550 ltd starter clutch

i was told that my starter clutch was bad. the flywheel just spins and does not engage the engine to start it,does any one have any experience with this or know how to fix it?thanks in advance....81' kz 550 ltd clb3chey@gmail.com

I just picked up an 80 KZ550 with a bad starter clutch. It came with a spare engine for $250.00. I already posted an ad in the classifieds. Looking at E-Bay tells me that running 550's are going for about $750. Which means that the starter clutch probably isn't worth repairing.

To answer your question. You must split the cases to get at the starter clutch.

Wrong! Hugo's correct you can get at it through the oil pan, though the manual suggests pulling the motor to do so. I'm going to try it as Hugo suggests just to see how much the effort requires.

KZCSI

Post edited by: KZCSI, at: 2007/10/25 02:36

thanks for the rply...........does anyone have a service manual for the 550 engine that might show the how to?

I changed the clutch starter on my Zephyr 750 '91. Essentially a KZ750 engine with same architecture as 550 or 650. Shop manual also describes same procedure for Zephyr 550. No, I did not have to split the engine cases, and engine does not have to come out of the bike.

The entire tranny clutch had to come out, the exhaust, left sprocket cover, and oil pan. Starter clutch is on secondary shaft. You work the the entire shaft out from left to right and the clutch starter will fall in your hand. Had no previous experience and I did it. My main problem was dealing with the big tranny clutch nut. It is torqued at 90 ft-lb. I bought an electric impact wrench. This is a brief description. Absolutely, get a shop manual before your try this.

Post edited by: hugo, at: 2007/10/24 13:21

Post edited by: hugo, at: 2007/10/24 13:25

Post edited by: hugo, at: 2007/10/24 13:27

thanks for the info...i am trying to locate a shop manual for the 550 if anyone can help i'd appreciate it....there is hope after all!...hate to trash a good bike for a fixable problem.....thanks again, clb3B)

Best thing is, of course, get a KZ550 manual, however, in a pinch, any KZ750, KZ650, or KZ550 could guide you on this job. The 750/550 Zephyr's and ZR-7's were merely the KZ's of the '90s using same old engines.

I use two shop manuals for my 750 Zephyr, the Kawi shop manual, and the Haynes. The Haynes covers both; the Zeph 750 and 550, making comments were 750 and 550 differ. For all practical purposes, the 550 is a scaled down version of the 750. This manual is available on line from sites like Amazon, usually there is one in Ebay if you type "Kawasaki Zephyr". Do same for KZ, and you may find one for your bike there.

Best thing is, of course, get a KZ550 manual, however, in a pinch, any KZ750, KZ650, or KZ550 could guide you on this job. The 750/550 Zephyr's and ZR-7's were merely the KZ's of the '90s using same old engines.

I use two shop manuals for my 750 Zephyr, the Kawi shop manual, and the Haynes. The Haynes covers both; the Zeph 750 and 550, making comments were 750 and 550 differ. For all practical purposes, the 550 is a scaled down version of the 750. This manual is available on line from sites like Amazon, usually there is one in Ebay if you type "Kawasaki Zephyr". Do same for KZ, and you may find one for your bike there.

OnkelB did a writeup on replacing a starter clutch on a 650. I think it's on a thread here or in the archives, and he may have uploaded it to the KZ Information Filebase, check the tab above and do a search.

clb3carl wrote:

thanks for the info...i am trying to locate a shop manual for the 550 if anyone can help i'd appreciate it....there is hope after all!...hate to trash a good bike for a fixable problem.....thanks again, clb3B)

Try here

KZ550