Worst Day. Kawasaki Kalamity

I have a number of Kawasakis. The only one I let sit out (covered) is my 77 KZ 750 Twin.

Today, after it sat out for 10 day in below freezing temps, i put the battery back in (I had taken the battery out when it got cold).

I started it up, no problems. Then I realized the cable on the battery broke loose so I had to fix that. I ran in the house and was there for about 45 minutes. While inside I forgot I left the petcock on "reserve."

Hooked the battery up, bike tried to start but would not turn over. I think, during the process of trying to start it, I flooded the carbs. So I changed the spark plugs. It ran great for about 15 min. Hopped on the bike to take off, and it shut off. Tried to kick it. nothing. When I try to use the electric start it engages but makes this awful clacking noise if I try too long.

As it stands, the bike wont start. Battery is charged, plugs are new, and I cant figure it out. This bike NEVER gave me a problem until it sat out in the cold. Even this morning it started right up.

I think it has something to do with me having left the petcock on reserve for so long. Hydrolock?

Thoughts are appreciated.

Maybe she is just royally pissed at you for leaving her outside.

By "hydrolock" I assume you mean that you think there may be a combustion chamber full of raw gas. If that were the case, you would have noticed something while kicking or while trying the electric start. If you remove the plugs and run the starter, do you see gas spraying out of the plug holes?

The noise after running the starter for a long time may not be related to the starting issue.

When you say the "cable on the battery broke loose", what exactly do you mean? Was it one of the electrical connections or was it the retaining strap?

Can we assume you turned the ignition key off when you went inside and when you were working on the battery?

The strap thing is a non-issue and not related to the prob, at least i think. the connector to the wire that leads to the battery broke. So i made it longer with 10 gauge wire (which I hope is wide enough on the negative side) and put a new connector on it. Then reattached it to the battery.

Yeah the key was out but the petcock was on. My mistake for leaving the bike out, thinking it would be OK. We had some of the worst temps in many years when the back sat out last week. Im talk wind chills of minus 13 farenheit. But the thing is, it started right up this morning with NO problems and ran for a minute.

I now have the battery charging. The only thing I do notice is a strong smell of gas. But I took the plugs out (they were indeed wet) spun the engine with no plugs in and no gas came out, so Im assuming its not hydrolock. I cant figure this out. This was my most RELIABLE bike until it sat out. Maybe the floats are stuck. Its absolutely ridiculous. This morning it started right up.

Everything you describe could be explained by a flakey battery. I just went through this. I had a battery go bad where it wouldn't even let me bump start the bike, and the bike always bump-started easily even with a discharged battery. I couldn't get anything more than a couple backfires. Swapping in another battery made it start right up as if nothing had ever been wrong.

The gas smell could be from kicking it with the battery providing no spark.

If the petcock is working properly, being left in reserve won't be any different than in normal run mode. If it leaks in reserve mode, you need to fix that. I suppose sub-zero temps could make it develop a leak, but all of my bikes have been stored through sub-zero temps every year for the last 12 years and I haven't experienced any vacuum-petcock related problems.

Thanks for responding. Im realizing this may be the problem:

When I put the battery back in this morning (i kept it it the house on a tender, out of the cold), the ring terminal on the black wire from the bike to the battery, broke off. So I spliced it with 10 gauge wire and wrapped it in electrical tape. I didnt have any problems until I did that.

loudhvx wrote: Everything you describe could be explained by a flakey battery. I just went through this. I had a battery go bad where it wouldn't even let me bump start the bike, and the bike always bump-started easily even with a discharged battery. I couldn't get anything more than a couple backfires. Swapping in another battery made it start right up as if nothing had ever been wrong.

The gas smell could be from kicking it with the battery providing no spark.

If the petcock is working properly, being left in reserve won't be any different than in normal run mode. If it leaks in reserve mode, you need to fix that. I suppose sub-zero temps could make it develop a leak, but all of my bikes have been stored through sub-zero temps every year for the last 12 years and I haven't experienced any vacuum-petcock related problems.

Charged the battery on a tender last night. Its shows 13v. This morning I put it on the bike, with new spark plugs, and after a few kicks it started right up.

I checked the voltage at the battery while the bike was running and it was 14.4v

I noticed the neutral light no longer comes on, but thats ok. However I wonder if its symptomatic of another problem. AND the brake light no longer comes on. The running light does, but not the brake light, though I changed the bulb.

Went for a ride and stopped for a minute. Started up OK but the starter made that weird "trying" noise again.

Got back to the garage, and with the bike idling, turned on the headlight. The bike died immediately. Still think its the battery?

I don't think the battery would affect the neutral light or the brake light, but I suppose it could cause the starter to sound strange.

A strange sound from the starter could also be a starter clutch acting weird due to outside temperature or wear. The starter clutch is easy to get to on the motor , but I think they are really hard to get a replacement for on the 750 twin, if I recall. So hopefully it's just a temperature thing if it really is the starter clutch. In either case, I would not continue trying to test it out in cold weather unless you need to ride it. I think a bad battery can put more wear on a starter clutch by allowing more slippage and requiring more starting revolutions if it's turning over slowly.

Light bulbs act like a short until the filament heats up and starts producing light. It only takes a split second for the filament to heat up. But a battery that has a flakey internal connection could cause the bike to die during that time that the filament acts like a short. I have this problem on my batteryless bike. To overcome it, I have to rev the motor and turn the lights on as the RPMs come down. So maybe there is something loose in the battery.

If the battery is flakey, it can also cause the regulator to not work properly, with the end result that the voltage ends up too high. This might burn out some bulbs.

The 750 twin is probably the hardest Kz to kick over, but you might want to stick with kicking until you can be sure the battery is good or you get a replacement battery.

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loudhvx wrote: I don't think the battery would affect the neutral light or the brake light, but I suppose it could cause the starter to sound strange.

A strange sound from the starter could also be a starter clutch acting weird due to outside temperature or wear. The starter clutch is easy to get to on the motor , but I think they are really hard to get a replacement for on the 750 twin, if I recall. So hopefully it's just a temperature thing if it really is the starter clutch. In either case, I would not continue trying to test it out in cold weather unless you need to ride it. I think a bad battery can put more wear on a starter clutch by allowing more slippage and requiring more starting revolutions if it's turning over slowly.

Light bulbs act like a short until the filament heats up and starts producing light. It only takes a split second for the filament to heat up. But a battery that has a flakey internal connection could cause the bike to die during that time that the filament acts like a short. I have this problem on my batteryless bike. To overcome it, I have to rev the motor and turn the lights on as the RPMs come down. So maybe there is something loose in the battery.

If the battery is flakey, it can also cause the regulator to not work properly, with the end result that the voltage ends up too high. This might burn out some bulbs.

The 750 twin is probably the hardest Kz to kick over, but you might want to stick with kicking until you can be sure the battery is good or you get a replacement battery.

.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

SOMETHING......some kind of short or something, made the brake light not work. That bike was in great working condition until I patched in that 10 gauge wire on the battery terminal. Thats when ALL the problems began. Could it be a blown fuse on the brake light? The running light works just fine.

1: I find kicking the KZ750 REALLY easy. I prefer it acutally. Its KICK BACK is scary though!

I took my KZ650 out of the garage and brought my KZ750 in. No more cold for that bike.

In re the battery, Im confused. Last night I charged it on the tender. This morning it registered 13v. While on the bike as the bike idled, it hit 14.4v.

Is it possible this battery could STILL be bad, and the source of the issues?

Also, I think I overfilled the crank case. Oil seems to be coming out of the front of the engine above the starter. I saw a drip.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

A flakey connection to the battery can act similarly to a flakey connection inside the battery. You will have to determine which it is.

Make sure it is not fuel in the crankcase... if the petcock issue is a concern. You should be able to smell it.

loudhvx wrote: A flakey connection to the battery can act similarly to a flakey connection inside the battery. You will have to determine which it is.

Make sure it is not fuel in the crankcase... if the petcock issue is a concern. You should be able to smell it.

I dont think the petcock is the issue but I did overfill the crankcase and now I see oil dripping near the starter.

Im going to let some of the oil out to alleviate the pressure.
But I think the other issue is electrical.

This was my day in a nutshell:

Took off the 10 gauge quick fix wire and crimped the old wire into a ring terminal. Job done

Charged the battery on a tender last night. Showed 13v. This morning I put it on the bike, with new spark plugs, and after a few kicks it started right up.

I checked the voltage at the battery while the bike was running and it was 14.4v

Issues:
I noticed the neutral light no longer comes on, but thats ok.
The brake light no longer comes on.
The running light does, but not the brake light, though I changed the bulb.

Went for a ride and stopped for a minute. Started up OK but the starter made that weird AWFUL "trying" noise again.

Got back home, and with the bike idling, turned on the headlight. The bike died immediately.

Doesnt the battery seem to be OK?

Nerdy wrote: Maybe she is just royally pissed at you for leaving her outside.

By "hydrolock" I assume you mean that you think there may be a combustion chamber full of raw gas. If that were the case, you would have noticed something while kicking or while trying the electric start. If you remove the plugs and run the starter, do you see gas spraying out of the plug holes?

Tried that. Thanks for suggesting. No gas came out at all, just air, which did not smell like fuel.

My 75 kz400 had the same starter sound. People are crazy online asking 300+ for a new/rebuilt starter. Believe it or not (I didnt know until now) starters are pretty simple. Mine had so much dirt and corrosion in it. Took it apart and cleaned everything, put it back together (with no new parts) and its functioning properly now.

In regards to the brake light, maybe disconnect the spring on the rear brake switch, and try to see if it comes on with the front brakes...and visa versa. Electrical isnt my specialty, but I would def check the fuses.