Look what my neighbor gave me (not a KZ)......

My neighbor gave me these yesterday. Told me if I didnt want them they were going to the scrap man!

Both bikes have been sitting outside for 10 yrs. They had plants growing around and over them, there was actually a tree growing thru the spokes on the Yamaha. So it took some work to get them out but wow....I'm pretty excited about working on these!

First thing I did was check to see if the Suzuki had spark and it did! Its a magneto so no need for battery. After seeing it had spark I went all thru it...cleaned out the fuel tank, dissasembled and cleaned the carb, petcock, changed the case/trans oil, air in the tires, got the brakes clutch and throttle cables all free and working, cleaned some electrical connections....everything something sitting for 10 yrs would need. She cranked right up first kick and ran for a few seconds, did that a few times then ran for almost a minute and died. Would not restart.

Now I have no spark. I have voltage coming from the magneto and from the coil but must not be enough. I took off the flywheel/magneto cover and it looks squeeky clean in there. I'm thinking the coil is dead but I'm not sure. There is a place in the spark plug wire coming off the coil that feels like its broken inside. Looks like I'll be looking for a replacement.

I put a good battery in the Yamaha and after cleaning a few electrical connections stuff started working, neutral light came on, tail light, blinkers kinda, and starter turns! No spark so I took off the left side cover (points) and it was holding water in there. I sprayed it all down with WD-40 and its been sitting overnight. We will see on that one, it looks like it came pretty clean actually, points plate looks good, no rust somehow. The little plate with the timing mark is rusted but everything else in there looks ok.

I'm glad I got these, it would have been ashame for them to go to the scrap yard!

good score love those kind of neighbors

Thats a really funny gif! Are you interested in how the project goes or should I have put my KZ in the photo by those 'other' bikes. :laugh:

I know they arent KZ's but I havent found another motorcycle forum like this one. This one is the best. I had to post them somewhere....I'm excited!

I'll play around with the Yamaha later today and see if I can get some spark from it. If so then I have some parts to round up. Its missing the throttle tube, the cable is there but nothing attached to it at the handle bar end. Also the clutch lever is broken off where it attaches to the handle bar. I'll just get that welded back together. Missing the tube from the airbox to the carb...no idea where to get that. Might just have to put a pod flter on it. :blush: Left side cover gone....rear blinkers...lots of stuff.

Anybody have any tips for me on the Suzuki no spark issue? I show voltage on my multimeter from the magneto and from the coil but I dont know how much it should be making.

That means he's watching. At least that's what I would have used that gif for.

No spark from the Yamaha. I have 12 volts to power the coil (red/White-brown wire) and the wire from the points (orange) to the coil also has 12 volts but it doesnt change even with the points opening and closing. The starter is turning the engine over fine.

Using an ohmeter I have no resistance with the points open or closed. So its like the points are not opening even though they are. Looks like the fibre washer is installed. I'm guessing I'm going to have to pull everything off and have a look.

Success! Got a big 'ol fat blue spark from the Yamaha. The points/plate was still dirty. Sprayed it all down good with some QD electronic cleaner and hit it with the air hose.

Now that it has spark I pulled the carb to go thru it. Some fresh gas and oil and I might just have it running today. Wont be able to drive it because I wont have a throttle or clutch control. Might just have to rob some parts off the Suzuki for now. I need to ride one of these bad boys!

74ullc wrote: Thats a really funny gif! Are you interested in how the project goes or should I have put my KZ in the photo by those 'other' bikes. :laugh:

I know they arent KZ's but I havent found another motorcycle forum like this one. This one is the best. I had to post them somewhere....I'm excited!

I'll play around with the Yamaha later today and see if I can get some spark from it. If so then I have some parts to round up. Its missing the throttle tube, the cable is there but nothing attached to it at the handle bar end. Also the clutch lever is broken off where it attaches to the handle bar. I'll just get that welded back together. Missing the tube from the airbox to the carb...no idea where to get that. Might just have to put a pod flter on it. :blush: Left side cover gone....rear blinkers...lots of stuff.

Anybody have any tips for me on the Suzuki no spark issue? I show voltage on my multimeter from the magneto and from the coil but I dont know how much it should be making.

I borrowed that from testarossa a long time ago and forgot to bring it back! :laugh:
Im into just about anything thats built before 1980 with 2 wheels.

I had a dt 250 yamaha when i was a kid,also had a couple differant 500tt's.
i could never find a good deal on a decent yz back then,a friend of mine had an rm 250 suzuki back then that tried to toss me like a bull everytime I road it . :sick: :woohoo:

Kept at the Yamaha to try to get it started today. No luck.

Went thru the carb, got a good fully charged battery hooked up to it, clean gas in it. Crank and crank and nothing.

Took the spark plug back out and grounded it to the motor, cranked and still had a nice blue spark. Put the plug back in and it wont start.

Thinking the timing may be way off I hook up the timing light. Crank the motor and NO LIGHT...NO SPARK! Huh? Light would blink maybe once or twice after I let off the starter button and the motor was winding down. During cranking no light. Hooked up the battery charger to be sure I had a good strong battery while cranking....still no light/no spark while cranking.

Took out the plug, layed it on the motor, cranked and tons of blue spark and timing light flickering. Huh?

Thinking this must be some sort of grounding issue I take the plug back out, press the threaded section hard to the motor and crank...NO SPARK!!! Lay the plug lightly on the motor and good spark again.

Gave up for the night. Thinking about it after back in the house I realized I never checked the plug gap. I also noticed that the spark was moving around and not hitting the end of the electrode every time but moving up closer to the threads.

Could this be a bad spark plug? I'm thinking the plug may be cracked internally causing it to ground out and send the current to the motor thru the threaded section of the plug? Maybe when the plug is just lightly grounded to the motor it will fire but when well grounded (when inserted or pressed hard to the motor) it will ground out?

I asked my neighbor a little more about the Yamaha today. He said he only got it to run one time for a few minutes about 10 years ago. He said it didnt run well then. No doubt this is the same spark plug from then. It wont hurt to run down to the parts house and buy a new plug tomorrow and see.

Anyone have any idea what type of plug and what the gap should be? I can go by whats in it now but I dont know for sure if its the correct one.

I do plan to get a manual for the bike but only if I can at least get it to fire a few times.

If I cant get this thing (Yamaha) going tomorrow I'm going for a long ride on my KZ....its ready to go!

I had one of those Yams when I was a kid, my first street legal bike. Seeing that brings back alot of good memories. Man, I could go anywhere on that thing!
Congrats on that score!