can,t engage gears, slipping

Hello all, #1 I am a noob, completely, to bikes, kawasakis, and forums all together. So please pardon any brain dead questions. I recently bought a 77 kz650 in running but not perfectly running condition. I thought I finally had it set for a good test ride (10 or so trips around the neighborhood), everything seemed good for the most part, but then I parked for about 1 hour, came back out to a puddle under my bike and now it won't engage gears right, the rpms rev but no or very little power to the wheel. But when I let off the throttle it gets a brief second of engagement, just enough to jerk the bike. I am lost, any ideas?

What was the puddle?

PFC FNG wrote:

What was the puddle?

... and how big was the puddle?

not sure what it was, but it was clean, so im guessing not engine oil maybe tranny. It was about 6 in. diameter, and was still dripping when I got to it

wuh!! clear fluid? engine and tranny share same oil. it's why you want to use non-detergent oil or oil formulated for bikes. i don't know about the clutch system on a 650.

good luck

sorry, i guess i should've stated that the engine oil was changed within the last 10 miles, yeah like to the grocery store and back 10 miles. that's probably why the oil was so clean. so are these problems even related or am i looking at just an oil leak and also a clutch engagement problem. Its just odd because they started right at the same time, although this is the first time it was actually ridden, it always fired right up but i hadn't taken her out on the road yet.

ok so i was just under the bike, well as much under it as possible without a jack, and it looks like my leak may be coming from where my gear shift pedal connects to my transmission. Is this possible? If this is correct what can be done? And I'm still wondering if this could be why it wont engage gears correctly. I have some mechanical understanding but that mostly pertains to cars so I'm lost here.

If it was oil, they are probably related. If you don't know for sure what it was, sample the other fluids on the bike. Brake, gas, oil, battery (if not sealed). It is safe to touch as long as it isn't battery fluid.

I'm fairly certain it was oil as brake fluid levels are still good and their colors are different, it wasn't gas-wrong texture and didn't smell like gas, and wasn't battery as I still have my fingers:) Is there a gasket or something around the shift-shaft that may need replaced

If you used synthetic oil not specific to motorbikes that may be a cause of your leak and clutch slipping.
I would drain the oil and put in some regular motorcycle oil (not synthetic for older bikes) or use Rotella T 15w-40w diesel oil. I use the Rotella for all my bikes and my old '79 Chev 3/4 ton and have had zero problems with tranny slipping.

not sure what type of oil was used as I just bought it and the guy said he just "gave er a tune up" including oil and filter. Im definitely gonna do an oil change but I want to make sure that this leak is buttoned up before hand. I just need to find out what may be leaking, and how to fix that first

Friend, you have already had enough confusion for one day, so I shall try to be clear as I can. You have a BAD shift seal. This is a seal that is pressed into the well that your shift shaft goes through. When the seal is damaged, it leaks motor oil; you have no separate oil in your bike (like tranny oil). OK... why did the seal go bad? Some part of the external shift mechanism is bad/bonkeers or messed up. The external shift mechanism is kind of complicated to explain but essentially, the shift shaft has a couple of hooked rods that pull on pins on the shift drum. These rods are called PAWLS. The shift drum is bunch of pins set in a circle and when the hooked pawl end grabs one, it rotates the drum and shifts (simplified explanation). The pawls must not be bent. The springs that make the mechanism work right must be in place and work right or you will end up doing damage when you try and shift. The return spring for the shift shaft must work right and not be broken... etc etc. If anything is wrong with the external shift mechanism, the shift shaft will either bend or move at an angle slightly and bingo, the seal is ruined. You were clever enough to put your 650 year/model in your signature but left out your location. You need somebody who knows what they are doing to take a look at your external shift mechanism. If you are located in the Texas Hill country, it would take me about a half hour to fix the problem. If you are not in my area, perhaps someone else could help but unless you put your location and ask, it is off to a shop you go and they will likely charge more than a KZRider member hehe...