no 2nd gear

hello everyone. i'm having a small problem with the upshifts on my kz 900. you can drop it right in to first gear and it will just sit there, the clutch seems to be working fine but when you go to shift to second it feels like there are not anymore gears. i have torn the side cover off, the shifting arms and springs look good. if you turn the counter shaft and try to shift it up eventually it will pop in than it shifts great the rest of the way thru the gears, but as soon as you put it back in neutral its the same thing all over. i was wondering if it may have a bent shiting fork? we just got the bike and it had been sitting for about two years, but the guy said it was fine when he parked it.

1976 kz900 ltd

There are three balls on the output shaft that locks it out of second gear unless the output shaft is turning.
Kawasaki calls this an automatic neutral finder.
This is normal.
Put it on the center stand, turn the back wheel and it will pop into second everytime.

If you're trying to shift into second without the rear wheel turning you can't. This is normal. They do this on purpose so when the engine is running you can shift up from first to neutral easily without accidently shifting into second gear. Once the engine shaft is turning and you're in motion, there are 3 ball bearings that are slung outward by centrifical force that allow easy upshift to second gear. If I understand your problem, I don't think there is one. It is a common thing to be confused by this feature.

i was turning the counter shaft where the sprocket goes on. i have the chain and side cover tore off so i could see the shifting arms, anyway i was turning that while i was trying to shift it does it have turn turn so fast before it will shift? all the other bikes i have had you can pull in the clutch with it running and put it in second gear. this one i can not do that. thanks for your help.

You have to give the countershaft a good spin to generate enough centrifugal force to pop the three balls out of their sockets in the countershaft.

ok thanks alot i will go give it a try later. i hope that is all thats wrong. thanks

went out to the garage and put a socket in the drill to spin it over, it seemed to work after i got it turning faster than i could by hand. i hope thats all that it was and i thank all of you for your help, it is greatly appericated. i have been around and worked on bikes my whole life and some things still stump me, but its always nice to learn something new.

It may also be that with the chain not on, when you pull in the clutch the countershaft is slowing down too fast for it to be able to upshift. Just a thought.
Ride safe