1977 KZ650 key positions.

Good afternoon! I am working on a newly acquired '77 KZ650.

When I have the key in the middle (Ignition) setting and the bike connected to power, but not running- all of the lights work. If I switch it to the second position I get absolutely nothing.

I know my coils are bad and the bike currently does not start, but what could be wrong here? Thank you for any help.

deodra@gmail.com


Jas

If you mean 2nd position is they key turned all the way to the right, that position is called PARK. It just turns on the tail light. So if you were pulled off the road at night you could leave the key on PARK, which would leave just the tail light on and no other lights.
Safety feature.

Also I'd recommend "never" turning your key to the park position, as many times the darn locks seem to not like to return the other way. You can end up in permanent park sometimes.

Also I'd recommend "never" turning your key to the park position, as many times the darn locks seem to not like to return the other way. You can end up in permanent park sometimes.

Glad to hear that has happened to someone else! I thought it was just my old switch. Last time, I had to take it apart, and turn it back with pliers from the bottom! :pinch:

I've never heard of that before.
I don't ever use that position, now I'll make sure I don't in the future.
:S

Thank you very much for the information. There are no markings above my key- all worn off and I cannot find a user's manual for this bike. Typically, I have a manual for all my bikes. Thanks again! This is my first Kawasaki- usually riding old Honda's. This bike looks great and when last I rode it blew me away in the acceleration department- my old Honda 750 Super Sport F2 did not have the acceleration this thing does. Granted, the Kawasaki has a few mods, but nothing that should make it faster than the F2. I am beginning to really respect Kawasaki's!

Nahh, it's just that Kawasaki could always whip up a Honda. I had one of those F Supersports a long time ago. The KZ650 is definitely faster than a sohc Honda 750

OKC_Kent wrote:

Nahh, it's just that Kawasaki could always whip up a Honda. I had one of those F Supersports a long time ago. The KZ650 is definitely faster than a sohc Honda 750

I am beginning to agree! The Honda had tonnes of starting and carb issues. I could never get it to work the same way twice. I got tired of dealing with it and sold it off. The bike looked showroom pristine and had only about 9xxx miles on it. Probably because it never ran right- you couldn't take it out for a spin.

Other than a few issues with the Kawasaki (coils are bad, starter does not work right- it grinds and then just spins (and the starter button does not function- you have to bypass the module to get the starter to kick in, and the stupid kick start lever has no tension so it just falls out into the kick start position)- it's darn near bullet-proof!

Currently, it has a performance cam; 4-1 header; and cone filters. Once I get it running right I am going to do a few other things here and there to increase overall performance without robbing it of its UJM heritage.

Keep an eye on eBay for an Owner's Manual. There are a couple out there now, although they may be worn or expensive, but sometimes you'll see one in great shape for little $. I picked up a NOS mint one for $12 about a year ago for my KZ650C1.

Hello my new friend. I'll have those coils out to you this weekend if at all possible. Unless I go up to the garage and kick it I'll not remember for sure but when you kick it, don't pull in the clutch if I recall correctly. DO pull in the clutch when pushing the electric start button. You probably already know but just in case.....it's happened before. By the way , did anyone mention you MUST put up some pictures? I'll bring my camera....

Post edited by: pumps, at: 2007/06/08 23:56

Welcome to KZr, and to the wonderful world of Kawasaki's Deodra!


The grinding and then just spinning you're describing when using the starter button sounds to me like the starter clutch is going/gone out. A very common occurence with the 650's and 750 twins.
It can be serviced without removing the engine. Just search for "starter clutch" in the archived site, and follow the directions (and pics) that KZr member OnkelB posted when repairing the one on his KZ650.

You wouldn't by chance be pulling the clutch lever in when trying to kickstart it, would you?
When using the starter button, you need to pull the lever in to disengauge the lock-out switch. But when kickstarting, pulling the lever in actually disengauges the clutch and the kick pedal will travel without much resistance, and subsequently prevent the engine from starting.

Oh ya, we require pictures of your bike.

pumps wrote:

Hello my new friend. I'll have those coils out to you this weekend if at all possible. Unless I go up to the garage and kick it I'll not remember for sure but when you kick it, don't pull in the clutch if I recall correctly. DO pull in the clutch when pushing the electric start button. You probably already know but just in case.....it's happened before. By the way , did anyone mention you MUST put up some pictures? I'll bring my camera.... <br><br>Post edited by: pumps, at: 2007/06/08 23:56

Thanks for the information, buddy! That's helpful! Luckily, I was not pulling the clutch in when kicking, unfortunately, I was not pulling it when attempting the start button, either. Thanks for the heads-up! Yes, please let me know when you get time to get the coils. I greatly appreciate the help here and look forward to one day riding with some of you guys!

Oh, here are some crappy pics of the bike sitting in my workshop at home....