Broke down and towed back home

[trbig]

"Do not glide for long periods with the engine off, and do not tow the machine a long distance. Even with gears in neutral, the transmission is only properly lubricated when the engine is running. Inadequate lubrication may damage the transmission."

- Straight out of the Owner's Manual.

Well color me wrong.. again, but could someone explain why? It makes no sense to me. That seems a lot like "Don't jump start your bike from a running vehicle!"

[dbeardslee]

Well color me wrong.. again, but could someone explain why? It makes no sense to me. That seems a lot like "Don't jump start your bike from a running vehicle!"

Dunno, but I'll make a guess. You've got two sets of gears in the tranny, and the set towards the front sits a bit lower than the set in the rear. When the engine is running (in neutral) the primary chain is turning the primary shaft and the lower set of gears in the front will be going around, but disconnected from the rear set (if that makes any sense). When the engine isn't running but the bike is rolling the rear (higher) set of gears is going around but the front set is not. Could it be that the rear set is too high to splash in the oil?

Again, just a guess.

[CaptonZap]

Duct tape the clutch handle to the grip, so that the clutch is dis engaged, and put it in neutral.

CZ

[BA80]

Duct tape the clutch handle to the grip, so that the clutch is dis engaged, and put it in neutral.

CZ

Huh? What would the clutch have to do with anything if the transmission is in neutral?

[bikerphil]

When the engine is running, oil is pumped thru the transmission gearshafts, lubing the inner area of the gears.

[trbig]

When the engine is running, oil is pumped thru the transmission gearshafts, lubing the inner area of the gears.

Nope. No oil lines/routes going to there and shafts aren't hollow. The only thing that gets pressured oil is the crank and cams.

[BA80]

When the engine is running, oil is pumped thru the transmission gearshafts, lubing the inner area of the gears.

Oil is pumped to the bearings for the shafts, not through the shaft itself. The rest is reliant on oil sling for lubrication.

That being said, in a towing situation with the transmission in neutral there is no significant stress on any transmission part. The primary shaft doesn't turn then so those ball bearings need no oil. The main and the drive axle will be spun to a certain extent as the rear wheel turns.

With the engine not running the crankcase will be filled to it's highest point since the oil pump isn't drawing from it. The gears on the drive axle will be in the oil therefor slinging it up lubricating other components as the rear wheel is turning while being towed.

I suppose damage is possible if the bike was towed a long distance but not very likely. Short distances will not be an issue.

I had a tow setup on my car years ago that hooked to the hitch. The front wheel sat in a carrier and the rear wheel was on the ground when towed. The bike was a 79 Honda CX500, basically the same setup as the XS. Shafty 5 speed with the trans lubed by the crankcase oil. I towed that bike a lot and never had an issue.

Just saying. Make your own choices.

[BA80]

Nope. No oil lines/routes going to there and shafts aren't hollow. The only thing that gets pressured oil is the crank and cams.

There are oil galleys to the ball bearings for the shafts, Tod, but oil doesn't flow through the axles themselves.

[dbeardslee]

I had a tow setup on my car years ago that hooked to the hitch. The front wheel sat in a carrier and the rear wheel was on the ground when towed. The bike was a 79 Honda CX500, basically the same setup as the XS. Shafty 5 speed with the trans lubed by the crankcase oil. I towed that bike a lot and never had an issue.

Dry weight on a 79 CX500 is 452 pounds. Dry weight on an XS11 is 568 pounds, and the front end isn't the strongest in the world. Between that and the warning in the manual, if I have to tow mine it's on something that gets both wheels off the ground. You might be able to get away with it, but there have been too many times in my life that I've gotten lucky in reverse. These days I try to err on the side of caution.

[BA80]

I was referring to the towability of the transmission Doug.

[CaptonZap]

Huh? What would the clutch have to do with anything if the transmission is in neutral?

Belt and suspenders approach. With the clutch disengaged, there should be no movement/ rotation of anything except the shaft that connects the driven clutch hub that is connected to the middle drive input shaft.

CZ

[BA80]

When the transmission is in neutral the clutch is completely disengaged from the rest of the transmission. If the clutch is moving when the trans is in neutral and the engine not running;

1) the engine will be turning

2) you have a bigger problem than you originally thought

[adelii]

So does anybody know where i can but some coils? am i stuck buying used parts on ebay?

how do i check if couls are messed up?

[BA80]

http://www.xs11.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=35

[motoman]

So does anybody know where i can but some coils? am i stuck buying used parts on ebay?

how do i check if couls are messed up?

Would NEVER buy s used set of OEM coils that ohm resistance couldn't be checked first......by you the buyer! With the stock OEM coils, that is still no guarantee they will keep working as they should. As far as used coils, your best option is a set of VFR Honda coils. They ARE plug'n' play, separate plug wires of your choice, and Honda coils very rarely go bad internally. A few yrs. back, I replaced the original 3ohm coils on my Venturer with a set of used VFR coils I bought locally and checked ohm resistance prior to purchase. They both checked out at 3ohms. My original coils had internal resistance which put them at 1.4ohms.......not good and had a weak spark at plugs. Remember also that 78-79 models use 1.5ohm coils. 80-XJ models use 3ohm coils.