Not Cranking

Hi! Let me preface this by saying I hope it's in the right spot, and I'm sorry if it's not.

I recently got a KZ650 as a bike to fix up and run. It was somebody else's project bike before mine, so I can't verify what on her is stock or not. I connected the lines to the petcock, pulled in the clutch, put her in neutral, and tried to start her both with the kickstart and electrical and got no reaction at all.

What advice would you have for me to get her running?

Alexia wrote: start her both with the kickstart and electrical and got no reaction at all.

Explain this better. Did it turn over. Is it locked up? or its turning (cranking) put no fire?

Is the battery fully charged? Has it been load tested? Is the kill switch in the Run position? Is fuel getting into the carbs?
There is a pretty good troubleshooting section in the factory service manual. There may be one in the Articles section of this forum.

Also, it would be helpful if you would post the exact year and model you have as there are some significant differences in the various 650s.

It is in the start position, I just put an entirely new and charged battery into it, and given the petcock is open I'm assuming it's getting fuel. It's the 1979 model, and when I hit the kick start nothing happenss. The bar moves all the way down and back up but that's it. No sound or anything else from her internals.

When using the kick start do not pull in the clutch lever. But when using the electric start the clutch lever must be pulled in. Ignition key turned one click, and off,run,off rotary switch on right hand control must be in the “Run” position. Does the start button crank the engine over?

No, no cranking or firing come from either the kickstart or electric start

Start by finding the fuse box. Check those and replace if blown, do you have a multi meter or test light? You need find out if there is 12v to the coils.

I've already tested the fuses and those are good and carry current. What could do I need to test to see if they're getting 12v?

Have you pulled the float bowl drain screws to see if there is gas to the carbs, how fresh is the gas in the tank?
Pull a plug out and put the spark plug wire on the loose plug, lay the plug on the engine and kick it over. Look for spark. The metal part of the plug must be in contact with the engine.
The following is Not your specific year but should help you test the coils and starter

The gas is only a couple weeks old. There's no fire to the spark plugs. Set to 200 my primary tested at 1.5 and set to 200k my secondary (the ones the spark plug wires attach t0) gave me 22.3. The electric start does also work, after some finagling. I also cant loosen what I believe are the drain screws, and I don't know why, but a couple times she has started smoking from somewhere under the gas tank on me.

EDIT: It's not the plugs that are the problem, I just replaced them with entirely new ones

What sort of finagling makes the starter turn?

I would make finding where that smoke is coming from my first priority. You do not want a fire.
I would first remove the fuel tank and put it in a safe place that will not be harmed if the fuel leaks.
Then take a close look at the connectors in the wiring that lives under the tank. Is anything obviously dis colored or melted? One common problem is where the wiring connects to the back side of the fuse box. You may have to dismount the fuse box to see it.

Even on well cared for bikes this old, corrosion and dirt can get into the wire connectors,ncausing all sorts of grief. Carefully unplugging each connection (one at a time, please) and cleaning every contact can solve and prevent all sorts of problems. Please use a dedicated electrical contact cleaner and protectant like Deoxit D5. Do not use WD40. Some q-tips and small brass brushes will be a great help.

Also, please tell us exactly which year and model KZ650 you have. There were two very different ignition systems and, I think, three different charging systems used on the various 650s .

I see that you measured 1.5 Ohms across the primary windings of one of your coils. That seems awfully low, even for electronic ignition.
I notice that your meter was set to the 200 scale for the primary reading. It would be better to use a lower scale. Does the meter have a 20 or even 10 scale?