Newbie probs starting bike

Hi everyone - having some problems here getting my 1983 KZ550 LTD started from time-to-time. I dont know what to make of it, and I'll just describe what's happening.

The bike was having problems starting when I first got it, and I replaced the battery which fixed everything. The bike started, with the choke all the way out, every time - no problems.

Now, though, I've had the bike for two weeks and these last few days it has been having problems starting.

1) When using the electric-ignition it sounds like the battery has plenty of power to 'turn over' the engine, but it never sparks (fires?). Generally (this has happened about three times) I run out of battery.

2) I charge the battery for about an hour and then try again - it will hesitate but then runs and once running it's OK. No problems. Yesterday took it on a longer drive and then after sitting again, it couldnt start. I was visiting Neil and he jumped it and hesitates again, but starts.

3) On Neil's advice I put some Sea Foam in the tank and fill it up - never having problems getting it started now. I did another longer-drive (about have the tank of gas) and run some of the Sea Foam through it. That was Sat morning.

4) Sunday morning (today) I tried starting it up and the thing wont go... and again I ran through the battery trying to get it to fire. SO it's charging now, with me wondering how many hundreds of dollars it's going to be to fix this!

Now, one thing that comes to mind since yesterday is that it was in the parking garage for my apartment... which has been foggy and very humid these last two days. Would sitting in a humid/foggy/wet environment stop the bike from starting? If so - what do I do?

Basically I think the battery is OK, the charging system is OK, and I know the bike runs very well once it's started... and according to our looking yesterday the plugs look pretty good too (Neil commented maybe 'lean' if anything).

Any thoughts? I'm new to bikes and engines too... should I maybe just put the bike outdoors in the sun for awhile and such?

Sorry for the long message... I'm just very confused and wanted to get what I know out there...

Thanks for the help KZ riders!
-Dustin

are you sure the charging system is working? I would put a meter on it while it is running and see what the voltage output is, I think it might be low, tyr this first

I agree, check to see that the charging system is working. Might not be a bad idea to check your voltage at the ignition coils too, if not up to spec do the WireGeorge mod with a relay to rewire the coils direct to the battery. My bike is notorious for being hard to start when the voltage is low. Even though it has enough to crank it's balky to fire. FYI you should be seeing something around 14 volts at idle I think. If you are seeing more than battery voltage but less than you should check that your battery connections are good, not corroded etc.

Ron

You know - the first sign, to me, that I was thinking the charging system (or rather alternator) was that when I am at idle the blinkers are VERY slow to blink, but as I rev up they speed up, then slow down again... once when I had a failing alternator in a truck of mine it had the same behavior before failing. Should the blinking be consistent or might this be signs of a failing alternator?

I guess my thoughts on the garage was that in a high-humidity environment like my parking garage has been these last days that... maybe the air intake is taking in humid air, which doesnt ignite as easily? I dont know... newbie blabbering away here.

When I had it running yesterday I had the multimeter on it and was doing just above 14v as I recall.

Thanks again for any help and further tips/ideas...

BTW - I stopped at a gas station after getting it going for awhile and so it was off for about 5min... and started up first try! So does that further info help any?

do you have a repair manuel on the bike, if not get one and check the whole charging system via the book, also make sure all of the connections and wires are not loose of corroded, and check the ground extra close

Check the output of the stator. Check the regulator. The stator on a bike is not for recharging the battery like in a car. It will put out enough juice to run the bike and lights and such but it would have to run forever to recharge a dead battery.

I haven't read you whole post but I would get new sparkplugs. Your problem sounds the same as mine when I first got mine

I know a guy who had a 550 with the carbs gone through and in good shape. He said kawasaki told him the 550's are hard starting. His trick was to pull the choke and just barely open the throttle. He sold that bike to a friend and that person told me it started fine then all the sudden it didn't start at all. I think the bikes need bigger pilot jets. When you have cv carbs, yu can't open the throttle when starting or the motor gets no gas. On a humid day it would be hard to start as can be. Make sure the plugs are all good. If the turn signal socket is corroded, that would be the reason for the slow flashing at idle.

Post edited by: nads.com, at: 2007/03/26 15:00

I have to agree that the KZ550 seems to have a mind of it's own when starting... I pretty much just verified the information you gave with a local shop. They said it sounds like I have a few smaller issues coming to head... basically seems like any troubleshooting by me will not be so fruitful at this point.

Thanks for the help everyone - I think I am going to have to take it in due to the current lack of tools to work on everything. I will be in touch about what happens... (I am taking the bike in the week of the 9th).

Now to drown my sorrow...

eMusicMan wrote:

....Now to drown my sorrow...

Hey pal; I'm with you in the "drowning my sorrow" dept.... :laugh: Now,,, do you own a DMM? If not, you can get one, cheap at Radio Shack. What, "precisely" is your cranking voltage on the _battery terminals_? When you have a "fully charged" battery, Check it when you first engage the starter, and then again after a full 30sec of cranking the engine over.

Argh - I just had a bit of bad news. I went out to take a look at the bike and see if I could get it started.

I always hated math, but here's a good question for y'all:

4 clinders - got it.
4 exhaust pipe - got 'em.
3 pipes are hot - dammit.

Why would one cylinder have a cold exhaust pipe? The bike runs down the road, so I cant think the cylinder is seized... but I certainly am not going to run it further. Simply a failing/failed plug?

Wow... I'm bewildered.
-D

Yup - have a DMM from good ole Radio Shack... the voltages all look good, and I think I just found I definitely have a 'spark' problem in cylinder two.