giving up

I put my 81 KZ1100 all back together after paint and new bars and such. Looks great. started it up and had a very high idle, tracked it down to the throttle cable sticking at the handlebars. Tried to adjust with no avail, messed with the idle screw to see if that was it. Now when I try to start it the starter just spins and the engine doesnt even crank. Im very close to giving up and selling it and going bike-less this season. I dont have any more $$ to dump into this thing. Very discouraged because when I bought it, it ran great.

cant give any advie on the motor but i can say that anything funthat causes that many problem just makes the time without the problems that much more fun stick in there im sure somene in here can help.

chris81kz1100 wrote:

I put my 81 KZ1100 all back together after paint and new bars and such. Looks great. started it up and had a very high idle, tracked it down to the throttle cable sticking at the handlebars. Tried to adjust with no avail, messed with the idle screw to see if that was it. Now when I try to start it the starter just spins and the engine doesnt even crank.

Sounds like the starter clutch is not engaging.

Dont give up yet, you have invested in paint and handlebars that you like. Does your bike have a kick starter? If not try to rock her while in gear to see if the starter will engage. In times like these a big fatty can do wonders. Keep the faith and dont give up, it is usually something simple.

Stick with it - you've put this much time into it, just finish the job and you'll be glad you did. You'll regret it if you just sell it. Take some time off, put it out of your mind for awhile, and when you get the urge to work on it again you'll be more patient and you'll go at it with more gumption than before.

I'm stuck with a 3cylinder kz650... I cant figure iout whats wrong for the life of me, its a total pain in the ass, very frustrating, out of $$$, but we have to just keep plugging along...

I had the exact same problem with one of my KZ 1000s.Turns out the rotor for the alternater wasnt seating properly on the tapered end of the crankshat.The fix was to remove the rotor and starter clutch assy.Then get some lapping compond and lap the rotor and crank end together.Youll be able to tell when you have full contact just by looking at the taper on the crank.Im assuming the your crnk doesnt have a woodrough key if so final toruqe is 95 ft lbs if you have the key its probably broken.If you have the key the final torque is 18 ft lbs.Use loctite on the rotor bolts.There is also 3 different thickness dampers available.you measure which one you need by putting a small ball of clay where the damper goes then assemble clutch and push rotor on buy hand,then take apart and measure thickness of clay.Before i figured all this out I just left the starter clutch off and used the kickstart or bump started it.GOOD LUCK! HANG IN THERE!

Nobody ever said success was easy. So Suck it up Soldier you are only a few hours away from victory. Pull the filters off and see if the slides are coming down all the way. Put it in gear and and see if something is stuck. Garages all over the place have bikes that are almost finished where the owner gave up. Dont be a quitter now or it will haunt you the rest of your life. Get on your local motorcycle website or find someone on this site that is near you to maybe help out. Difficult tasks and accomplishments are the greatest of lifes rewards. Sell the bike now and you will kick youself forever. This is what seperates the Men from the Boys!...Russ

Is it a nice day over there?

Here's what'cha do... turn the key on, make sure the "kill switch" is in the run position, and "push start" that puppy! Ride the thing around, and you will realize that you "need" that bike!
Maybe this will do what Kawickrice suggested, and engage whatever is not engageing, or line up/mesh the starter gear with the ring gear (whatever they're called on bikes)

Don't give up ...

Tony

yeh it starts up now..... hasnt had that problem again yet. now Im tryin gto adjust my throttle cause its really high, then ill adjust it a little and its low then eventually dies. I cant get this throttle adjsuted argghh!! atleast it starts though.......

Make sure that EVERYTHING is air tight, from air filter to exhaust end. It is critical to getting a proper idle.
If you rev the bike a little, and the idle shoots up, its likely lean from and air leak, or the carburetor sync is way off.

Did you remove carbs? or play with mixture screws?

GL!

Good possibility that your throttle cable is misrouted, not seated in the boss on the carb rack properly or has too little free play at the throttle grip adjuster.

With bike idling in neutral, turn handlebars fully side to side. If the idle changes, pull the tank and investigate the above listed criteria.

remember the standard infantry line:We're not retreating,we're just advancing in a differant direction!
just walk away for a little bit and approach from a differant angle!