New guy with a 1979 KZ13

I got bored and had extra primer so I thought a race stripe would be fun.

Sorry to hear about your Dad - I lost mine 2 years ago - tough thing to go through. If you have a voltmeter, checking battery voltage like Patton mentioned is very easy and quick. If the volts are good, you probably have a drain on the battery even when the key is off, but one step at a time.

What kind of handlebar set up is on there - it looks really cool. That's not stock is it? I just realized that the shaft drive is on the right hand side on the 1300 - that's a bit different from most I think. Here's a cool picture of another 1300:

It holds a charge when sitting, but once I try and start it or start and run it the battery gets drained fast.
The handle bars are just clip-ons, with stock hardware.

Yeah losing Dad was rough, but he was sick for 2 years with cancer so we had a chance to prepare and were very close and talked often.

Great pic, that is impressive for a 750 pound bike.

79MKII wrote:

Sorry to hear about your Dad - I lost mine 2 years ago - tough thing to go through. If you have a voltmeter, checking battery voltage like Patton mentioned is very easy and quick. If the volts are good, you probably have a drain on the battery even when the key is off, but one step at a time.

What kind of handlebar set up is on there - it looks really cool. That's not stock is it? I just realized that the shaft drive is on the right hand side on the 1300 - that's a bit different from most I think. Here's a cool picture of another 1300:

That\s the Wheelie King, Doug Domokos. RIP.

Yep, sure is. He used to break the tail lights off of those 1300's. I remember watching him ride a KX all the way around a motocross track on one wheel. The guy was amazing. Looks like he had a nice 6-into-1 header on that one too.

This should help with electrical troubleshooting ( added a little to it):

The Dreaded Shorting/Intermittent Electrical Problem!


Here is the most basic method I know(Taken from www.kzrider.com by member Patton)

1. Charge your battery and have it load tested if you can. The floating ball hydrometer can be used to check the specific gravity of the charged cells in the battery.

2. Disconnect the Black lead from the (-) Battery terminal... or Red from the (+) Battery terminal, it does not matter which one.

3. Connect one of the following test setups in series with the Battery terminal and lead:
3.1 A 12 V light bulb,
3.2 A 12 V test light,
3.3 A 12 V test buzzer or,
3.4 A 12 V horn... you get the idea.

4. With the Ignition Switch OFF, go through your harness and wiggle the wires while looking/listening for the test setup to go on/start buzzing.

5.With the Ignition Switch ON, repeat the test except this time the looking/listening for the test setup to go off/stop buzzing.

6. Be prepared to open the Ignition switch and check/test for solder joint failure and or circuit board micro breaks (don't ask how I know this ).

7. Be prepared to pull the wires out of the Head Light to test for failures at or near the grommet.

8. Be prepared to open the harness at or near the Steering Neck for failures. This is where wires tend to exhibit fatigue due to repetitive movement.

9. Be prepared to open the left and right switch gear to search for rust and or broken parts. CAUTION: watch out for flying springs, ball bearings and stuff. Do indoors on White sheet (again don't ask ).

10. Be prepared to follow the heavy gauge wire from the Starter Solenoid (Relay) to the starter for bare wire exposure. Especially near bends and grommets.

11. If you can reproduce the fault symptom your are pretty much home free. Be prepare to find and repair/replace any internal wire breaks, insulation break downs, exposed wires, rubber grommet failures, etc. Often, shrink tubing will solve the problem temporarily until something better can be done.

12. I use a very good electrical contact cleaner/preservative called De-oxit made by Caig Labs in San Diego Ca. Their website is www.deoxit.com It can be purchased at Radio Shack and any other electronic supply store. I use it on all of my motorcycle’s electrical connectors , in my home entertainment center’s stereo patch cords and cordless phones charging cradles.

Thanks a lot guys.

The issue is I charge the battery then attempt to start the bike and after a few tries the battery is too low to try again. Like I said new battery, I guess I just need to look into the wiring problem.

McBlacken wrote:

Thanks a lot guys.

The issue is I charge the battery then attempt to start the bike and after a few tries the battery is too low to try again. Like I said new battery, I guess I just need to look into the wiring problem.

Good battery should last much longer than just a few tries.

Even though the battery is new, it's losing power too fast.

Would check the fluid levels, check specific gravity in each cell (using the little floating balls tool), and have the battery load tested.

As known, the 1300's aren't fun to push. :lol:

Good Fortune!

Yea, that wouldn't even give the electrical problems time to drain the battery - sounds like a battery issue. Even new batteries can be bad, although it is pretty rare. Is it the right size and type of battery?

Put a volt meter on the battery while you try to start it and see what the volts drop down to. A bad battery goes to zero pretty fast. If the volts stay up while you're cranking, it probably means an connection or starter issue. Keep us posted.

I ordered a new regulator today, the old battery held more of a charge than the new so I have to look into returning that, 150 dollar good for nothing, so that is always fun.

Working on the carbs today, hoping to get it running and then put the regulator on when it comes. And see what I see, you guys have been more than helpful and I appreciate a pro active forum without the BS.

Got it nekkid today, for a washing. Rectifier wasn't as described on eBay so another one is in the mail.