limp shifter lever

I went to ride my '82 KZ750 ltd the other day and it seemed as if the clutch was still engaged whenever I would shift, as in; the engine was running and revving fine but not much power was getting to the wheels. I immediately brought her home and began to inspect possible causes. turns out my clutch cable was pretty corroded and in need of replacement, I yanked that out, slipped in a new one and hoped that all would be well. However, when I took off I realized that the shifter lever/pedal had not returned to the default/horizontal position. it stayed in the down position that you have to press it to shift into first. I used my foot to pop it up and it stayed stuck in the up position when I shifted into second. the problem with any loss of power was gone, but the lever had gone super limp. any ideas on what might have caused this or what the problem is? any help would be appreciated.

Viagra?

Have you recently adjusted the clutch pin at the primary cover? Sounds like something is not in the right place, like a clutch fork. I would refer to the factory service manual and assure all the visible clutch parts are where they should be.

There are a couple of springs for the shifter pedal, so maybe one of those needs replacing. I don't know how difficult it would be to do.

In regards to the shift drum forks, if you get to tinkering, there is a warning in the 81 650 manual that says do not pull out the Shift Rod more than 40mm ---- the shift forks will fall to the bottom of the crankcase & you'll have a real job on your hands. :ohmy:

I hope I'm not misunderstanding but did you remove the metal cover for the chain drive gear and clutch release mechanism when replacing the cable? If so I've read that it can be installed incorrectly causing excessive drag on the shift lever assembly which would cause it to stick in various positions. Try loosening the bolts on that cover and see if the shifter works normally. If so, re-tighten them such that the cover is not dragging on the shifter shaft.

Definitely make sure the engine sprocket cover is installed correctly.
Be sure to clean the grunge off the shift shaft seals.

martin_csr wrote: There are a couple of springs for the shifter pedal, so maybe one of those needs replacing. I don't know how difficult it would be to do.

I would follow the advice posted above and hopefully correct positioning of the left hand side cover will fix the problem. If the shifter pedal is still limp then as martin suggested it might be a spring and you might need to dig a bit deeper. If you take off the left side cover and then the front sprocket you can get at the transmission cover (at least I think thats what its called. I had to take that cover off recently to check the output shaft bearing and luckily took a photo which you can see below,




You can identify the output shaft, the clutch pushrod and the gear shift pedal in the photo. See the mechanism which is moved by the shift pedal ? I circled the spring in red. I am honestly not sure if a broken spring here will cause a limp shifter pedal but it might be worth checking if you cant find a solution in the outer cover clutch mechanism

the spring to check is behind the shift shaft .

okay, its definitely not the spring. with the cover off or loose the shifter pedal/lever acts normal (springy and whatnot). I am just waiting on the correct clutch cable to arrive in the mail and I should be able to piece my baby back together and out onto the open road hopefully its just a misaligned cover (fingers crossed)! I'll update this thread when I do that, in the meantime please throw out any ideas as to other possible causes, im not against opening the bike up some more.

There should be some locator pins where the bolts go through. It could be misaligned if one or both are missing. Check the shifter return spring closely. It might be cracked. You may be able to get on from Z1 or locally.
Steve

Another thing, check your free play in the cover. Grease the cam, it might be dry.

kawi810 wrote: the spring to check is behind the shift shaft .

Is that spring accessible in the pic I posted above ? or is it inside the gearbox proper and accessible after removing the oil pan ?....... just in case I ever need to look for it
Thanks

The middle shaft is what the warning is about. Don't pull it out. You'll have to split the cases to fix it. The shift return spring is behind the shifter shaft at the bottom. The gear select is to the left. The drum is held together by the screw. Make sure it's tight. The Kaws have a feature that prevents shifting when the bike is not moving. That is to prevent up shifting from neutral at a stop. That's not a problem. Spin the wheel and it should shift as normal.
Steve