Clutch stick?

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum and have recently got my motorcycle license and have been trying to fix my bike recently that my aunt left for me when she passed. The bike is a 1980 Kawasaki KZ250ltd D1 I believe. Today was its first oil change in 20 years! It came out all fine and still actually looked good. I changed the spark plug and cranked the motor without any fuel cause the old carburetor is no good and I just wanted to make sure the engine wasn't seized and alas it is not. (already ordered a new carburetor) My problem that I'm having or may not be one at all, is when I put the bike in gear (it is off cause it doesn't run until I fit a new carburetor) and still hold the clutch in while in gear the clutch doesn't disengage the engine, it's like its still in gear. Is this bike designed that way? or maybe since it was sitting so long the clutch plates got stuck together from not being used and no lubrication from the oil. I was thinking if when I finally get the new carburetor and start it and get it all warmed up maybe the clutch will work again from getting wet with oil and moving again. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I really want my first bike to be the one my aunt left me.

That's pretty normal for a bike that has been sitting for a long time. There could be clutch issues, but if the bike was stored in a dry environment, it may be fine. I would leave it until you get it running.

Even if the bike is ridden daily, it's normal for the clutch to stick a tiny bit when the engine was not running for awhile.

Clutch plates are stuck together very common when a bike is dormant for a long time. You can put the bike in third gear and push it sometimes that will free up the discs. If that doesn't work pull the clutch cover to get at the discs. Pull the discs and seperate them then put it back together.

If plates are stuck from extended storage, it may well kill the engine if the rear wheel is on the ground when shifted into 1st. at idle. This is stressful to the entire driveline.

A gentle way to unstick plates is to put the bike on the centerstand, start the motor & shift into 1st. While holding the clutch lever in, the rear wheel will suddenly begin to spin because the plates are still stuck. Continue to hold the clutch lever in and begin applying rear brake. You may have to give it a little throttle to keep the motor from bogging under load. This will usually cause the stuck plates to release. You'll know when the plates release when the real wheel stops spinning with the bike in gear with rear brake applied at idle. Continue to hold the clutch lever in with bike in gear at idle & the rear brake applied for 2 or 3 minutes to get the new oil circulation through the clutch pack.

If you find that the clutch still tends to stick, overnight for instance, replacing the fiber plates and scrubbing the steel plates in kerosene with a gentle abrasive Scotchbrite-type pad should solve the problem.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

I appreciate everyone's input, alas I've run into another problem the carburetor I ordered will not work with my throttle cable, I ordered a knockoff Mikuni slide carburetor and it turns out the end of the cable is to big to fit in any of the slots, and even if it did work I don't think I have enough clearance for the throttle cable to fit properly under the gas tank without it binding up, I really cannot find a close enough carburetor that is on the cheap side that is set up similar to the stock Keihin cv32.

A Mikuni slide carburetor need a different smaller throttle cable end nipple. You can find a lot of DIY repair kits on evil bay and Amazon.

Are you sure the old caburetor is shot? Maybe it just needs a careful cleaning, new orings and gaskets, then a careful adjustment.

Well when I took the old carb apart everything looked fine, just dirty. But this is what I found that was broken, I don’t think I can get jets for this carburetor anymore, this is also my first time working on a motorcycle, I tried the old carb recently even with the broken jet just to see if the bike would start it did crank , but for some reason fuel wasn’t entering the carb, and idk why.

www.jetsrus.com/a_jet_kit_street/kawasaki_250_KZ250_80_83.html

If fuel was not getting into the carb, then either the float valve is stuck shut, or there is a problem in the fuel line or petcock.

So took the carburetor apart again and I think the "pilot" jet or starter jet I thought to be broken isn't actually broken at all, I think thats its design in my above picture. It was getting fuel when I thought it wasn't the bowl is full of gas, I think I had the choke all the way on while I was trying to crank it, could be why it didn’t start.

I removed the goat valve, it’s very dirty and stills springs back.

I did wanna ask where I can get new gaskets for it. Please and thank you.