Hey guys,

I'm new here and recently purchased the bike above. Not knowing it when I bought it, it has a bad transmission. I am aware of the transmission problems with these bikes. I took mine to an expert mechanic and he said I would be better off replacing the motor.

My question is will a '98 or newer motor fit my 97? I know they made this motor for the 96-97 years only and changed it for 98, most likely because of the issues with the transmission.

Any suggestions would be a big help.

Martigan

 

wow, not sure. What did your expert mechanic say about the motor swap? Good luck on the research. Welcome to KF

 

not sure,

my 97 1500 classic has no second gear.. be cautious about an "engine" swap. because really your engine since the transmission and the engine are one piece. as is you need to split the engine in 2 pieces to access the trans. so you might as well over haul the whole thing since your gonna have it all apart. a Kawasaki dealer told me this because the whole engine has to come apart. so I would feel better rebuilding what I have and know what's wrong with it then swapping out for something that may be worse