Has anyone eliminated their battery from their KZ650?

[bunnyman]

I had read some blog where the dude eliminated the battery from his old XS650. I am just curious. Yes, I am going to go kick-only on this bike and get rid of the electric start, as the e-start was a source of huge headaches, anyway...

Any insight on this topic would be hugely helpful.

 

[crazypj]

Just buy a battery.
It isn't an XS650
I don't think a Banshee generator will fit?

 

[hillsy]

Just buy a battery.
It isn't an XS650
I don't think a Banshee generator will fit?

If you're not running an electric start, you can run a smaller battery too.

 

[Wee Todd]

OR you can boil over your small battery ;D,,be carefull

 

[hillsy]

OR you can boil over your small battery ;D,,be carefull

Doesn't have to be a wet cell battery...

 

[bunnyman]

Just buy a battery.
It isn't an XS650
I don't think a Banshee generator will fit?

I would buy a battery, and will if it's impossible to eliminate a battery. The electric start caused a sh** load of problems (due to faulty wiring and a ghetto-bootylicious aftermarket switch) and this bike starts on the first kick. I think I need to go purist, that's all...

 

[crazypj]

Unless you change to a permanent magnet generator you have to have a battery
If you knew enough about electronics to know how to eliminate battery you wouldn't be asking question.
ergo, fit smaller battery and don't worry about it.

PJ

 

[Tristan]

Unless you change to a permanent magnet generator you have to have a battery
If you knew enough about electronics to know how to eliminate battery you wouldn't be asking question.
ergo, fit smaller battery and don't worry about it.

PJ

Agreed, if faulty wiring and a defective aftermarket switch is giving you headaches...then I'd think twice about attempting to take a plunge like eliminating the battery.

 

[bunnyman]

Unless you change to a permanent magnet generator you have to have a battery
If you knew enough about electronics to know how to eliminate battery you wouldn't be asking question.
ergo, fit smaller battery and don't worry about it.

PJ

I admit to my ignorance on this, and would have sought help to undertake this project. I have been chasing electrical gremlins on this silly thing for a little while. I have built a 10 watt guitar tube amp, modded several guitar pedals and regularly wire my own guitars and wiring on a motorcycle renders me gobsmacked!!! I haven't blown myself up building an amp, either; however, I read, re-read, and re-read the instructions before I even plugged in the soldering iron.

I will probably just rewire the whole thing and use a gel battery.

 

[bobjohnson]

The problem with any vehicle wiring is that the wires can be old and most of the time are wrapped up in the main wiring loom. So unlike building something from scratch, where if you wire point A to point B, it just works, vehicle wiring you have to worry about the rubber shielding having broken inside the wiring loom (so you cant see it where it grounds out), a wire having broken inside its sheilding making a poor connection, corroded wires making a bad connection, a corroded ground wire making a poor ground, etc etc etc.

Wiring is my lest favorite part of any vehicle. That said, its not too hard to figure out electrical problems. Start at one end, and trace the wire back. Run continuity tests on it to make sure its not broken or grounding out somewhere that you cant see. Make sure the ground is good. Paint is a poor ground, i had this problem recently, the previous owner painted the frame and the engine casing but failed to remove the paint at some of the ground points. It ran like crap and half my lights didnt work because on the early 450's, most components had individual grounds, no ground wire leading back to a main ground. Also made it hard to troubleshoot cus i think im touching ground with the multimeter only to realise its just painted aluminum grey.

Though, running a total loss system (no battery) is hard if you want to keep it road legal. If you eliminate all lights and anything else that draws power besides the coils, its easier. Most of these bikes dont have a powerful enough charging system to keep the lights on at idle with no battery to back it up.

 

[bunnyman]

While I am going bare-bones on this bike, I am now totally convinced that it's not only a bad idea, but a very bad idea to go battery-free on this build. I have been learning my way through the wiring diagram on this bike, as I have removed the starter solenoid on this bad boy. I also shaved the idiot lights (as they were non-functional when I bought it), and will be using a Sigma bicycle computer rather than the stock speedo and tach. Yeah- racers like a tach, but I know by the way it sounds and feels when to shift.

I did download a simple wiring diagram (i.e. headlight, brake/tail only, no starter motor) and could probably get this beyotch to work without much fuss. Seeing how the PO's mechanic monkeyed with this machine (i.e. painted wires, cheap Autozone starter button, etc, etc.), it seems that a re-wire is the best way to go.

I just have to get rid of the starter motor, test it (which it works fine before I disconnected it), and sell it on ebay. Then finish this girl so she can do what she does best- get my ass from A-to-B in style.

 

[crazypj]

Except for wiring colours, you can use any EMS wiring diagram, the components are the 'same' (the rotor is not magnetic until it gets battery power)
Honda CB750,(or 550/650) Yamaha XS650, etc are EMS
If wiring diagram shows 'extra' coil connected to voltage regulator (NOT connected to ignition/ecm) it will work.
If manufacturers standardised wiring colours you would be able to swap pretty much anything very easily (they all buy from same suppliers, Hitachi, Denso, etc)

 

[bunnyman]

Except for wiring colours, you can use any EMS wiring diagram, the components are the 'same' (the rotor is not magnetic until it gets battery power)
Honda CB750,(or 550/650) Yamaha XS650, etc are EMS
If wiring diagram shows 'extra' coil connected to voltage regulator (NOT connected to ignition/ecm) it will work.
If manufacturers standardised wiring colours you would be able to swap pretty much anything very easily (they all buy from same suppliers, Hitachi, Denso, etc)

I figured that was the case, as it seems looking at the wiring diagrams for several UJM's, they seemed darned-near identical, with the exception of colours.

I was told by a mechanic (in the flesh) that it wasn't that hard to go battery-free, but a small Glass Matt battery was easier to do.