Recharging/Starting?

Hi guys,

I apologize if this is on here somewhere and I didn't see it, but I just bought my 77 kz650 and they had it started up for me at the shop and it runs fine. However, I've had it home now for a week and it sat in some cold weather. Also, when they started it the tank was off and they just used a bottle fed into the fuel line.

I bought a new battery for it, because the old one was pretty tired, and they guy said it was ready to go. I popped it in and put the tank on and reconnected the fuel line. Added some fuel and cranked it over. It sounded ok at first but it wasn't long before I killed the battery and when I tried kick starting it, I got no where.

So is there anything I should be lookign for, or changing or what? I also want to maybe jump the bike off my truck, and I've heard that's ok as long as the truck isn't running when I do it so I don't fry anything. If I go this route, how many times should I try to crank it over before I should fear doing any drain on the truck battery? I do have a battery charger for my car, but being a newbie to this I don't know if it's ok to use that on the bike battery or not?

Also, is it possible I could have just flooded it out? What's the follow up procedure if that's the case?

Anyhow, any info or suggestions would be welcome here. Again, I apologize if this has been asked before.

MB

Post edited by: MattBlack, at: 2006/03/18 20:38

If the guy just added the electrolite and handed it to you, that's where your problem is.
The battery needs a full charge before use, the battery acid alone isn't enough.

And the fact that they had just a bottle of fuel connected to run it sure throws up a red flag IMO.
It could be that the petcock is either clogged and not functioning properly and/or leaks like a seive.

Post edited by: RetroRiceRocketRider, at: 2006/03/18 20:42

RetroRiceRocketRider wrote:

If the guy just added the electrolite and handed it to you, that's where your problem is.
The battery needs a full charge before use, the battery acid alone isn't enough.

Yeah he said, "sorry I took a few minutes, it was a little thirsty so I topped it off"

I'm guessing that means a 'yes' to your question. Even though he also said "it's ready to go" So that being said, how do I go about charging it? Do I need a specific charger or am I able to use the one I bought for my car? It has some different options on charge capacity as well as a trickle charge. Or shoudl I just jump it off my truck? Any suggestions for a newbie coming from moding cars to bikes.

About the tank, well he just had it disconnected and empty because of how he stores his bikes on his lot. I guess to keep people from robbing them? The petcock does have some fuel seeping around it. But it's not pouring out by any means. Is that a big problem?

Post edited by: MattBlack, at: 2006/03/18 20:46

The problem is not going to be draining the truck battery, the problem is going to be frying the starter motor on your bike due to excessive cranking.

As a general rule, allow 3 minutes for it to cool down after every 10 seconds of cranking.

Hey steell, how would you know if your starter motor 'is' fryed?

If you have flooded it, you could pull the spark plugs out to air out the cylinders. Smell the plugs while there out , to smell if their getting any gas.

Do pull the choke lever up all the way on cold starts. Once you get it to fire, be ready to lower the choke as the engine will start to race up to high RPMs. Bring the choke down, about half way, to keep the engine running at approx 1000~2000 rpm. You will have to go up or down with the choke lever to get it right. Once she's warmed up a bit, you should be able to lower the choke all the way down.

You only have one connection on your fuel valve on the gas tank correct? 77's only had the one connection, with a fuel valve that has ON, OFF & RES positions. Where as '78 and later 650's had ON, PRIME & RES positions and a second connection on the fuel valve for a vacuum line. If you have a second smaller connection on your fuel valve and nothing connected to it, your bike will not start or run properly.

Trickle charge the battery.

Post edited by: rstnick, at: 2006/03/18 20:51

Yes, trickle charging the battery is the best way to go.
Just be certain to use a trickle charger rated at 1 amp. A 2 amp charger will still charge it, but at 1 amp the battery develops an even and steady flow of charge over a period of time, therefore not over-heating the battery in the process.
That's the instructions a Yuasa battery distributor gave me, and doing it that way hasn't failed me yet.

The problem may not be battery at all, worn shims can cause problematic starting,check the vavle clearences.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

By the way, what should the voltage be on the battery when it's fully charged not running, and then what should it be when the bike is running?

(My Clymers manual gets in in 2 weeks, so until then, bear with me.)

Fresh off the battery charger 13-13.8, let it sit for awhile and it should be around 12.6-12.8 volts. When the bike is running, 13-15.x depending on the battery charge. Or thereabouts anyway

Oh yeah, the starter is fried when the magic smoke escapes

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/03/18 22:58

Scroll through these links kz650 specs

and battery maintenance

Post edited by: gas, at: 2006/03/19 07:48

Another Q...

How do I know if the petcock is working or not? It does have a small leak around the switch when you turn it. Would this lleak affect starting even though it's not really a significant leak?