• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Please help katana is dead

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shaun23a11en
  • Start date Start date
Run position should be straight up and down as in your pic with the neutral light lit. Off, but not locked, is about 20-30 degrees counter-clockwise from there. There are two "lock" positions - all the way to the left and to the right. The one on the left is "all off", whereas the one to the right (clockwise) leaves the tail light on.
 
That's a darned shame that someone let that bike fall into that shape. Hope you have great success fixing her up. Remember to be PATIENT. There's going to be a lot of maintenance to catch up on in addition to all of the obvious stuff that needs to be fixed. Particularly for a first-timer, it's going to be a months-long project to have a bike that runs well.

BTW, you should add your location to your profile. Who knows, there might be some GSRers near you who would be willing to come lend a hand if you get stuck. Or just go for a nice little ride once you get her rolling.
 
What Mike said about the key and then yes you may have to pull the clutch in. However, most of us disable that little safety switch and never have any problems so it's possible the PO did as well.
 
ok so the position the key is in the picture with the lights is would be the position to start the bike then right? the clutch cable is extremely loose also. once adjusted, pull the handle all the way in, flip the red switch down and press the start button right while the key is in this position?
 
Correct. Wonder if the clutch cable has snapped? Make sure you keep it in neutral then. How loose are we talking here? Does the clutch lever return out when released?
 
Yea it returns but I feel resistance only maybe 1 inch from the hand grip. Also I guess there is supposed to be a yellow and green wire to the starter relay from the starter switch on my handle bars? the wire is not there. I have a small black and white wire. the black one from the starter. A large red from battery then I believe one or two smaller red ones on that same terminal. where would the yellow and green wire go?
 
Black wires with white tracers are normally used for ground wires. I'd follow that one and see where it goes. Mine is an LZ but I would expect it to be very similar electrically to the MZ. The ground for the solenoid is its mounting to the airbox. There should be 3 terminals on top: two large as you've noted with cables coming in from the battery and out to the starter - and yes, the terminal with the red wire coming in from the battery should, indeed have a smaller wire headed off to the fuse box. The only remaining, small terminal is where your starter button's connection should go. Check that terminal for +12V when you hit the starter button (and hold in the clutch or, as noted, bypass the clutch switch).

You can "jump" the solenoid from the incoming battery terminal to the smaller terminal (if the solenoid is arranged as described - if not it may have been replaced and you should investigate!). If that works then you need to trace that starter control circuit and find the problem.

The fact that your main fuse was blown is an indication that the bike was having charging system issues. You may be in store for a stator and R/R replacement.
 
The 550s were a bit odd in the clutch dept. in that the clutch cable goes to an actuator under the front sprocket cover. Once the actuator moves far enough, it will engage a push rod which runs its way through the motor and disengages the pressure plate. There won't be much resistance until you hit that.
 
Ok on my starter relay, I have the terminal on the bottom right if were lookimg at an overhead view for the starter wire. The top left is from battery and to fuse block. the bottom left and top right are just philips head screws with nothing on them. . Where would the yellow and green wire go?
 
On mine the Y/G wire is actually held on with a clip on the lower-left terminal; the wire itself is soldered to a pad a few mm to the right of it. I'll try to get a crappy cell phone picture of it at lunch.
 
Ok thanks for all of your help. I believed I traced a yellow green wire from the headlight bucket to back of bike and it ended up going to the tail light which all those wires are disconnected because there is no tail light
 
Does this picture help?

IMAG0114.jpg
 
Yea I dont have that wire on there. That wire goes right to the starter switch on the bars right?
 
OK, So we've got about 4" of Y/G wire coming off of the solenoid to a bullet end. I haven't traced the other side of it, but it SHOULD go up to the headlight bucket, where it would meet one end the clutch switch (that is, if the clutch switch were not bypassed, as it is on mine). The other end from the clutch switch should go to another Y/G wire, which would lead back to the harness for the right hand control, from which it goes to the starter switch.

If you look at the picture of the solenoid (part #1) from the "electrical" fiche for your bike, you can make out the wire connected to that solder pad as it is on mine. So that must be the OEM setup (I got my bike when it was 27 years old, with some modifications in those years, so sometimes it's hard to know what was OEM or not):

16.gif
 
Ok so if I were to just jump the starter would I give the black starter wire power then jump it to where the green wire should be?
 
You would jump from the red wire terminal (which is already hot) to where the Y/G wire should be. That will activate the solenoid: then it should complete the circuit between the large red and black wires.

If this bike has been sitting for a few years, you might try turning the motor over with a wrench under the ignition cover (use the big nut under the little bolt head) to make sure it's not frozen. Or you could put it into 6th gear and try rocking it to ensure the pistons are free. Take the plugs out so you're not fighting compression.
 
Ok trying to turn it over by jumping it. When I first did it it turned over a few times but now the starter switch just keeps clicking like its not giving the,starter power. Any ideas?
 
Sounds like the battery is dead. What's the history on the battery? New? Came with? Did you charge it? Do you have a charger that puts out 2A or less? (never charge a MC battery at more than 2A)
 
Ive been using a jump starter that I use to jump my car or whoevers when their battery is dead. Bike doesnt have a battery. It did turn it over but then it stopped. The black wire is getting 13 volts while being jumped
 
Snug/tight/clean Pos. and Neg cable connections at battery.Check snug/tight/clean Pos.connection at starter solenoid connection... and cable from solenoid to starter itself.Follow Neg battery cable to engine ground point,check snug/tight/clean.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top