KZ 1100 Starter Question

When I bought my KZ1100A1 two years ago the starter cranked really slowly even with a new battery and even when jumped with a car battery. I bought a used starter on eBay and it worked fine. Then a few weeks ago, it all of a sudden started cranking really slowly. Did the starter go bad? If so, is it something that can be fixed by replacing the brushes or do I need a new starter?

The starter solenoid might be on it's last legs. Trace from the positive battery terminal and you should find it at the end of the heavy gauge cable. Check the terminations for corrosion or looseness.

If the teminations are clean and tight, see if you can put a screwdriver across the two heavy gauge wire terminals and see if the bike cranks. If it does this means the starter solenoid is bad and needs replacing.

www.denniskirk.com and www.jpcycles.com might sell replacement solenoids. If not, remove the solenoid and visit the local riding lawnmower shop and see what matches up. The shop solenoid might take a little modification but instead of $100 or so the cost might be under $20.00

Mfolks,
Thanks. Would a bad solenoid cause slow cranking? It still cranks but very slowly - not fast enough to start.

The solenoid is nothing more than a heavy duty relay(remote controlled switch) that has internal contacts that can corrode and reduce the starting current to the motor. Bypassing this will tell you if it's the soenoid or starter motor.

I purchased a rebuilt starter and ruined it quickly with repeated starts on a semi-good battery. This burned out the brushes and looked at first to be the solenoid. I replaced the starter AND the battery, and the bike started like a champ. Using a car battery and jumper cables did not provide better starting compared to a good motorcycle battery. I even tried my Optima Red Top and some serious jumper cables. I'm convinced that the starter on these older motorcycles is just old technology and isn't very efficient. If the starter goes out again, I am going to retrofit a more modern starter in there.

Kellyn