maxim transmission question

[Jean Luc]

Hello,

I have been offered a SWEET deal ($400) on an 82 Maxim 1100. It is in good shape and has never been dropped. I am concerned because first gear is slipping.

Let me explain, when I test rode the bike I could shift into first, and get the bike rolling without issue. As soon as I rolled on the throttle, first seemed to slip and grab, slip and grab. Second gear through fifth were fine, I could roll on the power in each gear without problems.

Is this something that is easily fixed, or should I walk away from this bike? I am REALLY intimidated on tearing apart transmissions (especially without a manual).

Thank you

JL

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there Jean Luc,
Funny you should mention this bike, I just finished doing the 1st gear repair on an 82XJ that a friend had been given, the same problem. The Tranny isn't that complicated, but you will have to take apart the clutch and the gear shift panel as well. There are some difficult screws to remove from the gear shift side that allows access to the counter shaft where the gears you will need to get to reside behind. Also, it's much easier to work on the bike/tranny with the tranny upside down. vs. laying on your back with the bike raised up, things (shift forks)fall out more easily that way, and can be more difficult to put back in the correct way. I turned the bike upside down and had it resting on it's handlebars and metal prongs of the back rest(removed the rubber grab rail). Get several friends to help turn it over, and remove the mirrors/brake/clutch levers. Drain all 3 oil chambers 1st.

There is a great tech tip in the archives here on this web site that were very helpful to me in learning how to perform this repair. Regrettably, unlike the 2nd gear where the slots in the gear are hollow, and relatively easy to get to and grind at a slight angle, the slots in the 1st gear are just recessed, and so it's a little more difficult to get a grinding bit (Dremmel)on it and make a relatively straight or slight reverse angle grind/cut across the lip of the slot, and there are 6 of these that you will need to grind....they get badly rounded off from use/shifting into 1st from neutral.

The "dogs" portion of the opposing gear is relatively easy to get to and do the reverse cut/grind on. You will also need a good "C" ring tool to be able to disassemble the gear shaft.

Where do you live, perhaps others on the list that live nearby might be able to assist you in this endeavor, $400.00 is a "Sweet Deal", and with a few bucks for the Dremmel grinding stones, and gaskets and new oil, filters, etc., you should be able to have a great bike very cheaply!!

[rockyr74]

I would think that if it were slipping in and out of gear that there would be a big loud bang. The gears aren't going to remesh unless they are going the same speed.

If it is a "slipping" and not a "banging", I would guess its the clutch. In my experiences, clutches show their slippage in all gears when one is getting on the throttle - so having the problem in first only is confusing.

Good Luck - four bills sounds like a good deal - you have some room to spend a little, learn a litttle, before you reach terminal value.

If it is a clutch, you are in high cotton. very easy.

[Jean Luc]

Thank you for all your replies.

I picked up my bike yesterday. It runs like a scared cat on carpet

I first need to rebuild (or replace) the rear master cylinder, as it is leaking and not very serviceable. I need to do a GOOD clean up to make it look good.

JL

[strom]

Congrats on your new bike... may she serve u well..
Print out the microfiche.. if u can find one. Alltho I think that the engines were basically the same.
And yes, it sure was a sweet deal.
I got mine for 310$ and it was in crates.

LP

[TopCatGr58]

Originally posted by rockyr74
I would think that if it were slipping in and out of gear that there would be a big loud bang. The gears aren't going to remesh unless they are going the same speed.

If it is a "slipping" and not a "banging", I would guess its the clutch. In my experiences, clutches show their slippage in all gears when one is getting on the throttle - so having the problem in first only is confusing.

Good Luck - four bills sounds like a good deal - you have some room to spend a little, learn a litttle, before you reach terminal value.

If it is a clutch, you are in high cotton. very easy.

Hey there Rocker,
The way these gears "mesh", are not necessarily the way you may be thinking of, the teeth/splines of one into another! The gear's teeth are already meshed into the opposing drive gear/shaft combo when put into a specific gear, but the "dogs"=prongs that stick out of the side of one gear on the same shaft mate with the "Slots" of the gear next to it, and when they aren't holding together very well, they will "slip" apart and then slap back together, with not a very loud bang or grinding sound. His description is "Classic" for the 2nd and 1st gear malady that plagues these bikes, mine had both go bad, 1st, then 2nd. A friend's XJ I just fixed had 1st only, but I back cut the dogs and slots on 2nd to protect against them failing.
As for the clutches, they don't necessarily slip in all gears, because in the lower gears with better leverage, there is less resistance to the torque forces in the clutch, and so they can grab fairly well, but in the higher gears the resistance is greater, and hence the usual 5th gear fade....engine revs higher but bike doesn't go any faster due to slippage.

[rockyr74]

Thanks for the correction on this classic malady - I understand the sprag and dog thing - gotta imagine they get tore up more and more each time they engage and disengage.

Also agree on fifth gear fade being the first sign of clutch trouble. I usually get to the point where the clutch slips in all gears before taking the problem seriously (lazy)!

Is heavy shifting common in these bikes? I have a recently resurrected 80 special and it shifts well, but it is very clunky, like an old BMW (or a milk truck). Not the snick-snick I would expect of a jap bike.

[sixtysix]

ALL XS's are very clunky, nature of the beast.....

[TopCatGr58]

Originally posted by rockyr74
Thanks for the correction on this classic malady - I understand the sprag and dog thing - gotta imagine they get tore up more and more each time they engage and disengage.

Also agree on fifth gear fade being the first sign of clutch trouble. I usually get to the point where the clutch slips in all gears before taking the problem seriously (lazy)!

Is heavy shifting common in these bikes? I have a recently resurrected 80 special and it shifts well, but it is very clunky, like an old BMW (or a milk truck). Not the snick-snick I would expect of a jap bike.

No problem Rocker, glad what I said was understood!!
I think there is a post/link about this tranny and it's shifting quirks here on the web site, can't remember exactly where, but it describes the reasons for the hard shifts, mainly that the drive gear it turning on the shaft even when the clutch is disengaged, and so when you shift, you slide a spinning gear's dogs into the idle-non spinning driving 1st gear, and "CLUNK" when they meet, and the spinning gear has to stop spinning!! There was also a recommendation to reduce the wear on the 1st gear by NOT shifting into neutral when coming to a stop, but into 1st and just sit there with clutch lever pulled, easier to replace clutch plates than gears!! I'm still not sure why the 2nd gear malady occurs much since the bike and gears are already spinning when being engaged, but then it's probably due to statistics, the lower gears are used more often than the higher, more shifts, more wear and tear, and the 2nd gear dogs are not factory reverse cut either, but I was surprised to see the 3rd gear ones were!!

The article was fairly good at explaining how you can "FIND" neutral when shifting from 4th to 5th as well!!! At what RPM do you commonly shift??? And are you using the clutch when shifting, or are you speed shifting sans clutch action???

Aside from the Neutral to 1st shift, and the deliberate action needed to ensure a complete 1st to 2nd shift, my gears don't seem that clunky, but then again I may be used to it!?!? I usually rev to at least 5 or 6k before I up-shift. Other folks have mentioned that their oil helped, changing to a higher /multi-visc type ie. 20-50 vs. 10-40 also helped to smooth the shifting action!?!? YMMV!!