Jumps out of second gear

I would appreciate some comments on the following problem. I have a 1980 KZ1000G that I purchased late last fall that was "ridden hard and put away wet". It was late in the year and cold here in Mn so I didn't get a chance to ride it. I just finished putting the engine back together after doing a top end. In a conversation with the previous owner, he told me that it "jumps out of second gear" under acceleration.(surprise, surprise) So before I go any further, now is the time to address the transmission problem. My manual says that "If the tranmission jumps out of gear, check for a binding, bent, or worn detent; or a weak detent spring". Or is it a worn second gear and needs to be replaced or undercut? I am assuming that I will have to remove the engine to access the transmission gears. Any help along these lines will be greatly appreciated.

you can check detent spring/linkage without splitting cases

The detent can cause the problem, but you might as well make sure the dogs and shafts are alright. I would start by droppin the oil pan, helps with engine removal, for inspection of the dogs and rods/forks. you should know what to do from there. If every thing looks good get a good strong detent spring and an over shift bushing, under trans cover, and try that. Good luck!

Ya thanks Plummen, I intend to check the detent first. Have a good one!

Thanks for the reply, good advise. I will work on it this weekend. Will I be able to get a good look at the dogs and gears when I drop the oil pan? I see APE sells second input & output gears, this must be quite common. Wish I would have known about this when I had the cylinders off. Thanks again as this is not my long suit.

Yes, lay it on its side if you have to. Those overshift bushings are easy to make!

Will do, may need more help later. Thanks again.

Fastdave61 wrote:

Thanks for the reply, good advise. I will work on it this weekend. Will I be able to get a good look at the dogs and gears when I drop the oil pan? I see APE sells second input & output gears, this must be quite common. Wish I would have known about this when I had the cylinders off. Thanks again as this is not my long suit.

the gears they sell are hardened,geared more towards drag racing.

So who else sells these gears? Z1 does not have any, they recommended APE. Also do you know who sells overshift bushings and detent springs? Any help is appreciated, Thanks!

check dragbike.com classifieds under transmissions.
theres a guy on there with a bunch of stock transmissions listed for $75-100

sell.dragbike.com/detail.asp?id=173&n=kz...-mark2-transmissions

no need for overshift bushing if youre not running airshifter,theres a big differance between a drag bike and a hot streetbike