Transmission shifting test

Well, I am finally back to the KZ. Had to repair my powerstroke but now I am putting the KZ back together. I tore it down to freshen the engine up. I know I have read that the trans won't shift to the higher gears unless the bike is moving, but my manual says to turn the output shaft to check that it shifts to all the gears. Well, mine will shift to first and neutral but won't go into 2nd. I never disassembled the shift drum from the case nor did I disassemble the gear set as they were performing fine. This book says to do this test after I have assembled the cases ect. Am I missing something or should I worry about this?

The output shaft has to be spinning fast enough to throw all three ball bearings out of their slots in order to do that.

TexasKZ is correct. The transmission is not suppose to shift into upper gears unless the output shaft is spinning fast enough to throw the 3 balls out of their slots. You can see the balls and 2 of their slots in the diagram below. Ed

Kawasaki marketed that feature as a "Positive Neutral Finder". At a standstill in 1st. gear, lift the shifter and you're in neutral; it can't pass through to second unless the bike's moving faster than about a slow walk.

If you didn't split the cases it should be OK.


Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE