Missing Gears?

I have a 71 kz650, I just rebuilt the engine and am putting things back together. I have the engine back together and put the gear selector claw on and the manual I am using says to test the gears, I tried to do that and I can go one gear down and 2 up. What did I do wrong? I didn't take the gear mechanism out from the inside of the motor

Are you sure it's a 1971 model, Kawasaki never made a KZ650 in 1971. These engines are hard to shift through the gears if the transmission is not spinning. You can put the sprocket on the output shaft and spin that sprocket while shifting thorugh the gears. It's still not very smooth but at least it will give you peace of mind.

The 1977 KZ650 models will shift up and down through all the gears with the engine off, but the later models will not. In 1978 they added a feature that prevents upshifting unless the output shaft is moving, so with the engine off or with the bike sitting stationary you won't be able to shift into the upper gears. In the diagram notice the 3 little balls (circled in red) and the output shaft labeled "36." That's what the 1978 and later KZ650 models have. The output shaft labeled 24 is the 1977 KZ650 B1 & C1 type. Ed

Thanks Ed, I never knew that it started in 78 in the 650's.

Made me go look up the 750 twin, and discovered it started in 78 there also.

All KZ's then I guess?

steell wrote: Thanks Ed, I never knew that it started in 78 in the 650's.

Made me go look up the 750 twin, and discovered it started in 78 there also.

All KZ's then I guess?

I don't know. I looked at the 1977 KZ1000 diagram on Kawasaki.com and it shows the 3 little balls which seems a bit early to me, but those diagrams are not always exactly correct. I'm sure about the K650 because I have the '77 and '78 parts catalogs that were printed back when the bikes were new. Maybe someone with a '77 KZ1000 will chime in. Ed

That's interesting I have 78 KZ650C and it does not have the neutral finder bearings.

baldy110 wrote: That's interesting I have 78 KZ650C and it does not have the neutral finder bearings.

That’s interesting. Notice in the images from my KZ650-C1 / C2 Parts Catalog (printed Sept. 30, 1977) the output shaft for the C1 (#24) is different than that of the C2 (#36), and only the C2 has the three little balls (#37). What is the serial number of your C2 engine (it is stamped next to the oil filler cap)? Maybe yours was an extremely early engine? Does your engine have the 3 allen bolts in the alternator cover (see 3rd pic)? Ed

You are all right I had a total brain lapse, it is a '77 not a '71 sorry about that, I also tried turning it while shifting and was able to get all the gears, thanks for the information

No I do not have the 3 external screws on the stator cover.

baldy110 wrote: No I do not have the 3 external screws on the stator cover.

Very interesting. I wonder if a previous owner swapped out some tranny parts or maybe your engine was a very early 1978 and Kawasaki hadn't yet started to build in the upshift lockout. Ed