TOPIC:

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll swing by local shop and see if they have a service manual, otherwise its ebay for me.

A few responses:
I will get those pictures snapped when I get home this evening.

As for the clutch cable; I haven't taken that internal elbow/worm gear assembly apart; the cable still runs into the cover and into that gear.

As for the clutch adjustment screw, I tracked down the posts regarding that, thanks!

shift lever-i don't think the shift lever itself is bent from the position it was originally in, the whole assembly is just in closer the bike body.

shift lever is nice and tight on the shaft.

I'll get those pics up prolly 8ish tonight, I hate long workdays.

thanks
dave

Before you go to ebay looking for a manual, try addall.com followed by amazon.com. Addall is usually less $ than amazon but not always. Sometimes you're looking at the same book from the same dealer with higher $ on amazon!

davidnard wrote:

...shift lever-i don't think the shift lever itself is bent from the position it was originally in, the whole assembly is just in closer the bike body...

Whoa.... I missed that. The whole shift shaft has slipped inside the engine?

Take a look at this:

Alright, let me jump in again. I'm a crappy bike mechanic, but I've got a 440 that works, good for comparing.
Here's my shift lever. None of the shift shaft pokes through the lever. As long as the shift lever isn't bent up and operates freely, I think your problem is on the other side? Clutch cable side.
I'll get a photo of the clutch cable termination next, Dave. (See, you know how to post more than one pic at a time, I don't:blush: )

Jeez, I got a nice shine on that shift cover, eh?
Ok, Dave, here is where the clutch cable ends. Did you pull the clutch cover and mess with the linkage down in there?
And what is that photo with the red caption about throttle cable? With some details, these guys can probably bail you out, just be patient... the first part of the KZ learning curve is pretty steep!

Hi Everyone,

Ok, Got a bunch of pictures this time...hopefully they help! photos 3 and 4 show the routing (and possible routing) of the clutch cable. Again i didnt detach it from the housing, i just pulled the elbow out of the hole it rests in. That's *one* of the problem areas I'm runnin into

Photos were taken head-on and should all be oriented correctly.

www.vidgenuity.com/kz440/01.jpg
www.vidgenuity.com/kz440/02.jpg
www.vidgenuity.com/kz440/03.jpg
www.vidgenuity.com/kz440/04.jpg
www.vidgenuity.com/kz440/05.jpg
www.vidgenuity.com/kz440/06.jpg
www.vidgenuity.com/kz440/07.jpg
www.vidgenuity.com/kz440/08.jpg

Biquetoast - the shift shaft (if thats what the shift foot peg hooks to) is still sticking out, just not very far. I assume it moves in further as you shift gears? Maybe i'm totally wrong though.

Nevan - I'm an idiot. Throttle cable should read clutch cable. End of a tired day, lol

All the pics are numbered for easy reference, I wasn't sure how to throw all 8 on here, sorry!

Thanks

ok, I've been doing some reading on here, came across a thread "clutch won't disengage" kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...id,2/id,31166/#31166

the worm gear pivots just fine, but again I'm unsure of the orientation (see pics 3 and 4 of my previous post...

the small (1/4-ish dia) rod that the worm gear pushes -- I CAN pull that all the way out, and it does not appear to be bent or damaged... according to that poster, "...if you CAN pull the rod out from the countershaft side, put it back in...the problem is in the clutch itself."

could this be the case here? and if so, what steps should I take to fix it?

Can't I just bang on it with a hammer? That always seems to fix my Explorer, hehe (just kidding!!)

Hey David,
I shoulda read your original post closer, your bike is an '80 so it has a different clutch cable system than my '82. Ignore that 2nd photo of mine. Sorry bout that. The shift lever does look a bit boogered up in your photo. It should still work fine, you may need to pull it off the shaft and remount it a notch or two counter-clockwise. While it is off you 'might' try to gently straighten it a bit, but see if anyone has experience or hints on that idea, don't want you to bust it. The main thing is that it has clearance from the engine cover to shift up and down freely.
The clutch cable end looks correct in pic 3 and way wrong in #4. That assembly transfers the pull from your clutch lever on the bars to a push on the rod. Right now, I am about to the limit of my advice-giving ability, someone better at wrenching will jump in.
For clarity, could you give an updated version of exactly what the bike is/isn't doing now?

Nevan,

Thanks for the post, I'll see if I can't straighten that shift lever out a bit.

As an update, I figured out the elusive worm gear nut/tightener thing. Was staring at the photo the whole time on kz400.com and never realized it. If I tighten it too much, the line makes a loud *POP* noise and the line goes slack. if I tighten it correctly, with the 3mm slack at the top handlebar, I can engage the handle and I suppose the clutch rod (the 1/4incher) gets depressed, but I'm still stuck in some random gear. I'm not sure what gear.