I am having an issue with my 1999 Drifter 1500. When I shift into 2nd it will lurch a few times if I do not get on it and then drops into neutral. If I shift and twist the throttle it pops into neutral immediately. This cold season I plan on tearing it down and am wondering if anyone else has had this happen? I am trying to find a starting point whether it be the fork or the gears themselves. All the other gears are fine and the bike runs good except for having to double shift into 3rd. If I miss 3rd it sounds like I am grinding gears and I usually have to downshift and come back up. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.
This is exactly the reason I got my '01 for $1,000.....Second gear fork bent, but there was other damage, as well. Cluster gear had teeth broken off, and a bunch of metal went through the roller bearings. Parts cost me $850...I had the Kawasaki Dealer do the work, because I don't have the tools, or, at that time, the knowledge about this transmission to get into it...The whole engine has to come apart to rebuild the transmission, so it was $1500 labor...about 10 hours. BIG JOB, certainly not for the faint of heart....lots a parts. The previous owner of my bike was an idiot, and drag raced the thing till he broke it. I've put 21,000 on since I had it done, and it's great....now about that fuel mileage......Hmmmm