Looking for a Mechanic

[mrjoshuad28]

I recently traded an old Honda for an '81 XS11. There were no problems with the bike at first but within the week I was having trouble shifting from 1st gear to 2nd. Frantically I decided to search for answers on the internet and thankfully stumbled on this site. It appears that I am having the infamous 2nd gear problem with my bike. I am no mechanic nor do I have any tools or a place to work unfortunately. I live in the Lexington, KY area and I am looking for a mechanic to fix my bike. If there are any of you familiar with fixing this problem in my area interested in making some money then let me know.

Thanks

[tw1980]

Sorry you're having problems with your bike already.Welcome aboard!

[trbig]

I recently traded an old Honda for an '81 XS11.

Good trade.

We're not in your area, but I could work on it in Oklahoma, or a couple other guys in Kansas City could do it.


Tod

[CatatonicBug]

Welcome to the forum. I wish I was closer, as that fix would take a Saturday afternoon, and you'd be back on the road! To be honest, I suggest you start purchasing a few tools here and there, and build your selection so you can work on your bike yourself. This won't be tha last thing you need to work on with this bike, so it's best to be prepared. It doesn't take more than a driveway worth of space to work on a bike, and you have all the necessary information you will ever need right here on this forum. That 2nd gear fix was the first thing I EVER did to a bike. It was also the first time I had ever seen the inside of a transmission of any kind. It took me a few hours, and it was done! Thanks to the instructions in the tech tips, along with some elbow grease, it wasn't all that hard.

[Larrym]

Other owners Locator

Take a look at this:

http://www.xs11.com/index.php/members/member-locator

It doesn't have everyone listed but it's a start.

[barberad]

Take a look at this:

http://www.xs11.com/index.php/members/member-locator

It doesn't have everyone listed but it's a start.

On my computer it does not have ANYONE listed!
Dan

[barberad]

I'm good now. wouldn't get thru the firewall. all clear.

[MindWebs]

aarg...

i only found 3 on the map in that area

exquized1, Dixon IL
Michael Atkinson, Flanagan, IL
Larry, Pana, IL

I don't know any of these guys so it's up to you..

you can try contacting them if you want.

i wish i could be more help..

Webs

[Larrym]

Good Grief!

Yeah...I know.

Sad thing is that I'll be taking another "continental tour" this January and using this "FRAP" to see if there's anybody in the area I'm in. I'm sure that there's more owners out there but if they aren't on the locator then they don't exist.

Can't see them in order to contact 'em to get or give assistance.

[DGXSER]

Welcome to the site and to world of XS owners. Lexington is closer to Cincinnati than Chillicothe I think. We have a member of our "local" XS owners group who lives in Chillicothe area and comes to Cincy for work on their bike. Cincy is alot closer than any Illinois area for sure.

We periodically have a group repair session around here. So if you can wait a bit till "class" is in session, and get it here to Cincy area, I would think we could make something happen on that. We have a few folks who could do that repair, I did mine also about one month after I got it. Even knew about the issue from reading here before I bought it, I just did not realize how hard I had to get on it for it to reveal itself.

Anyway, yeah, there are folks here in Cincy who could help you out, most likely anyway. I travel for work so much it is hard to pin me down for time (he type sform a hotel room in Louisville). It is much better though to show you how and let you do the work if you want to learn it. BTW, got any pictures, be nice to see what it looks like and how corroded things might be ahead of time.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Joshua,

You say in your post that you were having problems shifting FROM 1st to 2nd, not that your bike was SKIPPING in and out of gear either in 1st or 2nd??

Can you elaborate more on the symptoms you are experiencing??? IF the clutch isn't adjusted right, it can make the shifting difficult. Also, what RPM are you running it up to before trying to shift gears? Also what type of oil is in the bike...single weight, multi-visc, what weight, what type, Dino or SYNTH?

Yes, the later models of the Xs11 and XJ11 seem to be more prone to 1st gear failing and skipping in and out FIRST, and THEN 2nd gear not far behind, whereas the earlier models seemed to develop 2nd gear failure first!?

Just wanted to clarify the problem, and not assume it from too little info?
T.C.

[MindWebs]

Adjustments

just to add confussion..

i have a Neutral inbetween 3rd and 4th

he may try adjusting the shifter lever down.

this will allow you to pull the level "more" and better engage the gears..

i have had to do this on 3 bikes now... it's just something you have to adjust to the rider.

[trbig]

i have a Neutral inbetween 3rd and 4th

You'll have a false neutral between all the gears (Except for 1st/2nd which is of course the REAL neutral)

This is usually overcome by being a bit more aggressive on the shifting. These old clunky transmissions seem to prefer a strong shift. As I stated in another post, I'm well into redline when I shift when I'm riding hard. I keep waiting for spark plugs to shoot out when I miss a shift and hit that false neutral sometimes... but so far so good. It has to be shooting up to 12-14k rpm sometimes.

Anyway.. sometimes the ol' girls like to be treated rough. Sometimes the bikes do also..

Tod

[Trainzz]

Hey Tod

Terri just glanced at your post...............

You are a dead man walking around.

[trbig]

Ehh.. I've seen her. She doesn't scare me physically, and I don't have to live with her. So... no fear!

AND... tell her no more margaritas until she loses the attitude! (Then she can get one AFTER the margaritas!) lol.


Tod

(We now return you to your regularly scheduled program..)