1982 Kz 750 Starter Issues

I just bought a kz750 and first of all it's a great bike, although the clutch cable already broke the second day. When I bought the bike the guy said that the starter didn't work so you had to kick start it every time, so of course I have and it works great except when it is cold. The bike takes forever to start up kick starting compared to some of the other bikes I have owned. Whenever I press the start button on the bike I get nothing, no sound or turning over of the engine. If anyone could help me out that would be a blast!

Thanks for the help.
-Andyshear

Welcome aboard.
It would be helpful for people who read your posts to know exactly which model you have. There were several 750 models; four cylinder, two cylinder, belt drive, chain drive, LTD, CSR, et cetera. Knowing that can help focus responses. You can put t hat information in you signature line, so that every time you post, the info will automatically appear.

To your problem, both problems could be electrical. First, you need to insure that the battery is good. It should show slightly over 13vdc at rest. It should also pass a load test. Many auto part and motorcycle repair shops ca perform the test. Once you are certain that the battery is up to snuff, test voltage at the starter with ignition on and button pushed. If there is more than a couple of tenths of a volt drop, check all connections in the circuit to be sure the are clean and tight. Also pay close attention to the battery ground cable. A can of Deoxit and some small brushes will make cleaning dirty or corroded connections much easier. If this does not fix the problem, you will need to go deeper.
Search this site for some posts by MFolks that detail the process.

Most importantly, buy yourself a genuine Kawasaki Service Manual for your specifi model. There are aftermarket manuals that are better than nothing, but there is no substitute for the real thing.

Since it has a kick starter, it could be an 82 750-M1 CSR Twin.

Make sure the battery is good & fully charged.

Okay so first of all the bike is a 82 750-M1 CSR Twin sorry for not specifying. I checked all the cables cleaned the carb out and the bike starts right up now; however after riding for awhile the bike dies randomly and the bike doesn't have enough power to start it back up with the starter or the kick start. Any clues from that?

Battery.

Make sure the battery is good and make sure that the connector from the stator to the rectifier/regulator is not broken/melted/etc. Of course you could have a bad rectifier/regulator. I have been through all of these issues in the recent past with my 82 csr twin. if the pieces of the charging system are good, it should stay running even if the battery is not very good. Of course it'll be a bitch to start if the battery isn't good. even with the kick starter.

Might I ask, what is the starter doing when you hit the button? It might not be the starter at all, but the starter clutches that are not working correctly anymore.

In the repair manual it has tests for all of the charging system components. But first check for broken/melted/corroded connectors.

Eric
82' CSR Twin

Take a good look at your fuel filter too. When I started restoring mine I used a paper fuel filter that absolutely refused to pass gas fast enough to keep up with the draw. My first few joy rides were short until I figured that out. After it sat for a minute or two the filter would fill up, then the carbs and we were good to go again. Switched over to the little clear porous bronze type and it never returned.

Fully charge the battery & take it to Autozone for a free load test, to see if your battery can hold a charge
also check the negative battery cable for looseness or corrosion where it attaches to the motor or frame
Pete

Thanks you guys I went to autozone and indeed was the battery. I purchased another and fixed 90% of my problems..

Now I have another, the headlight doesn't work. It shows that the high beam is on but neither the low nor the highbeam work. I checked for grounding issues but honestly I don't know what I'm looking for and I didn't see anything that really stuck out to me.

Once again I am riding a 1982 Kz750 M1 Csr Twin with kickstart.

-Andyshear

Do the other lights work? Get yourself a cheap multi tester. Could be the headlight was blown due to charging issues because of a bad battery.
Steve

Need to clean the connections and make sure you have a good ground.

Fuse? Those old glass fuses can look just fine even though the filament is broken at one end or the other.