Blown Transmission?

[DGXSER]

As others hav stated, the valve train on this beast is noisy. I doubt that top end noise is related to your current situation.

One of the lures of this bike is that it is alot of CCs and HP for not alot of money, So many buy the old big bike for cheap, and find out there is more than one reason it was left to sit in someones barn, field, yard for years. And it does get a little discouraging when every time you think you got it ready to rock, another issue reveals itself.

Now for the good news, the parts on these bikes are not realtively expensive. Go to fleabay and you can easily find a FD for less than $50. The Middle drive is going for a bit more, but there is one for $50 right now. Now if it is the tranny, that will take a little more work for sure, and more money, right now the going rate is about $100 for the full set of tranny gears on the bay.

First thign first though, use the info here to figure out what the problem is. As to being a noob, no worries. With all the smart folks on here, its like having a master emchanic looking over your shoulder and guiding you through the work. Whatever you get into with it, use the manual and the tech tips on here, if your not sure or have a question come on here and ask it. Some might give you crap about looking it up in the manual or something but you will get the info you need. Rather see you ask what may seem like a stupid question, than cause yourself hours of torture over doing something wrong..

[natemoen]

First thign first though, use the info here to figure out what the problem is. As to being a noob, no worries. With all the smart folks on here, its like having a master emchanic looking over your shoulder and guiding you through the work. Whatever you get into with it, use the manual and the tech tips on here, if your not sure or have a question come on here and ask it. Some might give you crap about looking it up in the manual or something but you will get the info you need. Rather see you ask what may seem like a stupid question, than cause yourself hours of torture over doing something wrong..

+1! Just as ling as you don't ask the master emchanics to spell

[BA80]

Pictures help a lot too.

[DGXSER]

Typist or master mechanic, I never claimed to be either!!

[natemoen]

Typist or master mechanic, I never claimed to be either!!

Hahaha!

[ddragon63]

+1! Just as ling as you don't ask the master emchanics to spell

[steelraider]

Start at the "U" joint. Odds are it is the problem !!

[JoshKeast]

When changing the oil, I pulled this drain plug thinking it was for the engine oil, I got nothing but a little bit of sludge out, I was stumped but overlooked it. Now that I've just found out that was for the middle drive, and nothing came out meaning it was bone dry, and with my current situation...

Does all of this put together indicate that the middle drive is most likely my problem?

[BA80]

That would be my guess.......

The engine oil drain plug is in the front of the oil pan near the oil filter canister.

[Rasputin]

I would pull the bolts from the u joint. If the problem is at the final drive then you will know. If the middle drive has been run low on oil and has siezed when you put it in gear and let the clutch out it will stop same as you are already experiencing. If you take out the middle drive it will not spin freely if it is the problem. Couple of bolts and you will know, so not all that much work.
I have a couple of middle drives here available for shipping cost but they wiegh a bit so that might get a bit expensive from here. Only way to find that out would be to PM me your address and I will check it out.

[JoshKeast]

i will let you know as soon as i can get it home and do some tinkering.

[ddragon63]

That would be my guess.......

The engine oil drain plug is in the front of the oil pan near the oil filter canister.

+1..... I think you found your issue buddy

[DGXSER]

Yeah, gearboxes tend to work better with lubricant. That little piece of info just about seals the deal on it being the middle drive. Good news is, it did not just completely lock up on you at 70 MPH on the superslab! That would not have worked out nearly as well for you.

Might as well start with disconnecting the U-joint at this point as it is step one in removing the middle drive anyway.

[trbig]

I would pull the bolts from the u joint.

Just reading through this for the first time today, and this is what I was going to say also. If you pull back that rubber boot on the back side of your middle drive where the U-joint is, there are 4 12mm bolts holding the U-joint yolk to your middle drive. Remove those bolts, but don't pull the two pieces apart. There's a little lip on the U-joint yolk that will keep the two pieces in line but will let them spin against each other while you move the bike around to where you need it. Otherwise, your U-joint will flip around in there and maybe jam up on something.

If you do this and the bike still won't move, it's the final drive, but it does sound like your middle drive... and yes, you are extremely fortunate that it didn't lock up at highway speed.

There are always debates on what brand, weight, and type of oil to use. Everyone has a favorite and a reason, but it's unanomous that you simply need SOME SORT of oil in them. The engine, middle drive, and final drive are all their own seperate units and need to be checked. I've heard of a couple lock-ups at speed on these bikes from middle and final drive lack of oil failures, but not many. I wonder if it's because of over the years, it's killed several of them when it happened, so they couldn't warn others of it? Yup... it's THAT important. Not trying to crack on just you, but if a guy owns a bike and isn't even sure where the oil fill/drain points are, they shouldn't be riding. ESPECIALLY if they pull a plug, get sludge out, and then shrug their shoulders, re-install the plug and keep riding. Now go hug your family, because someone was watching out for you.

[CaptonZap]

I agree with what TRBIG says, with this one exception.
The fact that the bike could be pushed 5-6 feet before binding up indicates that the final drive can turn almost one revolution. (The circumference of the rear tire is about 5-6 feet)
If the middle drive was toast, it would have to turn over approximately two turns to allow that much travel at the back tire.
My first guess would be the final drive. If the PO was so lax in maintenance, the final drive could be as low on sludge as the middle drive.
Either way, the first order of business is to take out the four u-joint bolts, and go from there. CZ