battery life effecting kickstart?

Its a 78" KZ650B2 and it DOES have the headlight on/off switch. i thought this was unusual as my 1000 and 750 both had that removed to permanently on. I always turn the lights off when im starting the bike as i have noticed it makes it a bit easier.

bountyhunter wrote:

DoctoRot wrote: Thanks for the replies guys. i had no clue the battery was so important to the electrical system. i knew it acted as a capacitor on the bike but i never figured it would effect starting so much. It makes me realize why they got rid of kick-starters. if its that difficult to kick i usually find a small hill to bump start on. i might have to pick up one of those chargers.

If it's US bike, it probably has the "headlights always on" feature. So you turn the key on to kick start and the lights are dragging down a weak battery and the voltage is too low to fire the coils well. Hence, very hard to start.

The earliest versions of the "Always On" headlight switch were merely the previous switches with a small knob preventing the switch from going to off. A common mod was to remove the knob so the OFF position could be used.

Om my 79, the headlight switch is not even there but the letters molded into the hand grip mounts still there are so you can see the"ON" and "OFF" positions.

I installed a toggle so I can turn off the headlight when starting on my turbo 79 MK II as it has a fuel pump. :dry:

bountyhunter wrote: Om my 79, the headlight switch is not even there but the letters molded into the hand grip mounts still there are so you can see the"ON" and "OFF" positions.

If you replace the switch pod with a 78 or earlier, and remove the jumper under the tank so you can plug the switch in, you too will have an on/off switch.

That's all Kawasaki did on the 79, plug a piece of plastic in where the switch goes and jumper the wires under the tank.