Hi, I have an 89 zilla which is pretty much stock and is now broken, help.
I was riding and it all of a sudden backfired a couple times and then I stopped and it died and wouldnt start and when i tried to kick it it kicked back hard a couple times, found out it had no spark, broke out the test light, no power to anything, found this forum and did a search and thought i spun my flywheel, took it apart and found the flywheel to be in place and ok but my magnetic pickup thingys bracket was broken, so i took it off and JB welded the bracket together and made a little helper brace out of some thin sheet metal to put on the back (bolt head side) of the bracket for more support, put it all back together all in the same spots so i didnt lose timing location and still no spark, i am so pissed at it, help me, dont let me trade it for a frickin dirtbike or something!

 

Im sure there is a way to test the "magnetic pickup thingy", also known as a stator. Youd just need to get your hands on a manual to get the proper readings. Also it wouldnt hurt to check to coil as well.
Good luck with it.

 

It sounds like a stator or your CDI box. If you can find a spare one to replace and test is the cheapest way.

 

The first thing I would do is try another "magnetic pickup thingy". If the bracket broke, maybe it hit the flywheel and got hurt. Another thing, if you fixed the bracket maybe the gap between the pickup and the flywheel is not right. Try that before replacing other electrical parts that were not involved in the wreckage of the thingy. After that try and figure out what caused the broken mount. An LT in good shape souldn't vibrate that bad. They are known for bad main bearing journals. As long as you got your crank hanging out, see if you can move it up and down. Good luck and let us know what ever you find.

 

Thanks Halfliter for the response.
It did hit the flywheel and stuck because it is magnetic. maybe it did get hurt but it seemed pretty tuff like not much could break on it. I also wondered about the gap so i spaced it with a business card then tried a single sheet of paper the the business card doubled up and none worked. My next thing is replace the magnetic pickup but it is $80 so i wanted to try the "fix" first. I think old age just broke the braket too and i tried to move the crank and it is tight, thanks