Tranny problems Poll.

[John]

Lay it over. Hell if you can, flip it upside down like we used to do with bicycles, that will make it very easy to access the trans. You don't want to do this laying under it...yuck...all that oil dripping down all in your face...

[Dennyz]

Michael,

The last time I did it by raising the front wheel up (engine puller) and worked on the tranny vertical. I found I did not have to fight gravity so much when putting the stuff back in. Plus I did it all sitting on a shop stool.

[skids]

You make me jelous with your shop equipment.

Originally posted by Dennyz
Michael,

The last time I did it by raising the front wheel up (engine puller) and worked on the tranny vertical. I found I did not have to fight gravity so much when putting the stuff back in. Plus I did it all sitting on a shop stool.

[mitch]

Tranny

Remove the gas tank, seat , battery , mirrors, Drain all fluids middle drive and rear end as well as oil. Then turn the sucker up side down very eazy to work on as its at waist hieght and everything falls into place . Its also a good time to change all your fluids so ur ready to rock when u get her back together ...............MITCH

[Pat Kelly]

Well now my E with 25,000 miles is starting to 'jump' in 2nd gear only (WOT above 6k RPM).
My LG with 26,000 miles is fine.

[red bandit]

i have a 79 standard, 35,000 mi. no tranny problems.
i bought a 79 special 15,000 mi. this winter. you had to baby it just to get moving in 1st.
you couldnt keep the bike moving in 2nd, it was BAD.
did the dremmel fix...no problems
when you give the gas....HOLD ON

[lsippell]

I bought my XJ with 31,000 miles on it. Didn't even ride it. Just took it apart and rebuilt it, including the 2nd. gear fix.

Louis

[MAXIMAN]

My XJ has 12,000 miles. No problems but then it's pratically new.

However a friend of mine here in OK bought one new in '82 (XJ1100) He put 91,000 miles on it in 9 years...mostly long road trips. He never had a single problem with it. He even said he had the dealer run the valves 4 or 5 times in that period and the first time it took a shim was at 80,000. He had the carbs checked for sync everytime they ran the valves. He said the carbs never did need re-synchronization even after 90,000 miles... ....I'm just reporting what I heard.

Anyway no gear problems with that Maxim after 90K.

It amazes me these old air cooled honkers are remarkably reliable if maintained properly.

[missinglink]

Got an '80G with 44k on the clock. Bought it from a kid that was going off to college back in '81 with just over 1k miles. I'm sure he wasn't too kind to her, small dent in tank and bald rear tire, etc. Never had any tranny problems. It is true that you have to be firm with the shifter and it klunks when you put it into first if the revs are up a little. Other than that, she has never left me walkin'.

[GNEPIG]

out of the 12 or so xs11s that ive owned only three of them came to me with out tranny problems.. one developed the problem after i got it, and one i sold before noticing any problems
.. but thats how i get these bikes, with problems no one else wants to/knows how to/or can afford to fix and they sit in peoples back yards for years before i get them
.. ive only gotten one that was nice it was abadoned in a storage place, i didnt have to do much to it and no trans problems yet
its a 79 special with 24,000 miles
all of these bikes where 78, 79 and 80 specials and not specials

[mikej-t]

My XJ had serious first gear problems when I bought it, with 17,000 miles on it. I replaced 1st, 2nd 4th and 5th gears, and now it's good. I roll the bike forward slightly when shifting into first from neutral, especially when the motor's cold. This helps everything into place and absorbs someof the load. Also, when shifting from 3rd to 4th, which is a hard shift in this gearbox, I find it smoother to do a 'clutchless' shift. Try it and see.

I laid the bike over on its side to get to the 'box. Very easy, resting the right hand engine casing on a block of wood. This is fine and can be done single handed. I drained carbs and took off the tank and battery for safety.

Mike.

[7911special]

well on my 79 special, the tranny need a new first and second gear, new shift drum and also a new shift fork at around 10k. My dad informed me he has test the bike greatly so he knows it shoudl be reliable for me, but the cause of the issue was riding wheelings through first then shifting into second and continuing the wheeling.

Well now that i have the bike i have put 10k miles on it and up to 50k total on the biike. I have a kind pop out of first and 7 grand or so when getting on it hard but it stays in first just jumps for a second. It has the clunk into first but if i roll it ever so slightly before putting it in it is fine.

I am only the third owner since my dad had it bfore me and the guy before that pretty much totaled it, my dad put in a new frame and also straightend the shocks out.....only major work i can remem is new timing chain recently and a rebuilt set of carbs, oh and we jsut shimmed the vavles, still a little losse but better than too tight

[graybird78]

trans problems ???

It sounds to me that most of us have aquired our bikes with trans problems already there. I think that most p.o. just plain neglect these fine machines. oil is the life blood of these bikes. I work in a cage shop for a living. It amazes me the amount of cars that come in with little or no oil in them. most people don't check fluid levels. some people even complain when their engines make noise, but do little to have them serviced regularly. I personnally check the fluid levels on all my vehicles on a regular basis. even between services. my bike gets checked at least 2 times a week. I thinks bikes are a little worse off cuz oil is the lube for the motor and trans. oil level gets low and something has to suffer. I could rant on this subject for hrs. it is always best to check the fluids at least 2 times a week. I work hard for my money and want to get the most out of what i have. so for me it's easier to keep up on maint. than to have a failure and cost me more than it should. I know murphy's law but i do what i can to keep that to a minimum. sorry for the rant, but i work on car's for my living and i see some of the worst neglect and abuse owners can dish out.

[graybird78]

oops. forgot to say i own a 80 sg with 32k,and no trans problems at this time.

[Special Ed]

Trans?

Tranny? Oil? Maybe. The bike is at my wrenches shop, so it isn't right here to check: but I swear, no sign of any problem. I shut it off, an hour later I go to start it and it acts like something is jamming it. I have been checking the oil, but after checking it religiously for a couple of years, and seeing that it dosn't loose a drop, I quit checking it as often as I had.
I will definately post when I find out what the problem is. Thanks for the input!
Liberty