TOPIC:

hi all. i have a 1982 KZ750 but dont know how to tell if it is a spectre or LTD. its not starting right now so i would like to know what kind it is so that i can look up the right part or fix the right thing. when i hit the start button all it does is click. drove it to work one day and when i went out to start it it wouldn't start. but it had drizzled a lil bit so am not sure what happened to it. its a shaft driven 4cyl. cafe racer set up with non factory paint so it doesnt say anything on the side covers. all it sais is kawasaki on the gas tank. any help would be great.
thank you.
SWAY

Give us the VIN # off the steering stem area. That'll confirm the model.
If I'm not mistaken, being a shaft drive would make it the Spectre.

it sais kz750ne cant remember the numbers after that. have to go to my buddies garage.

When the starting solenoid just clicks on starting the engine, I'd look at the battery condition; has it been charged lately and if is not a sealed unit can you add distilled water to the fill line?

The battery cables might be corroded or loose, look at the ground connection from the negative battery cable to the engine, and check the positive cable from the battery + terminal to the starter solenoid.

If everything I mentioned looks good, It might be two things; 1. the starter solenoid is failing or
2. the starter motors brushes need replacing.

There are rebuild kits for the starter motor available,lets us know what you've found.

battery has been charged and voltage looks good after charged.the leads all look good. the cables arent corroded. and i still get the click.

put meter on battery cables and check voltage when you try starting it.

spectre 750...bad battery my 2 cents.....best of luck...pictures...hook it to a trickle charger try and start it ...if it starts go buy a battery....your registration numbers will tell...frame number and born on date....best of luck and welcome aboard craig

OK... here is what is going on... battery is charged? How the heck do you know???? You can charge a battery with sulflated plates all day and it won't hold a charge. You MUST get the battery load tested... try an auto parts store as they have a load tester or a bike shop. If the battery isn't maintenance free, you can get a real good sense of its condition by buying a small hydrometer... will look like an eyedropper with little colored balls in the clear part. Using a small hose on its end, draw in some battery fluid from each cell. If ANY of the balls fail to float, the cell is either going dead or is dead. Battery is junk...

Next issue... if the battery is fair or OK, then you are having a charging issue. You charge the battery up using a charger. Hopefully you use a low amp (1 amp) trickle charger for about 8 hours... anyway, you go to work and the bike runs from the charge you gave it but is discharged by the time you get there. Problem could be one or more of several issues. Stator bad, wiring bad, reg/rec bad. Do you have a service manual?

Anyway, EVERY manual in the universe tells you to start trouble shooting once you KNOW your battery is OK and fully charged so do that first.

well guys, i got the bike started. what i had to do was touch the starter solenoid prongs with a screw driver and it tried to turn over without the key in it. after that it started draining the battery and would start. so i took it to auto zone had the battery fully charged and went back today. put the carb filters on it and the hoses comin out of the the carbs and it started right up. not sure what the hoses are for they dont run to anything. but thanks for all the help and will be posting pics soon. again thank you so much for the help

SWAY