Don't know what to look for! {?1980?} KZ550

Okay I want to start out saying that I'm a new rider who is becoming to enjoy riding a great deal. So I was looking for a cycle and I ran across a {1980 I think"} and I paid very little for it. The guy I bought it from charged the battery fo me and I drove it home with my wife behind me and with great appreciation because it died twice on me and then rained on me to beat it all. Fortunately the last time, it died in reasonable walking distance from one of my friends who came to my rescue. So I figured it had a ruined battery so I went to Wal Mart to get a new one the same night. So like a child at Christmas the next morning I rode it around for awhile with glee. Then to my luck" not really", it died again. So puzzled I called my buddy and he said it was probably the generator or altenator. I am not really a mechanic but I am knowledgeable about some things automotive. I have looked that bike up and down and I can't locate either of them. After some web searches I found that the bike is missing the airbox but the boots are still on the carb. What I would like to know is will a bike run without either of these electronical parts? Question 2. Does the altenator and generator fit to the airbox? 3. Where in the world can I find an airbox? This bike runs really great despite these misfortunes. Please bear with me for I am new at motorbikes. Thanks for any help you can give me.
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The alternator is under the big, round protruding thing on the left side of the motor. Your bike uses a single-phase, permanent magnet alternator. Kawasaki switched to a 3 phase version in 1981.

(Cars generally use a different type of alternator, without a permanent magnet.)

A bike can run on the battery alone, for a while. In racing, many times they just remove the alternator completely. The regulator/rectifier combo unit is usually mounted underneath the battery.

Because yours is single-phase, you will have two yellow wires coming from under the alternator cover. The 3-phase models have 3 yellow wires.

The yellow wires go to the reg/rec. The reg/rec controls the power and passes it to the battery to charge it, and to power the bike.

What you really need at this point is a manual.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/08/13 17:59

CH- Welcome to Motocycle Mechanics 101! If you have a local community college, they MIGHT have a basic small engine or perhaps even a motorcycle mechanics course. If they do, sign up! In any case, Loud was correct on this one! Get a factory service manual (Kawasaki) for your bike year/model as well as a Clymers. Scan through the sections from front to back and you will have a better sense of bike systems and how they inter-relate.

In this case, you are mixing the intake (fuel) system with the electrical. While these systems depend on each others' correct operation to allow the bike to run optimally, they are not directly related.

A motorcycle needs electricity while running to operate lighting systems, horn and the coils/ignition. In essense, only the coils and ignition need to be working for the bike to be rideable although lights/horn can be considered an essential item due to safety concerns. Snce your bike died and it appears if I read this right, the new battery allowed it to run but then it died again, the battery would appear to be not charging. The way the bike's electrical system works, the alternator produces AC current and sends it to the regulator/rectifier and Loud explained. The AC turns to DC in the proper voltage range here.

The likely culprit if the new battery isn't charging is the regulator/rectifier. It is a small 4x4" box about 1" deep located in the area somewhere near your battery since one of the outputs of this gizmo connect to the positive battery. The connection will be on the starter solenoid which is the relay that kicks your starter over. You can find it by tracing the positive battery lead to see where it connects. This is the starter solenoid and on the same post, a white or white/red wire with an eye connector that slips over the post under the battery cable will be connected. This white or white/red wire traced back will lead you to the regulator/rectifier (you will have to trace through ONE dual connector I think.

Anyway... you don't really have to find the reg/rec for this test. In order for the battery to charge correctly, the reg/rec MUST do its job properly. It MUST supply a positive DC voltage that is somewhat greater than the 12VDC the battery is rated at. This extra charge is what causes the battery to be charged and keep charging. When the bike is idling, the voltage from your reg/rec should be about 12.5 Volts DC or VDC. At 4000 rpm, the voltage should be about 14.5 VDC. If it is less or more, the regulator/rectifer is BAD or the connections to the reg/rec are dirty or are bad. To check voltages, get a multimeter, put it in VDC scale and place the RED or positive lead on the positive battery terminal marked with a PLUS + and the black or NEGATIVE multimeter lead on the negative battery terminal marked with a MINUM -. With the bike running at idle, note the voltage then rev it up to 4k rpm and recheck and report back in with the readings. If they are off what I noted, the reg/rec is likely bad.

OK... if you find good voltages as noted, the problem will be either with your alternator (new one needed) or the wiring. The wiring can be frayed or have bad connections. You can easily check the connections if you know where the reg/rec is located... open up the connectors into and out of the reg/rec and clean with contact cleaner and coat with dielectic grease. The last possible problem area that would cause the bike to not charge is the ground. This is the BIG wire coming off your negative battery post. Follow it to where it connects with the engine. Make sure the point of connection is CLEAN (not corroded) and tight at both ends of the cable.

Thanks guys. I can't bear to see this beautiful beast just sitting there staring at me. I am going to trace the wires like you guys have noted. Although I am not a mechanic, maybe a little, I am going to familiarize myself to these things. I'm still going to have to find all of the airbox components and most definately get a manual. I will let you guys know the outcome. I can't wait to get it going. Again thanks. CrazyHorse

Well I done what you said. I got a digital meter from one of my friends and tested the battery like you said. Although my tach is not working I would rev the motor quite highly and could only get an average reading of 11.88 VDC nothing above. While exploring and looking I found that there is a black and white wire coming out of the " fuser" box that isn't connected to anything. Also there is a 10 amp fuse blown. Then I found a yellow and black wire coming out of the "fuse" box that isn't connected to anything . These wires have connecting ends. I have blown my headlight and fog lights fuses this week. Do these things play a role? I am a beginner so be gentle. :blush:

There are two fuse boxes on some models. One is for external accessories. It has two fuses in it. It is usually not connected to anything. There is another box with three fuses in it. Those are the ones you want to deal with. The black/white is the hot lead for the accessories, and the black/yellow is the ground. There is also another blue/white lead for accessories inside the headlight bucket. It goes to the second accessories fuse.

However, my diagram of the 1980 KZ550 A1 does not show the accessories fuse box and wires.