I recently picked up a 1995 Kawasaki Bayou 220cc as a good tinker four-wheeler and to make new dirtbike trails. I am a newbie, but rolled through the basics (new headlights and tail lights) new tiresn and i replaced rear hub , (easy stuff) .. the issue now though is the shifting and maybe a bigger problem. After about 10 minutes of riding it becomes almost imposibble to get into neutral, it slams down into reverse at any speed when I down shuft. even if I turn the reverse **** ( I need to replace that cable) but I can't shift up into nuetral it shoots up to 1st.. in the process the engine gets really hot and where the exhuast connects to the engine is leaking some. So main question do I need to adjust the clutch? It's an automatic but it's getting weird. Also when it goes into reverse it doesn't idle it drives about 2 miles an hour I have to old the break. Any advice would be sweet

 

Do adjust the clutch. However going from reverse into 1st is a characteristic of the manual Kawasakis of that era, always stop before changing out of reverse. As you can't, there is a problem with the centrifugal clutch, or you have idle speed set way too high. If it is the centrifugal clutch at fault, you will have to take it apart to find out what is wrong. There is a one way clutch in the centre of the centrifugal which may have seized. When changing down from 1st into neutral, the reverse lock out cable should prevent you going past neutral, unless you twist the ****, if it doesn't, fix it.