General shaft drive clunkiness

[Racer X]

My '80 Special (26k miles) seems a little clunky when shifting at low speeds. Nothing really serious, just seems to be some slop when I let out the clutch and roll on the gas. Some of it is probably my noviceness as I don't have years and years like some of you guys.

Is this a normal condition? Do I need to adjust something?

[Jerry]

The XS / XJ transmissions are clunky, and were considered so when they were new. Nothing you can adjust, but there are a few things you can check and do.

1. Adjust the clutch cable to make sure the clutch is disengaging properly.
2. When coming up to a stop, shift the bike into 1st gear before you come to a complete stop.
3. Try shifting at different RPMs. Generally shifting above 3K rpm will result in smoother shifts.
4. Some XS / XJ bikes develope a problem of 2nd gear 'skipping'. There is a standard repair for this that you can find on the Tech Tips pages. Look for Ken Talbot's page in the Off-Site links. (Also very good descriptios of how the transmission works is on this page.)
5. Some people who have tried full synthetic oils have reported clutch slippage and / or starter clutch slippage. Stick with a good dino juice or semi-synthetic in your engine.

[Nulle]

Yup my 79 is the same way but works great.