Problems Starting Z1 (KZ1000)

Hello everyone in KZ Land,
I have recently completed a restoration of a Z1 Classic that I have converted to carbs. All the electrical is in working order and the bike cranks. However, I can't seem to get it to turn over and run. Any ideas why? The bike hasn't been started in over 25 years. Could that be all this is and I should just keep trying?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Dave

Wow looks great, I think its the only other bike like mine that has mags instead of spoke wheels.
You'll have to take tha tank off first but chek that your getting tha common 12 volts to the coils with the ignition and kill switches on. Check the fuse, measure 12 volts on both sides with the meter ground to the battery. If fuse measures ok clean the clips and fuse with a scotch brite pad. Two other connectors in the headlight for key switch and kill switch. I soldered over my kill switch years back.
For gas make sure you have gas to the carbs. You can see if gas come at the bottom when you open the drain screw.
Hang a sparkplug off the side of the head to see if you get a spark when you turn it over.
Battery reads minimum 12.5 at the battery terminals with the key off.
What year is tbe bike?
Have fun.

Hi and thanks for the response! You've given me a lot of good info here so thank you. This is my first restoration so I am still learning. It's a 1980 Z1 Classic converted to carbs. Here's another pic..

I started with the simplest suggestion you mentioned and pulled one of the plugs out to see if I'm getting any spark. It turns out that I am not so I feel I may have some bad coils on my hands. Would you agree?

Thanks!

Ignition Coil Primary And Secondary Wiring

Ignition coils on the 80’s Kz1000,Kz1100’s and Gpz1100’s are wired the same, that is as you sit on the bike, the LEFT ignition coil primary(small wires) are two wires, RED and BLACK. The secondary (or sparkplug wires) go to #1 and #4 sparkplugs.

The cylinders are numbered left to right as you sit on the seat; #1,#2,#3, and #4.

For the RIGHT ignition coil, the primary wires, again are two wires, RED and GREEN, with the secondary going to #2 and #3.

The RED wire gets it’s voltage from the run/stop switch on the right handlebar switch pod.

The BLACK and GREEN wires connect to the IC Igniter(if the bike has the Kawasaki supplied electronic ignition) it actually gives the coils their grounds to fire the sparkplugs.

Primary(small wires) side of the coils will read between 1.8 to 3.0 ohms.

Secondary(sparkplug wire ports)side of the coil will read between 10.4K to 15.6K ohms.

Keep in mind that the smaller 4’s (650 & 750) may have the wiring reversed, that is the RIGHT coil primary will be two wires, RED and BLACK with the secondary(sparkplugs) going to #1 and #4.

The LEFT coils primary wiring would be again two wires, RED and GREEN, with the secondary(sparkplugs) going to #2 and #3.

These engines have what is known as a “Wasted Spark” that is, a sparkplug will fire during an exhaust stroke. It does no damage and many other motorcycle engines have this design.


And:

Ohm Checking Pickup(Pulsing) Coils

The pickup coils on the Kawasaki’s with the factory supplied electronic ignition can sometimes fail or become intermittent due to heat and vibration.

1.Trace back from where the pick up coils are mounted,(under a right side CD sized cover) locate and disconnect a small 4 pin connector. Using a multi-meter set on OHMS and range of X 100 check between the BLUE and BLACK wires(#1 and #4 sparkplug wires) for between 360- 540 OHMS.

2.For #2 and #3 sparkplugs the wire colors will be YELLOW and RED, again 360-540 OHMS.

3.If the pickup coils are suspect of failing due to heat, they can be stressed using a hair dryer without the need of the engine running.

4.A replacement set of pickup coils might be obtained from a dealer who serviced the police Kawasaki’s.

5. If replacement pickup coils are not available, your next choice would be to order a Dyna “S” electronic ignition system from www.z1enterprises.com It replaces the IC igniter with a smaller module located where the mechanical ignition advancer was mounted.

6. Checking with Kawasaki.com website has determined that the Pick up(pulsing) coils are available . The pulsing coil # is 59026-1133 and replaces the older # 1002, 1012 which were used from the MKII motors until the 2005 P24.

7.Check the small 4 pin connector that the pickup coils connect to for corrosion/loose pins too.

I agree with MFolks but you need to do your homework before you buy anything.
The one side of the coils needs to be 12 or better the otheside will pulse between 12 volts and 0 volts as your crancking the engine over. If your don't have 12 volts then track that down. If the otherside of the coil always remains at 12 volts then check it with the instructions given by MFolks.

what did you do for ignition when you ditched the fuel injection?

Holy Crapola... Freaking Beautiful!!!!

I'll follow up after reading others postings but first want to drool over it some more...

LUV IT!!!

OMR

During this project I found that I had to cut open the EFI harness and remove the portion that connects the IC Igniter to the main harness. This was the only portion I needed to get the bike to crank. The bike cranks perfectly but there's no spark.

I believe my coils are screwed but I will follow the advice given by MFolks and check the wiring just to make sure. Once I've ruled that out, the coils I believe is the only thing it could be. If anyone has any other ideas please feel free to add to this discussion. Thanks everyone!

Dave

If your bike has the stock Kawasaki IC Igniter (Kawasaki's electronic ignition system) It will be in an Aluminum package with "IC Igniter" stamped on it.

Mine is uder the left side cover below the seat.

Soulmighty wrote:

During this project I found that I had to cut open the EFI harness and remove the portion that connects the IC Igniter to the main harness. This was the only portion I needed to get the bike to crank. The bike cranks perfectly but there's no spark.

I believe my coils are screwed but I will follow the advice given by MFolks and check the wiring just to make sure. Once I've ruled that out, the coils I believe is the only thing it could be. If anyone has any other ideas please feel free to add to this discussion. Thanks everyone!

Dave

that doesnt sound right

Do you have a schematic?
The last schematic page of my book is gone.
But other 19980 bikes uses a ballast resistor that feeds the coil power. Find it and make sure there is 12 volts to it. If you replace the coils make sure they are the right resistance for the bike if you go with after market ones. I just put in a Dyna 2000 ignition kit in mine. Check out DDK2-1C at www.dyanonline.com .