johntua1 said:
So..I've got a '78 Kawi KZ650. I'm in the process of tearing it down as it hasn't been started in over 20 years. I removed all the electrical because the PO screwed it up big time. I am going to do a compression, quick carb clean, and oil change. My goal right now is to get this bike to start just to make sure I won't be wasting my time on an engine that is shot(plus I want the immediate gratification of hearing that engine start). Afterward, I will do a complete rebuild.
My question is this. What is the bare minimum wiring I must do in order to get the bike to start (just to test) with a kick start. Can I just hook up a battery to the generator, wire through the reg/rect and to the coils, ground it, and kick it? I feel like that is WAY to simple..I'm very ignorant in electrical, so please school me.
Thanks.
To get your engine to run, at a minimum, you'll need to wire up the coils, points, condensers, ignition switch and battery. Set the timing and test for spark at each plug... make sure they`re firing in the right order.
I wired my bike from scratch last winter... I can give you some advice... Be prepared to sink some serious hours into this...
1) I would start by making sure you have a good battery and ignition switch. This will save you tons of headaches afterwards. Check that there is good continuity when your ignition is on, and get your battery load tested. New batteries are cheap, the energizer ones they have at Walmart for 40$ work well. Charge the battery with a trickle charger up to 14V
2) I split my ignition switch in two... One that runs the charging / spark, the other one to run the lights. Each circuit gets one fuse. Probably 10a for ignition in your case, and 15 for the lights depending what you use. Just a ballpark figure, double check with that you will be using.
3) Buy 5 or six different color of wire... Use a certain logic to color codes. I used charging: red, ignition yellow, headlight/taillight: blue, left side signals brown, right side signals green. Ground wires should be black. Most stuff can use 14 guage, the ignition and starting circuit should be 10-12.
4) Stay away from bullet connectors and butt splices whenever possible. Run wires from point to point, do a good splice. I personnaly do a square knot + solder + shrink wrap for every connection... takes time but you only do them once this way!
5) Wire up the alternator / regulator / rectifier correctly. This is the tough part honnestly. Use the OEM setup, OHM test each part, refresh any wear items (brushes ect). Use a beefy guage of wire from rectifier to your battery.
