New to KZ's, just picked up my first.

It's an 84 KZ 700, just bought the bike and previous owner said it needed starter bearing? Haven't heard the motor turn or run as there seems to be an electrical issue. So far I've replaced battery, selonoid, and igniter box. Wondering if i should go ahead and buy the starter clutch rebuild kit, or throw in the towel and look for 750 or 1000 motor (was also told it had 800 'jugs' on it, so I'm not confident in the internals).

Before I get a slew of 'don't buy if you don't know' comments, I've had a lot of bikes and built a couple customs from running bikes. I got a steal on this bike, it has a clean title, it's the perfect cafe/street tracker platform, and I'm not afraid of a little bit of a challenge. Just wondering if I'm about to sink a lot of money into this motor so I can decide if I want to go with plan B.

I've noticed the way these bikes are wired they are a little finicky. It may be a big help to go through the switches at the handlebars and clean them up. I had a spider lay eggs in my left hand side switches once. The only thing else I can mention is that these motors are damn tough and will run forever if they are not totaled. These bikes always cost a ton of money to get back to where they were to begin with, but the motor usually isn't the most expensive to fix. I would find the rest of the gremlins on the bike before I worried about finding a possible donor motor, but that's just me. Good luck!

Thanks for the input, I'll check it out. I get power to solenoid and igniter but nothing past that. Not sure where to go from here.

Welcome, pics? Safety switches, kick stand, clutch lever kill switch?
Steve

Have you tried jumping the starter solenoid to see if you can get the engine to spin over?

FYI, the bike has a clutch interlock switch and the starter won't engage and turn over the engine unless the clutch is pulled in. Of course that won't come into effect if you jump the solenoid.

clutch pulled in, still just a hard click at solenoid and igniter box. how does one jump over the solenoid? also, is there anyone to convert to kick start? i'm at a loss on this issue but not ready to drop money on a repair bill.

You can take a screwdriver and cross the two heavy leads on the solenoid to make the starter spin. Have it in neutral of course. :whistle:
Steve

if it doesnt spin=bad starter?

New battery, hooked up to the starter? God knows what PO's do.
Steve

Could have a bad ground on your starter. Happened to me, had to remove the starter and clean the surfaces up a bit.

My bushings were just worn out. Have a couple others, mixed and matched parts and it's been working since 13.
Steve

When I have electrical problem, I start from electrical diagram. Pretty often I look at diagram for 20 min. and then find a problem in 5 min.
There is always a smart way and common way to diagnose a problem. Multi-testers are $3 in Harbor Freight.