I was given a 1988 Honda NX. This bike does not have a kickstart or a battery. How can I tell if the motor in good or not? I did hook up battery cables to where the battery goes and hit the start button on the motorcycle. I hear a click and that's it.

My goal is to restore it back to a running motorcycle the kids can ride. However, I don't want to put any money in it if the engine is blown.

Sorry, I have to disagree with the former suggestion. A Buell is not a beginner bike for a 5'5 woman. A 125 4 stroke isn't really big enough even for you. I have 34 years of motorcycle riding having owned countless types of bikes. I honestly think you will do very well on a Honda Rebel 250. It is a two cylinder cruiser with a very low seat "the rear suspension can also be very easily modified to get it even lower to the ground if you want to" The bike is powerful enough to be safe in traffic and can travel at interstate speed if you need to or want to. It's not a great bike for a 2 hour ride on the interstate at 75 mph.. but for riding around town or out on the back two lane roads.. the Honda Rebel 250 is perfect. You can put a windshield on it, saddlebags on the back for grabbing bread and milk. Hope this helps... If I were going to teach my 70 year old 5'4 mother to ride, the Honda Rebel 250 is the bike I would want her on. That is how confident I feel that you will do well and enjoy the bike.. One last thing, they did make a Rebel 450, so if you're ready to upsize after a while you can get on a bike that feels almost identical but has a little more weight and power. You may never want anything more than the 250 though depending on where and how often you want to ride. Good luck

The answer I posted above is to another question, I don't know how or why that happened. Sorry

To answer your question. Try to pushstart the bike and see if the engine is free. With the bike in second or third gear, you should be able to run with the bike holding the clutch in, then jump on it and release the clutch simultaneously... if the motor is free you should hear it turning over.