I have seen of them. This makes then run cooler, which improves long-term reliability, but with modern insulation in place of the 1970s stuff, a smaller wire with thinner insulation can boost the output by up to 20% at 2500+ RPM.
The only time I ever counted the turns on one of these myself was in 1974 when a 350F rider who crashed on his alternator wanted to replace it, and had a 500 Four alternator from a junkyard. I don't know if he did it, but I showed him how to clean off the insulation so he could try to swap the harness parts. While the two were in front of me, I remember counting the visible windings out of curiosity and found 3 less wraps on the 350F poles (from what I could see). It wasn't a lot of difference, but with one having about 30 and the other 33, that makes almost 9% difference between them. Hence my comment, above.
I'd be interested to know how many visible wraps you can see? Honda has always tried to reduce their inventory of parts AFTER the bikes are in production, so it wouldn't be the first time a swap of some other bike part showed up elsewhwere. It would also be real helpful for those of us who love the 350F and might need a part or two!
