1982 kz1100 shaft

Hey guys i just picked up my first large kz today!

i got a 82 kz1100 shaft for 425 bucks, has the FULL vetter fairing up front and hard bags and trunk up top in the back. not quite my style but i bought it for my dad and ill get it running and give it to him.

pictures will come soon but for now, where do i start for checking spark? it has a NEW battery and plugs, but aside from that the guy didnt do anything to it. its has 37k on the clock and is mostly original. it looks great im excited to get it cleaned up.

any comments, help about the spark would be great! and anyone who has a 1100 shaft with pics or comments would be great too!

thanks guys

Sounds like a good score. The service manual in my signature should cover that bike.
no spark, both the Ignition key switch and the right handle bar switch on run? Got good fuses, test them with a light or meter, as they can look good. Power down to the coils?

Ignition Coil Primary And Secondary Wiring

Ignition coils on the 80’s Kz1000,Kz1100’s and Gpz1100’s are wired the same, that is as you sit on the bike, the LEFT ignition coil primary(small wires) are two wires, RED and BLACK. The secondary (or sparkplug wires) go to #1 and #4 sparkplugs(your primary wiring may be different). The 550’s,650’s & 750’s are backwards to what is listed for the bigger 4’s.

The cylinders are numbered left to right as you sit on the seat; #1,#2,#3, and #4.

For the RIGHT ignition coil, the primary wires, again are two wires, RED and GREEN, with the secondary going to #2 and #3.

The RED wire gets it’s voltage from the run/stop switch on the right handlebar switch pod. Your primary wiring may have a different color.

The BLACK and GREEN wires connect to the IC Igniter(if the bike has the Kawasaki supplied electronic ignition) it actually gives the coils their grounds to fire the sparkplugs.

Primary(small wires) side of the coils will read between 1.8 to 3.0 ohms.

Secondary(sparkplug wire ports)side of the coil will read between 10.4K to 15.6K ohms. These ports are wired together, so it makes no difference which is used, as long as the correct coil to sparkplug configuration is followed.

The sparkplug caps should read 5K OHMS, any higher, or a reading of infinity means new caps should be ordered.

To stress the ignition coils, take a hair dryer, heat the coils and see if the ohm readings change from cold to hot . If they do, it’s time to buy new coils.

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Keep in mind, the wiring is reversed for the 550’s 650‘s and 750‘s, that is the RIGHT coil primary will be two wires, RED and BLACK with the secondary(sparkplugs) going to #1 and #4.

The LEFT coils primary wiring would be again two wires, RED and GREEN, with the secondary(sparkplugs) going to #2 and #3.

These engines have what is known as a “Wasted Spark” that is, a sparkplug will fire during an exhaust stroke. It does no damage and many other motorcycle engines have this design.

Starter Solenoid/Motor Checkout Procedure

Some simple steps to determine what is working and what's not:

1.Fully charge and test the battery(most bike shops can load test the battery, and then use a floating ball hydrometer to check specific gravity in the charged cells).

2.Clean all battery terminals of corrosion.

3.Tighten all starting related connections(Positive RED(+) battery terminal, Negative BLACK(-)terminal) and from the terminal to the engine case. All connections must be clean and tight. If the cables feel “Crunchy” when flexed, they may have corrosion inside the insulation, requiring replacement.

4.Clean the cable from the starter solenoid to the starter motor.

5.Clean and check the "bullet connectors" going to the coil side of the starter solenoid.

6.Try again to start the bike, keep in mind some Kawasaki’s have a clutch interlock to prevent cranking the engine while it’s in gear, so the clutch lever must be squeezed.

7.If no luck, go to step #8

8.Wearing eye protection, bridge with pliers or a screwdriver the two heavy duty(large)terminals on the solenoid. If the bike cranks, your solenoid may be bad.

9. If the starter won’t turn over, one of several things has happened; The starter motor has seized due to brushes binding up, lack of lubrication in the bushings of the motor, the battery is weak , the engine has seized or it could be a combination of any of the above. A website for starter motors is:

www.psep.biz/store/mitsuba_starter_motors_page_2.htm

10.The dealer may want $$$ for a new solenoid, but take your old one along and visit the nearest riding lawn mower shop. They have solenoids for about $15 that with a little work will fit. Be aware that the new solenoid from the lawn mower shop may require a ground wire for it to work.

11. I’d recommend upgrading from the existing battery cables to at least 6 gauge welding cables.
They are available in two colors(RED and BLACK) have more flexibility due to being constructed with finer conductors, and will fit in tighter areas.

12. The welding cable is sold by the foot, so take careful measurements or bring your old cables along. Most battery shops might be able to supply the cable too, so call to find out. The battery shop should be able to crimp/swage on the end of the welding cable the terminal ends or lugs using either a dedicated crimping machine or a tool that looks like a bolt cutter that has special dies to terminate the cable.

Fuse And Fuse Holder Designations

1. The older Kawasaki’s use a glass tubed fuse with the designation of AGX 1” long. Most good auto parts stores can get them for you. They are ¼” in diameter.

2. The more common AGC is 1 ¼” long and may not fit the smaller fuse clips. Again, ¼” in diameter.

3. To clean and polish the fuse clips, I use a cotton swab(Q- Tip) and some Brasso metal cleaner or Turtle Wax Chrome Polish. I suppose any good metal polish would work.

4. These fuses can fail internally but look good, only by removing them from the clip and electrically continuity checking with either a self powered test light, or a multimeter set on OHMS can they be determined to be in good shape.

5. A physical inspection of the metal end caps for tightness will tell you if the fuse is serviceable.

6. Most modern motorcycles are now using the automobile “Blade” style fuse with the designation of ATC or ATO.

7. The reduced sized “Mini” Blade style fuse holder uses the ATM size of fuses.

8. If the fuse and fuse holder overheat, it could soften or aneal the grip of the clip, it might require squeezing the clip to restore the tightness.

9. A list of where to purchase “Blade” style fuses and holders:

www.waytekwire.com order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/...20%20%20%208%20FUSE/

www.rallylights.com www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=765

www.delcity.net/store/6!way-fuse-blocks/p_10822.a_1

10. A source for the glass tubed AGX fuses:
www.boatownerswarehouse.com/browse.cfm/2,4986.html

Color Codes On Most Kawasaki’s (written for 1980’s bikes)

HEADLIGHT
RED with BLACK stripe, High Beam.
RED with YELLOW stripe, Low Beam.
BLACK with YELLOW stripe, the ground circuit.

BRAKE/TAIL LIGHT Can be an # 1157 dual filament bulb
RED, Running or Tail Light.
BLUE,(sometimes with a Red stripe) Brake Light Circuit.
BLACK with YELLOW stripe, the ground circuit.

LEFT FRONT TURN SIGNAL Can be an #1157 dual filament bulb
GREEN, Left front turn signal circuit.
BLUE, Left front running light circuit.
BLACK with YELLOW stripe, the ground circuit.

RIGHT FRONT TURN SIGNAL Can be an # 1157 dual filament bulb
GREY, Right front turn signal circuit.
BLUE, Right front running light circuit.
BLACK with YELLOW stripe, the ground circuit.

LEFT REAR TURN SIGNAL Can be an #1156 single filament bulb
GREEN, Left rear turn signal circuit.
BLACK with YELLOW stripe, the ground circuit.

RIGHT REAR TURN SIGNAL Can be an #1156 single filament bulb
GREY, Right rear turn signal circuit.
BLACK with YELLOW stripe, the ground circuit.

i havent had ANY time to play with it, too much motorcycle time this weekend left my girlfriend wanting to go on a date... so it will wait for tomorrow, the bike turns over great (new battery) and sounds good but havent even checked the spark yet myself.

Thanks for this mfolks! i will read it all tomorrow during class and try and get her fired up tomorrow assuming i dont need new coils... also, i have two sets of coils for my parts 650, the stock set and a set of black Dynas. that came on the bike, the dyna coils look basically new...but i dont know much about coils and electronics would these work?

A popular ignition coil replacement is either the Grey 2.2 ohm or the Green 3.0 ohm coil by Dyna. Both can be bought at www.z1enterprises.com . For greater spark energy, I'd suggest getting the copper wired, non supression spak plug wires. They might make radio's and TV's sound systems pop and crackle, but the bike should get full spark energy.

When testing for spark, I use either of these:
Ignition Systems Testers
www.lislecorp.com/divisions/products/?pr...ivision=1&category=8
www.lislecorp.com/divisions/products/?pr...ivision=1&category=8

Thanks a ton mfolks, i am looking on the z1 site... and im not seeing the black dyna coils anywhere...

ok guys i got to work on the kz1100 today, turns out there IS spark! i got some new plugs for it and tightened the plug wires on the coils a bit and there is spark to all 4 plugs, now my real problem is the gas tank... it was RUSTY, the PO didnt really understand that rusty tank meant rusty gas... and figured it didnt have good enough spark.. well the spark is fine, the tank is pretty bad... not horrible but it will take some work.

now this thing has bs34's (correct?) from what i have read and i am contemplating just tearing them down, and rebuilding them to the best of my ability and seeing what happens.

i got the bike for 400 bucks and if i can put another 400 or so into it i can easily make money on it at the very least my dad will buy it from me for a small profit.

how tough are the bs34s to rebuild? i have only done vm26's and smoothbores before so this will be a new experience.

i also got a motion pro carb synch tool with the bike along with the clymer manual.

any help would be great, ill get some pictures up asap

ok, i dont know how fat the blue spark should be but its not very large... i worked on the bike a bunch today, refitted the exhaust, and carbs back on, airbox hooked up... it wont fire at all. i just cleaned the carbs extremely well and it just wont fire... i am going to buy new coils just to be sure, the RT side coil has a broken stud that the wire screws into and this could be messing up the spark.


any other things i should check?