KZ400 Won't Start

Last weekend I let a buddy of mine ride my 1976 kz400. He was messing around and dropped the clutch causing the bike to die.

Now the odd thing is that the electrical stuff all seems to be working but its not working properly... let me elaborate.

I have the gauge to the right of the speedo that indicates when the brake is depressed or if the bike is in neutral. I turn the key on, head lights come on, the bike is physically in neutral but the neutral light on the gauge does not display that. I turn the ignition from off to run. Still not displaying neutral... This is a kick start only bike... It won't start unless it's in neutral. The bike is physically in neutral but the gauge says that it's not so it won't start.

Some ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Matt

If it's a 1976 KZ400 with no electric start, I think that makes it a KZ400 S2. That has two drum brakes, correct?

Anyway, the neutral light does not affect the starting of the bike. The bike can start whether the light is on or not.

However, if the neutral light is out because the battery is missing or disconnected, then the bike won't start.

Yes its the S2. The battery is in fine working order. The headlamp, brake, turn lights all work just fine.

It's almost acting as if the plugs aren't firing...

Pull the wire off one of the plugs and put a piece of metal in it and bring it near the engine. As you kick the bike, you should see/hear a spark (in broad daylight it's hard to see). The tricky part is you have to do this without touching anything with your hands or you'll get shocked. I use two pieces of wood like tongs.

Do you have a volmeter?

The coil has two small wires on it. With the ignition on, and the kill switch on, one of the small wires should always have 12v on it. The other small wire goes to the points. That wire gets switched on and off to ground as the points open and close, so the volmeter will alternate 12v and then 0v as you kick the motor over. If this is the case, and you don't have spark, it may be the condenser.

If the points side doesn't reliable alternate 12v and 0v, then the points may be pitted or dirty. Points can still work if they are pitted, but become very unreliable.

Check out the kz twin forum. It's a good place to get an online manual if you don't already have one.
www.armbell.com/kz400/index.php?sid=c35c...fcc2365&mforum=kz400