kz650 electric starter

ok, please understand that this is my first bike and the repair manual isn't always the easiest thing to understand, but hopefully you all can help me out here. I recently bought a 1978 kz650 that runs like a champ and will kickstart after a few kicks. the thing is I would also like to get the electric starter working to save my leg some work, but the previous owners disconnected it for whatever reason and now all thats really left is the starter motor itself...here's my question. What are all the parts that I will need for the starter to work properly and how do I go about wiring everything up? sorry for the long question but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

You have your work cut out for you unless the previous owner left all the parts in place.

First, check to see if the starter itself is still there, look for the starter solenoid (behind the left side cover), the clutch safety switch (on the clutch lever), and the start button (on the right hand-grip).

If you have the original owner's manual there will be a wiring diagram showing how it all works together. If not, a repair manual should have one. If you need more info than this, feel free to PM me.

I doubt the starter itself has been removed, you can determine if it's there real easily by looking underneath your carburetors for the chrome 3"x7" plate that is attached with 2 10mm head hex bolts. If this plate is there, the starter is there because the mounting bolts thread into the starter. It's hard to say just what may be missing, but basically the way it works is you have a cable from the positive terminal of the battery to the solenoid, you can easily follow the cable to find the solenoid. The other large cable from the solenoid goes to the starter. You can short these two large cables together with a couple of screwdrivers and the starter motor should turn. If it does and the engine turns over, that portion of the circuit is working. If the motor turns but the engine doesn't, it's time to give up on the project because engine must be removed from frame and major surgery to repair the starter clutch. If starter does nothing then it is bad or wiring unhooked at the starter.
If this test indicates the starter itself is working then it's time to get into the wiring from 12v power through the starter disable switch on your clutch lever, through the starter button as it is pressed to the solenoid (not sure about the order, but 12v has to flow through these). One of the smaller wires on the solenoid is grounded, the other is switched to 12v through these two switches and associated wiring to turn on the solenoid to short the 2 large lug cables together to turn the starter.

RonKZ650 wrote:

If this test indicates the starter itself is working then it's time to get into the wiring from 12v power through the starter disable switch on your clutch lever, through the starter button as it is pressed to the solenoid (not sure about the order, but 12v has to flow through these).

12V comes from the fuse box to the large plug in the headlight bucket. From the plug it goes to the kill switch and then to the start button. Where the wire from the kill switch attaches to the start button another wire (red/yellow) is attached - this is 12V feed to the coils. The other side of the start button (black wire)goes to the starter lockout switch (clutch switch) and from there to the starter solenoid.

NOTE: one of the small wires on the starter solenoid is red/yellow like the wire that feed the coils - contrary to what would seem logical this is the ground wire, the black wire on the solenoid is the positive and connects to the black wire coming from the clutch switch.

The starter solenoid itself is a pretty generic item, most of the KZs as well as a number of Hondas use the same solenoid, mine is off a 76 Honda CB500T.