Tranny problems Poll.

[bikerhawk]

GNEPIG:

Let me know what you find out...sounds exactly like what mine did before I swapped out the motor. But I still have it and it runs strong, so I'd love to fix the tranny...I just got tired of taking off in 3rd gear (THAT was a real PITA in the Rockies & Black Hills a couple of years ago).

My first guess? Bent shift fork. No, I'm not putting $$$ on it.

[bikerhawk]

Originally posted by xs650mike
And it ain't just the tranny, there's a lot of slop in the driveline. That, coupled with the hair trigger off-idle throttle response had me feeling like a novice at parking lot speeds. I was dabbing my feet a lot until I was told (by a Harley rider, no less!) to ride the rear brake a bit to take up the driveline lash. My tranny seems a little smoother since I switched to Shell Rotella T, clutch is grippier too.

A trick I picked up somewhere (it might have been here) is to drag your index finger on the kill switch housing while twisting the throttle. Just move the finger over to the left a bit...the added resistance helps me be smoother on the throttle.

It might have been on the Y-triple list where I got that...I think it was before I got my 11. The triples do the same thing, especially in 1st gear in the lot.

[xs650mike]

Parking lot manuevers with feet on the pegs

With the rear brake slightly on you can keep the throttle open just past the point where it suddenly "switches on" and control speed with the rear brake (or the clutch, if you prefer). Smoooooth, even circling at 1 or 2 mph, and the driveline lash is always taken up. You can just keep your feet on the pegs.

[wingnut]

Shifting Skills

I’ve just put the first 100 miles on the SH since I got it. It’s been 20 years since I’ve ridden an 1100, or any thing else for that matter, and I feel like I’m tearing things up every time I shift it. No jumping out of gear and I agree that you must shift positively or you will find the false neutral real quickly. But the clunking is load even thru the full face helmet I wear. I’ve noticed 2 distinct sounds while moving up thru the gears under what I consider standard acceleration. The first I think is the dogs engaging (I do remember this from the 1980 special I bought new). The second I blame on my poor throttle control which sounds like backlash in the drive line. Sometimes I can make it go into gear on an up shift smooth as silk with no load noise. Just sometimes. I’ve changed the middle and rear fluids and just found the Valvoline 20w50 which will go in this weekend. Maybe TC’s shift pawl alignment will help. With some practice maybe I’ll stop sounding like a top loading ford 4 speed with no synchronizers

[John]

These things just clunk when shifting. 1-2 shift is the loudest, but having had a machine shop do the undercutting on my trans gears, I don't have to worry about it jumping out. I rarely use the clucth to upshift, only on the 1-2 shift, or accelerating hard, and I can easily just snick it into 4th and 5th, with barley a sound, if I'm not accelerating hard. Downshifting can be a little noisy too. I just accept it as part of owning an old bike. The clunking doesn't bother me, I'm used to it.

[LoserShoes]

Re: Shifting Skills

Originally posted by wingnut
like a top loading ford 4 speed with no synchronizers

Actually thats a pretty good description of the XS tranny

Steve

[wingnut]

Top Loader

At least with the four speed I knew what the cause was. Many many 6.4K RPM power shifts with no clutch. I put the Valvoline 20w50 in yesterday. This stuff works pretty good. It took away some of the top end noise and I can tell the differance in the trans. Shifting is smoother and the clunk has been reduced to a level I can live with Still going to try the aligement thing. See if that reduces the noise.

[BLUEJEEPLAB]

The big toe on my left foot has a great callous on it from the 1 - 2 shift

[xs650mike]

Originally posted by BLUEJEEPLAB
The big toe on my left foot has a great callous on it from the 1 - 2 shift

Goodness gracious (as Rummy would say), mine isn't nearly that bad! It's clunky but not hard to shift if I'm reasonably positive about it. Maybe it's because it's well broken-in.

[The Lorax]

I Have a '79 Standard, no 2nd Gear when I bought it, third would slip under hard accel. broke a shift fork and locked up the trans. over the winter, opened it and every gear in it has significant wear to the dogs or slots or both. am in process of complete engine / Trans. Rebuild.... my first time this deep into any engine...Kinda scary but, I figure what the heck, I can't make it any worse.......

[GNEPIG]

.. for your poll= first and second gears out together

.. broken shift fork for second gear. one leg of the fork broke off and when i'd try to down shift into second it would pop out of the groove and stick. third gear would disengage but second would not move, thats why it acts like it's in neutal.
.. i have a motor on the floor with about 23k miles on it i'm going to stuff back in.. this motor [with the broken shift fork]has over 85k on it, i will make it a 1200cc later

[mainlylinux]

My bike currently has no problems with the tranny, but the only thing original on the bike is the tach and speedometer I think :-)

Motor's been replaced twice at least for tranny problems, frame's been replaced once do to a lady driving into it with her car.

Dan

[ag9123]

XS Tranny Service Bulletin

This has probably been posted already but here goes anyway... During my years as a Yamaha mechanic, I installed a washer behind the main shaft that shims the gear cluster over a few millimeters or so as described in a service bulletin. This improves the engagement of 2nd gear and may be enough to restore proper shifting if done early enough. Some trannies are too far gone for this to work but it may be worth a try. there is very little disassembly required to install it though the details are a bit hazy after all these years...

[GNEPIG]

.. this would be very cool if someone could find a copy of this bulletin.. if said someone was to find such a bulletin and post it on a website, say like on this one, this someone would most certinly be excelerated past Guru-ness, strait to XS God like status!

[mro]

Hi ag9123

Welcome to XS land

Amazing number of newbies just since I joined.
Also some very knowledgeable/talented people too.

Would be very cool should you remember the details and post them



mro