1995 Kawasaki KLF220 electric starter not working

[Asand211]

I've got a 1995 220 Bayou and the electric start does not work.  When I got it the machine was pretty rough but I was told it ran less than a year ago.  The key switch had been cut off and wires  twisted after the key was lost.  I bought a new ignition switch and repaired the wiring and it is working correctly.  It is in neutral and the neutral light is on when the key is turned on but I get nothing when pressing the start button.  I verified there is no voltage going to the starter from the solenoid.  The fuse in the solenoid is good.  Something I found that is odd is that I get positive voltage(12 volts) to the brown, black, and white wires that run into the solenoid when the key is on.  That doesn't make sense to me but I could be wrong.  I would appreciate any help I can get. Thank you in advance.  

[Asand211]

I do see a black/yellow wire on the wiring diagram that should be connected to the negative terminal of the battery but I don't see it on mine.  I also do not see it exiting the harness in the area of the battery.  Could that be grounded somewhere else?

[ak74]

try bypassing solenoid