KZ200 shifting after placing it on centerstand while in gear.

At the beginning of this riding season, while I was thinking about something else and my brain was off, I placed my KZ200 on the centerstand while it remained in gear.   Previously, I had always placed the bike in neutral first.  I remember thinking, "Dang, this is harder than normal".  I guess at age 60 the brain farts are more common.  

Since then shifting when I pull the clutch in, then shift, is "rough".   Meaning, I can feel the shifter run into something before it moves past it for all five gears.   IF I wait until the engine rpm drops al the way to idle shifting is mostly clunk and smooth.   But, before I placed the cycle on the stand in gear, it was always butter smooth shifting with just a clutch pull without waiting too much for rpm drop off.  

I still ride, but, I shift with the engine at low rpm.   If anyone has experienced this type of behavior after placing a bike on a centerstand while in gear, and, knows what likely happened, and, pointers on how to resolve, I would appreciate it.

I did search the site for a variety of strings but returned nothing that seemed to match.   

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and time.   I regret slightly buggering my formerly perfect KZ.

Thought I would move this back up and see if anyone has any thoughts on my shifting issue after moving the bike onto the center stand in gear?

Thanks.

 

Do you still have the (owners manual) that came with the bike? back then the owners manuals had great info on doing simple adjustment and were pretty easy to understand compared to a shop manual.
Also if that is the original clutch cable it may need to be replaced, on my bike when it starts to get hard to shift it because the cable is getting ready to break.

I cannot imagine a connection between placing the bike on the stand and the onset of difficult shifting.
Like bluejay58 said, I would first look to the clutch cable and related parts.
Make sure that the cable is properly lubricated. The Motion Pro lubricator makes this easy and relatively clean job.



Make sure it is properly adjusted. There is a specific procedure to follow.
Visually inspect the cable, especially the exposed inner cable at each end, for fraying, rust or any other unusual condition.

If the problem persists, you may need to remove, clean and lubricate the clutch release mechanism inside the engine case.

P.S. Kawaski uses a Positive Neutral Finder, which limits the gear choices to first and neutral when the bike is not moving. Trying to force the sifter into other gears can bend the shift forks, causing all sorts of misery.

If you need a service manual, there are several on fleebay right now in the $12 - $30 range. Be sure to get one that covers your exact year.

wrote:

If you need a service manual, there are several on fleebay right now in the $12 - $30 range. Be sure to get one that covers your exact year.

I have uploaded a KZ200 sevice manual into the database some month ago:  kzrider.com/filebase/category/8-kz200
Maybe an admin can duplicate the manual into the Articles -> Service Manuals category.
 

wrote:

wrote:

If you need a service manual, there are several on fleebay right now in the $12 - $30 range. Be sure to get one that covers your exact year.

I have uploaded a KZ200 sevice manual into the database some month ago:  kzrider.com/filebase/category/8-kz200
Maybe an admin can duplicate the manual into the Articles -> Service Manuals category.

 

Thanks. I did not think to look there.

I was just perusing the fsm, and it seems that somebody at Kawasaki wanted to discourage oil filter changes. 
If I read it correctly, you must disconnect the rear brake lever, remove the kick start lever and the entire foot peg assembly, then remove the clutch cover to access the dang oil filter 

Page 18
filebase (kzrider.com)

Apology for delay in response.

I do not have the original Kawasaki Kz200 Manual but I do have the Clymer manual.   I have read through it but it only gives disassemble and assemble clutch instructions.  

My apology for slow response to your good input.   Was out of town for a long while.

Your post reminded me that that clutch was stuck at the end of the riding season.  I did not recognize it right away, cranked the bike, then, dropped the bike into gear and there was a giant jerk even though the clutch was pulled in.   So, your suggestion to clean everything up makes sense.

The clutch would not engage until about 5 minutes into the ride in first gear.   I recently saw a post about how to get the clutch to disengage after storage without causing problems, and, remembered me not really properly recognizing what was going on at the beginning of the year.

Thanks again.