80 KZ550 stuck in first gear

Hi All,
New to the forum. Just picked up a 1980 KZ550A. Was half apart and had not run in a VERY long time. Finally got it to start and I took it for a short ride down the block. Would not shift into 2nd. And its hard to get it back into Neutral. I was thinking that sitting for so long the gearbox is gummed up. Any thoughts? Maybe some seafoam and flush out the motor. Any do's and dont's here?

Sounds like a bend shift fork or weak shift mechanism.No kind of seafoam will cure you shift up/down Problem.
Remove the clutch release cover and take a look behind your front sproket cover.

I'm not sure if you are aware, but most Kz's have what is called a neutral finder, which makes it difficult/impossible to shift into second while the bike is not moving. Once moving, it should normally shift into second. This mechanism relies on some moving parts which may get gummed up. Maybe an oil change and some running around in first gear will get it working.

If not, then look into what Scirocco is saying about the shifter mechanism.

Also a gummed clutch or rusty clutch might cause the difficult shifiting, though it doesn't usually cause the second gear lockout problem.

Thanks. I had changed the oil before starting it. Does this look normal? Before dissembling I thought I would check. I looked for the bent looking part on Kawasaki’s part diagram but I don’t see it listed or on the diagram.

That shift linkage is bent.

But I don't think that shift linkage would be stock on a 1980 Kz550. It would be found on a 1981 Kz550D1 (Gpz550).

Is it possible your bike is actually a Gpz? That would make it a 1981 model (even though it was manufactured in 1980).

A broken shift return spring will cause that.
Steve

Thanks LOUDHVX, the VIN on the bike says it is an 1980 KZ550, but someone has gone through a lot of work to make this very GPZ-like. It has dual front disc, a rear disc, GPZ faring, etc. . The black on the motor looks like a home paint job and carbs are not black so I don't think the motor is GPZ. But the things above plus turn signals, pipes, 5-spoke mags, guages, etc appear to be off a GPZ. I will have to bend that bar straight and see if that makes a difference, but will probably have to start looking at other parts in the shift mech as Scirocco and Steve suggests.

I can now get it in Neutral while riding it. Lift like shifting into 2nd and after about 2-3 seconds it drifts into N.

That's interesting... homemade Gpz,

The transmissions on the Kz550 family are very reliable. It's almost unheard of for them to fail in any way unless someone does something to "help" it. It's more likely a shifter issue or clutch issue. I see the clutch adjuster cover missing... so that looks suspicious .

There will be quite a few differences between the 1980 model A and the 81 D.
Here's a few just so you know what you're dealing with for future maintenance.

The 80A had points. The 81D has electronic ignition.
The 80A had 1-phase stator. The 81D has 3-phase stator.
The 80A had 1-phase reg/rec. The 81D has 3-phase reg/rec.
The 80A had taller bars so the cables were longer.
The 80A had normal pegs. The 81D has slightly rear set pegs.
The 80A had normal shifter. The 81D has shifter linkage.
(Thus a different sprocket cover to hold the linkage post.)
The 80A had the older style clutch actuator (screw). The 81D has the newer style (ball-pocket).
(Actuator also related to different sprocket cover.)
The 80A sprocket gearing was slightly different.
The 81D has an oil cooler.
The 80A had 1 older style brake caliper. The 81D has 3 newer style calipers.
The 80A had 92 main jet. The 81D has 94 main jet.
The 80A held slightly more fuel, but the external tank shape is the same. (Under side sheet metal is different.)
Not sure if 80A had adjustable dampening on the shocks. 81D does.
The 80A had 9.5:1 compression. The 81D has 10:1 Thus pistons are different.
Cams are different.
I think the 80A had normal forks. The 81D has air-forks.
The lower fork legs are different even though they look the same. The distance between the axle and the caliper mounts are closer on the 81D. This is because the 81D uses smaller disks than the single disk models. Thus you can't just install an 81D wheel onto 80A forks. The fork lowers and wheels must go together, or the wheel will need larger diameter rotors. This is something you should check. If all they did was install an 81D wheel and rotors onto 80A forks, the brake pads will not sit fully on the disk.