1978 XS 11 special locked up transmission

[obs'r]

One of my dads friends gave me an xs 1100 a year or so ago. He had the bike at a repair shop having the carbs rebuilt. He went to pick up the bike and rode it around the block to see how it ran. He was sitting in the alley in neutral talking to the guy who worked on it when all of a sudden it went into gear. It is now locked up and will only move with the clutch disengaged. I have searched this site and others and found few similar instances so I was wondering if any of you had any idea as to what could be happening. This is the first bike I will really be tearing into but am a mechanic so the job doesn't intimidate me.

By the way this is my first thread so thank you for letting me be a part of your community. I have the 78 1100 and my dad has a 79 xs 11 special that has been around as long as I can remember.

Thank you

[jetmechmarty]

Hmmm. Hopefully, someone who has dealt with this problem will chime in. It sounds to me like it's engaged in two gears at once. Maybe a shift fork is damaged? The good news is that likely you can fix this through the oil pan.

Here's the link to transmission repair section. People smarter than me wrote this stuff.
http://www.xs11.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=39

[BA80]

Does it feel like the shifter is trying to move anything in there?

[BA80]

Seems like I recall something like this happening to another member just not long ago and it turned out that a circlip (snap ring) that held one of the gears in place had slipped out of its groove and allowed a gear to engage.

Like Marty said, you can probably see what's going on if you drop the oil pan. And, most likely fix it from there.

[obs'r]

Thanks for your replies guys. I havent tried to shift it but will. Thanks again

[BA80]

BTW obs'r, there was no Special in 78. You either have a Standard or your bike is a 79.

[TopCatGr58]

BTW obs'r, there was no Special in 78. You either have a Standard or your bike is a 79.

BTW Greg.....You may need to clean your glasses!

He said his bike was the 78, his Dad's was the 79 Special.


Obs'r, can you get more info from your friend that gave/sold you the bike? Like how was the bike running before the carb work, like shifting hard, or was it skipping in/out of gear....1st or 2nd, and was he HOLDING the shift lever with his foot to keep it in gear/from skipping? Yeah, it sounds like 2 gears have been engaged at the same time. Review the Tranny Tech tips. Aside from the circlips on the actual countershaft that keep the gears in place, there are circlips that keep the shift fork shaft in position as well. I remember reading about a fellow Xsive that was just revving his engine and it hopped/shifted into gear and locked up. The more I think about it, I think it was the BOLT that holds the countershaft into the bearing that had worked loose allowing the shaft to shift position a bit!?

T.C.

[BA80]

Read the title of the thread TC.

[TopCatGr58]

DOH!

Actually MY glasses are a bit scratched!!!

Also he could have one of those bikezillas/frankenbikes with special accoutraments on a standard frame??

[BA80]

Ha ha ha ha......isn't that the business your in?

I was well into posting in that thread before I noticed.

obs'r.......what's the VIN # on your bike?

[crazy steve]

Wasn't there an issue with the 'star' washer on the end of the shift drum breaking and causing this too?

[BA80]

Yeah Steve but if the pins fall out it just won't shift, he is saying the trans is locked. Like it's stuck in 2 gears at the same time. At least that's what I gather fom this thread.

[The Lorax]

Could be a broken shift fork, happened to me whilst moving, albeit very slowly and mine wouldn't move even with the clutch disengaged. At least not until after I had it towed home. That was the beginning of a lengthy tear down as the deeper in I got, the more stuff I found messed up, ended up rebuilding the entire engine and transmission. Seems that the reputed "factory back cutting" on replacement gears isn't all that as I do need to get back into my gearbox and re do 2nd gear. Now, when I did mine, I was new to the game and didn't know about the "moving the washer" thing, so I'll likely do that and I do have the old gears still, so I'll grind them and make them ready for install, that should cut down on the time it'll take. I guess it could give different symptoms depending on which fork is broken, I was only able to replace two of mine as one was discontinued. That was maybe 8 or 9 years ago. Just crack the tranny and see what you have, how hard can it be, right? Have a nice day and rude safe