1982 kz 750e starter upgrade?

Hi all, 
I was wondering if anyone has replaced or upgraded the starter on their kz 750e. I rebuilt mine last year and the only parts I found were on Amazon of course aftermarket. The issue back then and now again is brushes worn out to the point of not starting. The commutator was slightly deformed and since couldn’t find a replacement I carefully file it while using a drill to spin it gently. This wasn’t the right way but kept me going and allowed me to ride for the season. Also Is the coil housing or sleeve should be smooth because mine isn’t 

Hi. Squaring up the commutator is best done on a lathe then cut back the mica between the segments.
As for replacement .
Any of the aircooled Z650/Z750  fours and newer aircooled ZR750 Zephyr starter motors will fit so it shouldn't be too hard finding a decent replacement as there's tons of them new and used on ebay.

"Stockers" is the go to place for starter rebuild kits.  Your commutator is worn, but I've seen way worse run fine.

zed1015,
thanks for the input. I will surely look into that way of making it smooth again. Also on the parts for the zr 750. It’s so hard to keep up with vintage parts tracking but it’s rewarding when everyone is always complementing it and asking to buy it. Will start searching now! Thanks again

Don't put a starter in it from a kick start 650 (1977 to 1980) as they only have 2 brushes instead of 4.
Kw is the same but the later ones are somehow stronger as they only had that to start the motor.

Nessism
I appreciate that, for giving me hope to save this one for now, and for the site to find replacement parts 

Injected, 
I’ll avoid those when searching, and appreciate the heads up before opening another can of worms haha. 

If you go the refurb route, once you have trued the commutator I have always found the best way to undercut the mica (needs to be below the surface of the copper so the brushes have full contact) is to break a hacksaw blade (don't forget to tape the broken end) and grind it thinner than stocky, you can then use this to carefully cut the mica back between the segments

So this is how it looks now, I cleaned even better after the pic and cleaned the segments way better, but didn’t knew the hacksaw blade trick, I reassembled it to avoid contamination fall into the crankcase. Once I get the parts to rebuild I will do that trick 

If it still gives you problems my friend just had his rebuilt by these guys . Came back brand new and was only a little over 200 .  Heh ad it back in a week 

ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/?fbclid=IwA...UylesV6NAV9ZjZAq5I8Y

Riturbo 
awesome thanks so much. Hopefully it works but definitely saving the link for a just in case. Maybe get one from the local junkyard if they still have one and maybe send it regardless as a backup since seems this starters are notorious for crapping out lol. 

wrote:

Riturbo 
awesome thanks so much. Hopefully it works but definitely saving the link for a just in case. Maybe get one from the local junkyard if they still have one and maybe send it regardless as a backup since seems this starters are notorious for crapping out lol. 


 

"this starters are notorious for crapping out"

Where did you here that?
Kawasaki did not build items that broke easily, they were primarily a ship building company.
But like any company they did not intend there products to live for 30-40 years either.
I have a '82 starter in my bike and its never been apart.