Motorcycle Repair: 82 honda xl 350, honda xl 350, valve clearances

Question
the top of my kill switch is missing is this why it wont start,

Answer
Dave, the red Kill switch knob extends down into the contacts which must be connected so that the ignition coil is fed with voltage.  The switch is ===========o sw o============= so that when the switch is in OFF position, the circuit is opened and no power flows to the ignition coil to fire the spark plug. So, yes, that is ONE of several reasons why the bike won't start. If in doubt, go to where the wire connectors are for the kill switch and bypass the kill switch by plugging the two wires together where they come from the harness.

Other reasons:
No/low compression due to wear or lack of proper valve clearances.
No spark due to dirty or out of adjustment ignition points.
Carburetor idle jet plugged up or float bowl is not getting sufficient fuel from the petcock on the fuel tank.

http://oldmanhonda.com/MC/WiringDiagrams/MCwiring.php for wiring diagram.

Bill Silver