cant get into 5th

[CHRISTIANH626]

Hi everyone, I suddenly lost 5th gear. When I try to shift from 4 to 5 its like hitting a brick wall... Very frustrated. Haven't taken anything apart... Never worked on a bike like this. Its my first xs11
Also I don't know if it related but when coming down from 2nd gear to 1st it stops at neutral and I have to go up to 2nd then back to 1st.
So far 5th gear situation is driving me nuts. Help and thanks

[TomB]

I recently had exactly the same problem, the same pin is used when changing down in second and first so I had the crap neutral finding too. Here's the write I did when fixing it.......

I went for a spin with the new battery to give it a good charge .....into 1st, set -off, 2nd, 3rd, top.....

EH!!!! TOP!!! why the bloody 'ell is 4th TOP!!! wheres 5th???? stopped tried all gears, nope only 4 ............BOLLOX!!!

Got home, took off the selector outer cover, found the little pin from the drum sat in the bottom of the case and the little retainer bent. What the hell causes that to bend out and let the pin come out?? Tried straightening it and it snapped, its hard as hell and brittle

The only thing I can think is its quite a shove from 4th to 5th now I've undercut 4th gear, wonder if thats hard work on the pin?

I did a small mod to repair the selector drum and keep the pin in place.

Here is the broken keep plate, I tried welding it but its brittle as hell and snapped again


The pin just about to be shoved back in, I found the pin in the bottom of the gear selector cover


New little extra keep plate dowled and bolted on top


It had to be trimmed so the selector arm could pass over it and it not foul the selector arm top and bottom stops


5 gears again now :yipee:


.

[WMarshy]

Your having problems with your shift drum and or shift paw. See this thread it should help you.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ight=Shift+Paw

[DGXSER]

Certainly will not hurt to look at the return spring, and pawl alignment. My guess is your problem is a pin come loose as Tom says. Nice fix and write up Tom, never had any problems with this, but also never heard of that plate breaking. You must be brutalizing that shifter.

[CHRISTIANH626]

Thanks guys

I WILL GET TO IT when i get off work today

[Yard Dogg]

I had the same problem with my star plate. I ended up cutting off the broken tabs completely. Then I made a new one out of thicker metal and welded it to the top of the 1/8th inch piece. I couldn't use the washer with the bent tab, so I used blue thread lock to keep the bolt in.

[CHRISTIANH626]

solution for now

I finally took it apart and couldn't find the pin so I went to ace hardware and the closest match to my 4 gear pin was a drill bit I cut down to size ....perfect fit but when I went to bend the piece that holds the pin it almost snapped ... Halfway broke I put the cover back on and am waiting for it to snap totally off while I enjoy 5th gear, hopefully I find a new star plate first lol

[Yard Dogg]

I finally took it apart and couldn't find the pin so I went to ace hardware and the closest match to my 4 gear pin was a drill bit I cut down to size ....perfect fit but when I went to bend the piece that holds the pin it almost snapped ... Halfway broke I put the cover back on and am waiting for it to snap totally off while I enjoy 5th gear, hopefully I find a new star plate first lol

Cut the broken tabs off and leave the other 4 that mount flush on the shift cam because those don't break. Get a piece of 12 gauge steel and cut a piece to hold the pins for 4th and 5th. Then use the center bolt to hold it. You can use a lock washer and blue thread lock to make sure the bolt doesn't wiggle out. Make sure you spray out the thread hole with carb cleaner first. The pin probably went down into your oil pan. I should have taken pics of my fix but I already put the cover on.

[CHRISTIANH626]

thanks for all the help guys... ill post pics as i do my cafe conversion thanks again

[motoman]

Your having problems with your shift drum and or shift paw. See this thread it should help you.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ight=Shift+Paw

+1........and likely the keeper on other side of shift fork shaft is layin' in the pan. If this starts hapenin' from lousey/lazy shifts, the clutch side needs to come off and inspect to see if keeper is still on and the retaining roll pin in shaft is not buggered. Continue riding, or litterally putting a band-aid(as pics showed) on will only cost you more down the road.

[Yard Dogg]

Are you talking about the pics o this thread or the other one?

[motoman]

Are you talking about the pics o this thread or the other one?

This one.....

[motoman]

I finally took it apart and couldn't find the pin so I went to ace hardware and the closest match to my 4 gear pin was a drill bit I cut down to size ....perfect fit but when I went to bend the piece that holds the pin it almost snapped ... Halfway broke I put the cover back on and am waiting for it to snap totally off while I enjoy 5th gear, hopefully I find a new star plate first lol

Mother Yammy has all the pins and star plates.........

[Yard Dogg]

That star plate is a weak design. That's why it's such a common fix. I feel a lot better about having thicker steel in there after my home fix. Just saying.

[WMarshy]

That star plate is a weak design. That's why it's such a common fix. I feel a lot better about having thicker steel in there after my home fix. Just saying.

I dont believe this is a common problem, it does come up time to time but it's nothing I condsider common like the clutch slip issue... probably not that bad of a design considering it lasted 30 years in this clunky transmission.