newbie with starting problems

last fall my wife bought me a 1982 kz 1100 now its spring and theres bikes every where and im going crazy i just put in a new battery and i get all the electrical to work the lightrs the horn the radio all that but no ignition, no click no turn over no nothing im fairley new to large bikes and havent been on one in years please some one tell me its something simple like bad plugs and not that the ignition system is shot any help or advice would be great thanks:S

did it start last fall? i would start by taking apart the
control with the starter button on it....if its not doing anything and there is silence when you hit starter button, that would be a good place to start......just my .02....

it was runnig last summer but the person my wife bought it from left the lights on and compleatly killed the battery i put in a new onme today filled up the battery with acid and left it to charge i did take apart the ignition and every looked clean and nothiong looked broken or coroded after reading a few other posts im wondering if mabey i didnt charge the battery enough, im starting to get a bit stressed with this project to be honest lol

if you have a volt meter, just put the terminals on the battery with key off and see what you get....anything less than 12 volts and you have a shit battery....

Did you pull the clutch in, there is a switch on the clutch perch that does not allow the starter to do anything until the clutch is pulled.

Starter Solenoid Checkout

Some simple steps to determine what is working and what's not:

1.Fully charge and test the battery(most bike shops can load test the battery, and then use a floating ball hydrometer to check specific gravity in the charged cells).

2.Clean all battery terminals of corrosion.

3.Tighten all starting related connections(Positive RED(+) battery terminal, Negative BLACK(-)terminal) and from the terminal to the engine case. All connections must be clean and tight.

4.Clean the cable from the starter solenoid to the starter motor.

5.Clean and check the "bullet connectors" going to the coil side of the starter solenoid.

6.Try again to start the bike.

7.If no luck, go to step #8

8.Wearing eye protection, bridge with pliers or a screwdriver the two heavy duty(large)terminals on the solenoid. If the bike cranks, your solenoid may be bad.

9. If the starter won’t turn over, one of several things has happened; The starter motor has seized due to brushes binding up, lack of lubrication in the bushings of the motor, the battery is weak , the engine has seized or it could be a combination of any of the above. Some websites for starter motor rebuild kits are:

A. www.mawonline.com/newsite/rick_s_motorsp...-starter_brushes.htm
B. www.cyclewareables.com/pages/street_star...kits/startmtrkit.htm

10.The dealer may want $$$ for a new solenoid, but take your old one along and visit the nearest riding lawn mower shop. They have solenoids for about $15 that with a little work will fit. Be aware that the new solenoid from the lawn mower shop may require a ground wire for it to work.

11. I’d recommend upgrading from the existing battery cables to at least 6 gauge welding cables.
They are available in two colors(RED and BLACK) have more flexibility due to being constructed with finer conductors, and will fit in tighter areas.

12. The welding cable is sold by the foot, so take careful measurements or bring your old cables along. Most battery shops might be able to supply the cable too, so call to find out. The battery shop should be able to crimp/swage on the end of the welding cable the terminal ends or lugs using either a dedicated crimping machine or a tool that looks like a bolt cutter that has special dies to terminate the cable.


If the starter solenoid checks out good, look at the right handlebar switch pod.It has the start button and the run/stop switch on it.

Check the fuses too as they can fail but look good.

If your bike has the clutch interlock switch(have to squeeze the clutch lever to start the bike)check it for loose wires/corrosion.

yee haw i got it going lol thank you to every one who offered there advice apparently it is the simplest things i guess and i feel like a tool but ya i wasnt pulling in the clutch lever first:blush: now i have a new problem tho i got to the end of the drive way and realized i have no back breaks almost ended up in the ditch oh well hoping its just seized up from sitting going to do a flush and fill at the same time as the oil change thanks again for all the help keep riding
David

keith1 wrote:

if you have a volt meter, just put the terminals on the battery with key off and see what you get....anything less than 12 volts and you have a shit battery....

Anything less than 12.5 Volts charged is a shitty battery.
12V is a nearly completely dead one with lead acid types.

Strange sounding, I know, but true - each cell has between 2.1 and 2.2V * 6 cells @ full charge.

New battery should be fine though... never hurts to check.
AGM batteries will charge higher.

davidfrogg wrote:

yee haw i got it going lol thank you to every one who offered there advice apparently it is the simplest things i guess and i feel like a tool but ya i wasnt pulling in the clutch lever first:blush: now i have a new problem tho i got to the end of the drive way and realized i have no back breaks almost ended up in the ditch oh well hoping its just seized up from sitting going to do a flush and fill at the same time as the oil change thanks again for all the help keep riding
David

:laugh: Maybe check things like brakes before you get rolling along...

Pull in the clutch... wow thats classic.