One thing after another - starter issue

Well, you guys helped me out with my carb problems and now I need some more help.

1995 KZ1000P
Been sitting about a month while I worked on the carbs.
Put the carbs back on (thanks much for your help).
Pushed the starter button and she cranked but did not start right away. Tried 4 or 5 times.
Diddled with the carbs a little, pushed the start button and all I get from the starter is a whir. No attempt to turn the engine at all.
Starter has worked perfectly to this point. No intermittent problems or slow degradation. Just stopped working between one attempt and the next.
Cleaned the connections at the battery and still have the same problem. Battery is relatively new and fully charged (reads 12.6 volts).

Any suggestions on what to check, clean, look for, swap out, hit with a hammer, etc., etc.?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Doug

Put up on the center stand, then remove the stator cover. There are 3 bolts that hold the starter clutch to the stator, these may have come out. Pretty easy to check, and then you can see if the starter 1 way clutch is working, the 1 way sprag could fail as well. Do you have a book for your Copper?

Over Running Starter Clutch Repair On the Older, Bigger 4’S

1. When preparing to repair the starter over running clutch have a few items on hand:

A. New alternator cover gasket.
B. New springs (3).
C. New spring caps (3).
D. New rollers (3).

2. If possible, put the motorcycle on the center stand and tilt to the right to reduce the oil volume in the alternator cover.

3. Place an oil catch pan under the left side of the engine to collect what small amount of oil that will escape when the alternator cover is removed.

4. Remove the foot shifter lever, left foot peg assembly and the sprocket cover.

5. Some Kawasaki’s have socket head cap screws(Allen type) and others may have fasteners with a Phillips type. If the latter is there, a # 3 bit seems to work the best for removal.

6. Remove the alternator cover and take care with the three wires coming from the alternator stator. These are the voltage supply wires for the motorcycle. Rest the cover on some newspaper or rags to prevent damage.

7. The magnetic Rotor or flywheel will probably require a removal bolt or puller. NOTE, SOME ENGINES HAVE LEFT HAND THREADS ON THE ROTOR!!

8. The over running clutch is bolted to the back of the rotor with three Allen head fasteners.

9. Separate the rotor from the over running clutch and inspect for damage in the springs, rollers, and spring caps. Replace any worn parts.

10. Re-assemble in reverse order taking care when re-installing the Alternator cover not to pinch any wires. If the cover will not re-install without force, check before any damage occurs.

Thanks guys. Sounds like I need to order some parts and then do some work. Appreciate your help.

Could be this as well, loose stator bolt. Here is a current thread to read.
kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...ew&catid=2&id=395451

All,

Many thanks for all your suggestions.

MFolks, particular thanks to you. Very helpful, well organized approach.

After having replaced the starter clutch on my 1995 Police Special I have a few additions to MFolks' procedure.

A. Pull the floor boards, shift linkage, shift lever, sprocket cover, and alternator cover as suggested by MFolks. Do this before buying the parts (about $100) if you can afford the time. It may be that the bolt holding the flywheel to the shaft may have come loose. If this has happened, the shaft will just rotate inside the flywheel without turning the engine over. Makes a "whirring" sound. If this is the case you need to torque down the bolt to 116 foot pounds.

B. The starter clutch is really torqued down on the back of the flywheel. 6mm Allen bolts with red Locktite. Takes a lot of force to turn these. I found that I could remove them by putting a strap wrench (instead of the Kawasaki tool - strap wrench worked great) on the flywheel and using a long ratchet with a 6mm Allen socket. Set the flywheel vertically on a table and held it against my chest to keep it steady.

C. You can use the strap wrench to remove the fly wheel bolt as well. I found it to be a two person job - one on the strap wrench and one on a long ratchet. When reinstalling the bolt I used the two person strap wrench approach to avoid putting unnecessary force on the starter gears.

Pretty straight forward job with no surprises except the force required to remove the flywheel and the starter clutch.

Thanks again,

Doug

Glad the "Collective" (sounds like a Star Trek Borg term) could help).