replaced transmission

quick question..just replaced all my gearsets, shift forks and shift drum...everything is in correctly as near as i can tell...now...engine is out of frame..shifts into first fine...can find neutral easily as well...but cant shift into second..spinning the sprocket by hand as i try to get second but no luck..now..this happened after i put the cover that sits behind the sprocket back on...when i checked before that i could hit all the gears by spinning the sprocket back and forth by hand...is this normal???sorry...guess it wasnt a quick question...lol thanx in advance..

quick amendment to previous statement..afer considerable fidgeting was able to shift thru the gears..as i said engine is out of frame and there is no oil in it..just spinning the sprocket back and forth by hand...

You usually need to spin it pretty good,I dont suggest spinning dry bearings though

Many bikes have a second gear lockout. It consists of very small bearing that ride inside the gear, and the shaft is recessed. When the shaft spins fast enough, the centrifugal force makes the bearing leave the groove in the shaft and go into the recessed hole in the inside of the gear, allowing it to slide to the next gear.
It made finding neutral far easier by the factory.
I believe 2nd gear is the only one with this bearing if memory serves me correctly.

Can we make this a frequently asked question. What is this, the 1200th time this has been asked now, the 150th time this year. I never tried doing a search, but my gosh even searching on simple " neutral" should come up with 1000 matches all of which are this exact same question last asked like one day ago and one day before that.

I have a tendancy to agree with Ron. It seems we should have a sticky about the infamous Kawasaki positive neutral finder. I have answered this question about 97.5 times myself.

Honestly, it is initaily a little confusing, but it's a good feature. It allows you to pull up to a stop, shift down to first and then find neutral by a full upshift or 57 if you like. I once had a Suzuki GS that was particulary difficult to find neutral. I kept bouncing between 1st and 2nd until I perfected that half shift into neutral. I must be a knuckle dragging Kawasaki rider at heart. :silly:

i understand the concept of the neutral finder..its just that my old transmission would shift thru the gears relatively easily while not running..the pin plate on the front of the shift drum can only be attached one way correct? long pin goes in hole with circle on it..then attach top plate and pan head screw?? just trying to cover my opptions before i put this beast back in the frame..and sorry bout the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION :evil:

This is normal, in both my KZ900 and KZ1000 builds....

If you want to test, twist & pull the gear apart but be careful for 3 ball bearings will fly throughout your work area... Ask me how I learned this tid bit... :pinch: :whistle:

Gear back together With the bearings out, you can run through all the gears....

OMR

Not sure if yours is exactly the same so check your manual....

TURNS OUT I HAD THE LONG PIN IN THE FRONT OF THE SHIFT DRUM OVER ONE HOLE TOO FAR...MOVED IT AND NOW IT SHIFTS SMOOTH AS SILK...

These ball bearings help to find neutral?
Could they cause difficult shifting up from second through the gears if gummed up and or not moving freely?
- Trying to get ideas on why an early 900 needs to have high rpms and kicked up hard to engage into 3rd and 4th......

ironpan65 wrote: These ball bearings help to find neutral?
Could they cause difficult shifting up from second through the gears if gummed up and or not moving freely?
- Trying to get ideas on why an early 900 needs to have high rpms and kicked up hard to engage into 3rd and 4th......

I guess it's possible that sludge could keep the bearing balls from moving into the recesses properly, but my money would be on a bent shift fork. Please refer to a service manual and check that your clutch cable is properly adjusted before you do anything else. If the clutch drags due to improper adjustment it can lead to difficult shifts.