Plugs not getting spark

Hello! Looking for some advise, I picked up this 81 kz305 csr a couple weeks ago. It's my first bike and I don't know much about motorcycles. I do have experience with wrenching on cars though. Anyway I can get the bike to crank but it won't start. Tried grounding the plugs to see if they were getting spark and nothing. Looks like the coils had been replaced at some point also. So I'm looking to see if anyone can point me in the right direction. Also anyone know of a good master cylinder replacement mine is toast. Pic for attention

 there are better people than me here to get you on the right track. You need to determine if there is power to the coils. Let me know if you need a service manual 

Do you have a voltmeter?

As mentioned above, the firs order of business is to insure that the battery is good (load tested) and insure that battery voltage is reaching the coil.

The factory service manual will be invaluable as you go through all of the routine maintenance and needed repairs.

www.kzrider.com/modules/ServiceManuals/K...0KZ250%20-%20305.pdf

You can rebuild the master cylinder with factory parts, assuming the bore is ok and there is no catestrophic damage to the rest of the master cylinder.

www.partzilla.com/catalog/kawasaki/motor...ront-master-cylinder

I am getting power to the coil and to the end of the plug wire but no visible spark at all

Do you have full voltage at the battery and has it been load tested? If yes to both, are you getting full battery voltage to the coils?

I did have the battery charged and tested and it passed. What should the voltage at the coils be? Should i test at hot wire to coil or to plug wire?

Also do these coils ground through the frame? I've been getting mixed answers but one of them isn't bolted on the frame completely as it looks like these are the wrong coils.
 

That doesn't surprise me cause the "right" coils may be impossible to find. I believe I have Yamaha XS650 coils on my 305, based on recommendations here or the defunct Twins forum.

You should not loose more than a couple of tenths of a volt from the battery terminal (not cable) to the connector on the power wire to each coil.
The coils need to be firmly attached. Excessive vibration can kill them. Coils come in a variety of resistances. You must have coils with the same resistance as stock, or the ignition system may not work, or it may work poorly, or it may fry the coils.

Partzilla claims to have the left coil in stock, but says the right coil is no longer available. I do not know for sure, but I suspect the only difference between them is the color of the ground wire. The factory coil is an excellent piece, but I suspect it is rather pricey.

Z1 Enterprises lists a universal coil with 1.5 - 4.7 Ohm resistance. I am too ignorant to know how that is possible. I would avoid it unless one of the electrical experts here say it is ok.

Here is a 5 Ohm coil for the KZ250. You could adapt a pair of these, though you would likely need to fabricate some mounting tubes, and you might want to change the color of one of the ground wires.
japan.webike.net/products/23121668.html


On page 161 of the fsm (linked to in a previous post) Kawasaki says 3.6 - 5.4 Ohm resistance is what the bike needs.

wrote:

Z1 Enterprises lists a universal coil with 1.5 - 4.7 Ohm resistance. I am too ignorant to know how that is possible. I would avoid it unless one of the electrical experts here say it is ok.

On page 161 of the fsm (linked to in a previous post) Kawasaki says 3.6 - 5.4 Ohm resistance is what the bike needs.

That seems a huge variance in spec - I suspect they mean it is a replacement for coils from 1.5 - 4.7 ohms. I would suspect the unit is probably somewhere in the middle at around 3.0 ohms so a weaker spark than a 1.5 ohm coil and a stronger one than a 4.5 ohm one (I would however confirm this before fitting as fitting a lower resistance coil increases the current draw and could damage the ignition if electronic)

Yeah they are near impossible to find unfortunately so I think I'll need to get creative. Did the Yamaha XS650 coils bolt right up?