Engine is an 88 kawasaki zx10, Not stated for a while then gone to fire it up and the starter relay just clicks, ive replaced the relay with a new one and no difference. Ive put a direct live to the starter and sometimes its spins but mostly nothing happens. Im i right in thinking the starter motor is on its way out?

All so where it the best place to put the main earth/neutral? to the chassis or to the engine?

have you got a good earth connection engine - chassis, otherwise you're earhing through the throttle or clutch cable, could explain the starter problem.
Once that earth is in place it doesn't matter whether you use engine or chassis to earth components.

Clean & Check all the connections including the earth.
Put a voltmeter/dmm across the battery and battery with a decent charge should read close to 13 volts (say 12.8) and note what happens when you operate the starter.
Normally with a decent charge in the battery expect to see just over 10 volts when cranking
If the voltage drops right down to about 6v then rises to about 9v you have a battery cell fault.

[Edited on 12/1/08 by britishtrident]

The earth is good the battery is good, I tried putting the battery direct to the starter with it off the engine, first few attemps nothing then it span up then nothing again.

my old zx9 broke several starters before i worked out what caused it, but you could tell from shaking them that they had fallen apart inside. Also they were totally dead. Its possible a few of the spinning contacts have come off meaning it can only start in certain positions. If so, its knackered.

Mine broke because a wiring fault kept it spinning once the engine started.

Sorted, ive moved the Earth closer to the engine and its turning over every time now. pissed me off cos the test meter was giving good readings, oh well. cheers for the advice guys.