Newbie Kawasaki KZ 1000 igniter question

Hi there, i'm totally new to the motorcycle world.

I just came into a 1981 KZ1000 LTD. It's not getting spark and so i've
been told, try a new igniter.
so okay, there's an igniter for the 1979 KZ1000 on ebay and my main
question is this:

1. will a 1979 igniter work on a 1981 bike?

I doubt it. My guess is the '79 has breaker points and the '81 an
electronic pickup. I don't know for sure, however.

2. in general what is a good resource to find out which model year
parts work with which model year bikes? does that make sense????

Besides the already mentioned BuyKawasaki.com (which won't cross-reference
between models/years) you may be able to determine common parts at
numbers.

- Nate >>

Unfortunately, there's no "in general" resource. Owners, owner's groups
and specialists (websites, corporations, whatever) are often good
sources of information. Asking here will often get you pointed in the
right direction.

Sometimes however, you've got to make the decision whether to go with a
part that _may_ work or to go with the one that you know will work
(which part typically costs more or is back-ordered, or both).

thanks a ton, and can't wait to get her running!

Good luck with it, and welcome to the club.

mark

Parts diagrams and part numbers for each model, each year:
strContentURL=/site/VIVehicleInformation/VIChooseVehicle.asp?
intCatalogID=2&intParts=1