Jumping gears.

[TomB]

I used "engineers blue" on each dog, with gears assembled on the shaft, tried all dogs in all slots and ground the dogs until all had equal contact, so all dogs drive regardless of where they mesh.

Black permanent marker pen will do the same job as engineers blue

[jetmechmarty]

IIRC, somebody did show up with broken dogs but the gear was still OEM so it must have been a factory defect or serious abuse...

I broke one on a XS650. The wheel was never worked on, but it was a major influence in my decision to replace my worn dogs with new gears.

[motoman]

I know what you mean, but I can't recall a single instance of that happening. I do know that the metal used is pretty soft (once you grind through the surface hardening) so maybe it's 'malleable' enough to absorb the shock of shifting without breaking.

IIRC, somebody did show up with broken dogs but the gear was still OEM so it must have been a factory defect or serious abuse...

IIRC, that was C.Bug's bike......after the dremal fix. Not tottally sure tho.

[James England]

Could someone tell me what IIRC means please?

I removed the sump pan tonight and had a look round. The sump gasket is OEM and it looks to be the first time the pan has been off. There were only three extremely small pieces of swarf in the gauze strainer and no evidence of anything serious. Encouraging.

I turned the gears and inspected the dogs and slots on the cogs. To my eye, there doesn't appear to be anything amiss. Yes, there is evidence of the dogs and slots meshing but the dogs are all square with no rounding at all. The slots show where the dogs have engaged when fully in position but no apparent wear. The 1st gear 'shelves' again show evidence of the dogs engaging... a shininess but no apparent damage. Since I've got this far, I thought I would remove the transmission and take some pix and see what people think. Good idea? Or do people think perhaps its unnecessary? I've stripped several transmissions from two other engines which were past it and seen much more evidence of wear. I'd hate to attempt the Dremel fix if it is unnecessary.....I might be making a problem by trying to fix a 'problem'! If you see what I mean....

[bikerphil]

Could someone tell me what IIRC means please?

If I remember correctly

[James England]

If I remember correctly

right, got it. Thanks

[BA80]

FYI and FWIW look HERE James

[jetmechmarty]

James,

If it were mine, and it looks in good order, I think I would do the washer move and button it back up. That should make it good from now on.

[IanDMacDonald]

.....I might be making a problem by trying to fix a 'problem'! If you see what I mean....

Says the guy swapping-out header studs for titanium ones just because . . .

[James England]

Says the guy swapping-out header studs for titanium ones just because . . .

Yeah but on the XJR weight reduction made it worthwhile..... Just. But after what I went through today, I'd not do it again, just to save 40g.

[crazy steve]

Shoot few pics of the gears installed before you go to the hassle of removing them...

[TomB]

When folk buy a bike to restore I always recommend getting it running first, take it out for a ride and see how it performs in terms of gearbox, charging, handling, general engine noise.

Once you have a comprehensive idea of what needs doing then start the restoration. A ride out can highlight hidden problems that can be sorted during the resto, rather than finding them on the first ride after a lot of work.

I have a new bike sat waiting for a resto, its a frame and engine sat in my garage, I'll be assembling it up with enough parts to take for a ride before pulling the engine.

James, the sort of questions you ask now would have been answered by a ride.

[James England]

When folk buy a bike to restore I always recommend getting it running first, take it out for a ride and see how it performs in terms of gearbox, charging, handling, general engine noise.

Once you have a comprehensive idea of what needs doing then start the restoration. A ride out can highlight hidden problems that can be sorted during the resto, rather than finding them on the first ride after a lot of work.

I have a new bike sat waiting for a resto, its a frame and engine sat in my garage, I'll be assembling it up with enough parts to take for a ride before pulling the engine.

James, the sort of questions you ask now would have been answered by a ride.

yes, I realise that but the bike was unrideable, with non-functioning brakes, rough running, no tax, MoT or insurance. And 10 year old tyres. I did think of chancing it but the consequences of slamming into something or somebody or getting pulled by the police didn't seem worth it. Bit of a Catch 22 but at least I'm still alive I suppose in theory, it should be possible to assess it dismantled. I agree, not ideal, but the best I could do under the circumstances, given the rarity and cost of these bikes here in the UK.

Nightmare scenario is doing all the work and then finding something amiss but the tranny fix can be done with the engine in the bike, I believe...tricky but possible.

On balance, I think it's probably the only way to go on this one. And, if the engine did need to come out for some reason, at least I'd be working on a clean bike. I do know the engine runs, with the usual top end noise but don't know if it burns oil or whatever.

I'm probably just being overly cautious re the gears but, as you've pointed out, I don't really want to have to remove the engine a second time if a bit of time and money spent now could avoid something.

Ultimate nightmare scenario would be fitting a donor engine to a fully restored bike! Then breaking the other for spares but that really is being negative.......

By the way, since the engine is out of the bike and I cannot lock the rear wheel with a piece of wood etc, I'm wondering how to gets the clutch centre nut undone to allow removal of the transmission. I presume a clutch centre holder will be required???

[James England]

Shoot few pics of the gears installed before you go to the hassle of removing them...

Here's some...

[TomB]

The gears look very low mileage, still showing machining marks, the dogs and slots look good too, from what I can see.

Another reason for a ride would be bent selector forks, yours look good though.

Another worry I'd have is how straight is the frame on a bike this old with many PO's, I know of one XS1100 restorer who did a beautiful job on his bike but found the frame was slightly bent on his first ride, he didn't notice during resto.

I know what you're saying about the bike being unrideable, mines a frame and engine, its still going to be assembled and ridden before any money is spent.