Can't get into 2nd gear. Need some advice quick.

So I rode into town (about 45 minutes) without incident. Bike seemed to be running great except for a slow leak at the head gasket.

I let the bike sit for a couple hours and when I went to leave, it wouldn't go into 2nd gear. When stopped I can switch between 1st and neutral, but it just won't go into 2nd.

The shift lever moves up but it doesn't go into gear.

I didn't have my emergency tool kit with me (figures) so I left it in a parking lot and caught a ride home from my wife.

In about an hour I have to go back and either get it working again or load it into my pickup and carry it home.

Seems like my only hope of a quick fix is clutch adjustment, but I would think I wouldn't be able to get in and out of neutral if it was just the clutch.

Any ideas?

Bike is a 1988 KZ305.

Kawasakis WONT go into second unless moving. They are equiped with a positive neutral finder, prevents bike from going from 1st into second when stopped.

If your bike is not going into second WHILE moving then you have an issue, if your bike is stationary it is NORMAL.

id try adjusting the clutch,youve got nothing to lose.
if that doesnt do id start looking under the shifter cover for a broken spring on the shifter linkage :dry:

was the bike moving when you were trying to shift into 2nd gear? i guess i overlooked that part! :laugh:

M357.5 wrote: Kawasakis WONT go into second unless moving. They are equiped with a positive neutral finder, prevents bike from going from 1st into second when stopped.

If your bike is not going into second WHILE moving then you have an issue, if your bike is stationary it is NORMAL.

It wouldn't go into second while moving, but good to know it's not supossed to go into second when sitting still.

start looking under the shifter cover for a broken spring on the shifter linkag

That's a good idea. Would certainly be better than having to tear apart the transmission. I'll bring tools to adjust the clutch and get at the shifter mechanism.

Topper,

I would read M357.5's post above carefully. From the description you gave it sounds like he gave you the solution. Nothing wrong with your bike if you had tried it when you were stationary. No repairs needed. Bike will only shift into second if the bike is in motion. Good luck.

Bike was in motion and would not go into second gear.

Once stopped, I tried fiddling with it while stationary which I now know is a waste of time (many thanks for that).

But even when I restarted and was moving again, the bike wouldn't go into second.

I'm leaving now and hoping something simple like clutch adjustment will resolve the issue. If not, I'll take a look at the shift linkage and if that doesn't do it I'll be towing it home in the back of the truck.

I'm really hoping it isn't the transmission.

Back on the road. Will give details when I'm in front of the computer.

Well, I can tell you what happened, but I'm still at a loss for what was actually wrong.

I drove my wife into town for something she needed to do. Took the truck in case I had to tow the bike home. Dropped her off at her thing then went to see about the bike.

Took it for a spin around the parking lot hoping the magic fairies of time might have mysteriously fixed the problem. Nope still wouldn't shift into second.

I worked on the clutch adjustment tightening things up to ensure the clutch was fully disengaging the transmission. Still wouldn't go into second.

I took off the sprocket cover. There was a fair amount of road gunk in there around the shifter. Not really excessive but definitely there. I cleaned a bunch of that out with a screwdriver and put things back together.

Took it for a ride and suddenly I could shift again. Woohoo!

It's a mystery to me what I did that could possibly have made any difference at all. I guess it's possible that the gunk around the shifter was restricting its movement. But it just didn't seem like that much gunk. It could have been that something with the shifting shaft was off and removing the cover and shift lever wiggled it back into alignment. I don't trust magic fixes like that though and am wondering when it's going to break again.

Anyway, at that point I was going again. Of course I managed to get all the way across town on my next test ride, stopped for a soda and the bike wouldn't start! Battery was dead (it's less than a year old).

Had to get a ride back to my truck (where my jumper cables were) and come back to the bike and jump it to get it home.

By the time I pulled into the driveway my turn signals were no longer working and the headlight was so dim I could barely see.

I've got the battery on a trickle charge tonight. We'll see what happens, but I'm guessing I'll be reading some threads on charging systems soon.

This was my first KZ (I now have two) but it's a real problem child.

before today, did you by chance remove to shifter prior to having your shifting problems?

Topper wrote: Well, I can tell you what happened, but I'm still at a loss for what was actually wrong.

I drove my wife into town for something she needed to do. Took the truck in case I had to tow the bike home. Dropped her off at her thing then went to see about the bike.

Took it for a spin around the parking lot hoping the magic fairies of time might have mysteriously fixed the problem. Nope still wouldn't shift into second.

I worked on the clutch adjustment tightening things up to ensure the clutch was fully disengaging the transmission. Still wouldn't go into second.

I took off the sprocket cover. There was a fair amount of road gunk in there around the shifter. Not really excessive but definitely there. I cleaned a bunch of that out with a screwdriver and put things back together.

Took it for a ride and suddenly I could shift again. Woohoo!

It's a mystery to me what I did that could possibly have made any difference at all. I guess it's possible that the gunk around the shifter was restricting its movement. But it just didn't seem like that much gunk. It could have been that something with the shifting shaft was off and removing the cover and shift lever wiggled it back into alignment. I don't trust magic fixes like that though and am wondering when it's going to break again.

Anyway, at that point I was going again. Of course I managed to get all the way across town on my next test ride, stopped for a soda and the bike wouldn't start! Battery was dead (it's less than a year old).

Had to get a ride back to my truck (where my jumper cables were) and come back to the bike and jump it to get it home.

By the time I pulled into the driveway my turn signals were no longer working and the headlight was so dim I could barely see.

I've got the battery on a trickle charge tonight. We'll see what happens, but I'm guessing I'll be reading some threads on charging systems soon.

This was my first KZ (I now have two) but it's a real problem child.

Hmmm... Yes I did. I had removed it (and the sprocket cover) to do a little aluminum polishing. But then I rode to town (about 45 minutes on the highay) without incident and it shited fine.

It was only after sitting in town for a couple hours that suddenly it wouldn't shift.

Are you thinking I didn't tighten the shift lever down enough and it was slipping rather than shifting the bike?