wire gage

what would the rite wire gage for a 82 KZ1100 Spectre the regular wires and the positive and the negative from the battery?

heavier and finer the strands the better

wireman wrote: heavier and finer the strands the better

COME ON wireman... OK how bout the size for the neg and pos cable size?

From the factory, the heavier gauge wires/cables are closer to 8 AWG (American Wire Gauge) from the battery due to high current(Amps) draw. To improve starter efficiencies, try to go to 6 AWG. I have 6 AWG welding cable on my bike as it's a lot more flexible and will get into tighter areas that what came with the bike.

Welding cable is sold by the foot from welding supply stores, they also may be able to crimp/swage the correct size cable termination to fit the starter solenoid and starter motor. The cable comes in two different colors;RED and BLACK.

Battery stores may also be able to affix the correct terminations if the welding supply stores can't.

As for the rest of the wiring in a motorcycle: It all depends on current draw of the circuits involved.

The smallest wire I'd be using would be 18 gauge for turn signals/running lights then I'd go to 16 gauge for a little bit heavier current draw. 14 gauge would be used on fuse blocks with 12 gauge on 30 amp circuits.

id say a number 4 copper wire would be good,if you have a choice find the cable with the highest number of strands you can get.
thinner strands in the cable equals less resistance compared to heavier,thats why i like to use recycled welding lead for battery cable on cars/trucks even with a really weak battery they will still crank

Now thats the answer I was looking for thank you MFolks and you to wireman.
Now wireman #4 copper wir is that the same as 4 gage wire?
If so is that kinda thick?

not really,next size would be #2 which is really heavy to try and bend around.
number 4 is rated for 60 amps which would give you a decent safety margin,and if you can find it in a fine stranded wire your motor will crank over much easier

if you have an old set of junk jumper cables laying around those are around #4 copper usually im thinking,chop em off to length you need and swage/solder some ends on there with right size rings.
instant battery cables

I went to home depot and got 6 gage wire.
And not solid but strands and will be making new cable for the bike.
I think thats why my battery kept getting drained..

Have you tried this method of electrical troubleshooting?

The Dreaded Shorting/Intermittent Electrical Problem!


Here is the most basic method I know(Taken from www.kzrider.com by member Patton)

1. Charge your battery and have it load tested if you can. The floating ball hydrometer can be used to check the specific gravity of the charged cells in the battery.

2. Disconnect the Black lead from the (-) Battery terminal... or Red from the (+) Battery terminal, it does not matter which one. Just 1, not both!

3. Connect one of the following test setups in series with the Battery terminal and lead:
3.1 A 12 V light bulb,
3.2 A 12 V test light,
3.3 A 12 V test buzzer or,
3.4 A 12 V horn... you get the idea.

4. With the Ignition Switch OFF, go through your harness and wiggle the wires while looking/listening for the test setup to go on/start buzzing.

5.With the Ignition Switch ON, repeat the test except this time the looking/listening for the test setup to go off/stop buzzing.

6. Be prepared to open the Ignition switch and check/test for solder joint failure and or circuit board micro breaks (don't ask how I know this ).

7. Be prepared to pull the wires out of the Head Light to test for failures at or near the grommet.

8. Be prepared to open the harness at or near the Steering Neck for failures. This is where wires tend to exhibit fatigue due to repetitive movement.

9. Be prepared to open the left and right switch gear to search for rust and or broken parts. CAUTION: watch out for flying springs, ball bearings and stuff. Do indoors on White sheet (again don't ask ).

10. Be prepared to follow the heavy gauge wire from the Starter Solenoid (Relay) to the starter for bare wire exposure. Especially near bends and grommets.

11. If you can reproduce the fault symptom your are pretty much home free. Be prepare to find and repair/replace any internal wire breaks, insulation break downs, exposed wires, rubber grommet failures, etc. Often, shrink tubing will solve the problem temporarily until something better can be done.

12. I use a very good electrical contact cleaner/preservative called De-oxit made by Caig Labs in San Diego Ca. Their website is www.deoxit.com It can be purchased at Radio Shack and any other electronic supply store. I use it on all of my motorcycle’s electrical connectors , in my home entertainment center’s stereo patch cords and cordless phones charging cradles.



A draining battery cause can be hard to find, sometimes the diodes inside the regulator/rectifier have failed leeting current go the wrong way heating up the alternator wire windings(stator).