Thanks to everyone for their advice. I have finally had a chance to get to look at the bike this afternoon and I have a couple further questions.
firstly, the coils are both brand new as are the sparkplug wires, and i've triple checked that they are installed correctly. how likely is it that one of the new coils is no good? is there a good way to test that without the bike being able to start?
my understanding is that on the 1980 h1, the tacho is a mechanical.
When the bike was running, the voltmeter in the gauge cluster would fluctuate quickly and sometimes wildly without a discernable pattern. my thoughts suggest that might be related to a faulty voltage regulator, would that cause this problem? is there a way to test the regulator/rectifier without the bike running correctly?
I'm not really sure how to check the switches and connections other than visually. I've opened both handlebar controls and checked for burns/melting/corrosion etc, and both sides seem fine.
putting a multimeter on the fuse block: the three fuses read 12V, when the ignition key is on,[strike] but the main fuse continues to read 12V even when the ignition key is off! [/strike] is there something I can infer from this, like the location of the fault?
EDIT: I was just measuring the fuse wrong. there is no voltage when the key is off
i pulled the back off the ignition switch, with the key off, a white wire in the centre reads 12v, all others read 0v. with the key on, all wires read 12v when connected to ground.
the start switch works as far as i can tell. resistance drops from infinity to about 200 ohms when i push it.
with the key on the start/run switch reads 12v regardless of which position it is in
the clutch switch works
with the ignition key on, the coils read 12v at all 4 connectors when connected to ground
I really struggle to understand automotive electrics beyond the most basic concepts. I'm not really sure what else to test, or really how to test it.
any more advice?
thanks again
1980 KZ750 LTD
