Stuck in first gear kz250

Hello everyone, I have a problem with my z250 and was wondering if anyone of you awesome crew could give me some suggestions that could help me?

The bike will change into first gear and neutral. I can ride it in first no sweat.

I have pulled the clutch cover off and the clutch is out. There is no missing springs and nothing looks broken.

I was hoping to be able to fix it without stripping the engine completely down.
Any advice would be welcome and greatly appreciated.

KZ transmissions have what Kawasaki called a positive neutral finder. This prevents the selection of any gears except first and neutral unless the motorcycle is moving. When you rode around in first gear, did you try to shift to second?
If the motorcycle was moving when you tried to shift to second, a really common cause is a broken shifter return spring. Another possibility is a clutch release rod that is covered with dried chain lube and dirt. Both of those problems can be accessed by removing the front sprocket cover. In what condition is the clutch release cable? Is it clean, properly lubricated, and properly adjusted? Are there any fraying strands or signs of rust? Do not go any further into the engine until you have exhausted all the other possibilities.
A Kawasaki factory service manual will be of great help. You did not mention which year or model your 250 is, but this manual may cover it.
www.kzrider.com/modules/ServiceManuals/K...0KZ250%20-%20305.pdf

Skip what I said about the clutch pushrod. I forgot that the 250 has a different setup than e larger bikes. I should have checked the manual first.......... The clutch release mechanism on the 250 can have problems. Check the manual for diagnosis.

What year is the motorcycle? What type of clutch release does it have? Some of them have a vertical shaft.
I would do a basic clutch adjustment as per the owner's manual or service manual.

ps: there's a 250/305 FSM pdf available on the internet.

Thanks for the replies, I am very much a novice as a motorbike mechanic.
My bike frame is a 80 Z250A After doing some digging through the model recognition I found the engine number is a KZ250AE from an 84 GPZ250, It is the one with a CDI ignition.
I can't find a manual for that model but in the manual link you sent, the clutch setups are different, where the cable comes in from the top (is this a vertical shaft?) of the case and pulls the clutch plates away toward the cover on mine and the ones in the manual have the cable push the rod into to separate the plates. It seems like they have the same type of external shift mechanism.
The cable is in good condition, no fraying, a little under lubed I did adjust it before the test ride and it did disengage the gear when stopped in first gear. I did not get to change into second while moving I didn't realise they had a positive neutral finder maybe this was my issue. Would the positive neutral finder work if the clutch is fully removed? Or should it be able to change through all gears?

The clutch has nothing to do with the neutral finder feature.

If you were riding the bike around in first it should be able to shift up into 2nd. The neutral finder feature only works when the bike is not moving. Mind you, there may be a malfunction in the mechanism however. It's pretty simple though; simple balls that sling outward when rotating.

Regarding the shift shaft return spring and mechanism, I think it's located under the clutch cover. You might want to check out the factory service manual . I'm not sure if this is the exact manual for your bike but a lot of the elements should be the same.

www.kzrider.com/modules/ServiceManuals/K...0KZ250%20-%20305.pdf

The Z250R was not sold in North America, so you really need to find a service manual for that specific model. It looks like that engine shares quite a bit with the 250 thumper that was sold here, but there will be some differences. Never the less, the only effective way to test the neutral finder is to ride the motorcycle. As Nessisim suggests, if the bike has been sitting unridden for a long time, it is possible that one of the ball bearings is stuck, but it should free up with just a little running.

The service manual here at KZR that Nessisim linked to is for the 250 twin cylinder models, also not sold in North America.