Tranny problems Poll.

[l.arend]

Tranny

My 82 1100 Maxim started at about 50KWould slip out of 1st gear when dropping the hammer.Within 1 1000 milewould slip out of first all the time.Tore down,replaced 1,2,4 and 5 gears ,also one shift fork had wear.Works good

[fredintoon]

How far has it really gone?

My XS11SG bears evidence that it has been sadly neglected by several POs but the speedo SAYS only ~25,000 KM which is mebbe 16,000 miles. If the speedo is the one that came with the bike and if the bike wasn't run for years with a broken speedo cable so the mileage is accurate I should be good for many a mile yet before tranny problems set in?
Right?
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[jetmechmarty]

Hi Fred! I ride mine hard enough and I'm nearing 40K miles. It has popped out of first a few times, but never if I am deliberate in my shifting.

[Gyrogearloose]

Ridin' too hard?

My 80 special is (was) a thrill goin' thru 1st and 2nd, hard on it. Then the fateful time I experienced a 2nd gear problem. Well, the clutch had slipped before when I hit 2nd gear hard on it, but this was different; a "bang, bang, bang", leaping forward (it seemed) each time...in 2nd gear. Caught me by surprise! I throttled back and got into 3nd as quick as I could. Boy, a sick feeling, "Oh No!..I broke her!!" Tried shifting like a sane man after that, and it was OK. Didn't take long to forget. I happend again; hard on the trottle in 2nd. I guess I'll have to drive like I'm civilized, or do a tear down. Will the dremel tool fix allow me to go fast again?
Wimping for now.

[jetmechmarty]

Mine still pops out of 1st and it isn't going to get any better. It looks like you and me both are going to be fixing this sooner than later.

[BLUEJEEPLAB]

Gyrogear,

Fix the tranny, The banging in Second can damage other components of the tranny. When I first experienced the banging before my fix, I fragged the fifth gear ear of the Shift Drum Washer and lost fifth gear. That's an easy fix (less than a half hour,) but why go through the aggravation?

Do the fix and enjoy the XS to it's full potential.

[BlkMage]

Don't have a first gear here (but who really needs it riding alone?), and second gear clicks every once in a while. Hoping to open it up before riding season to replace 1st gear (got a set of gears from eBay) and move the washer for second.

[AlanB]

Hi BlkMage,

I am glad I am not the only one...... My bike has not had first gear since about 1994.......

AlanB

[BlkMage]

Originally posted by AlanB
Hi BlkMage,

I am glad I am not the only one...... My bike has not had first gear since about 1994.......

AlanB

But that's the thing about mine, there's no reason for it to be out like that. Bike only had about 10k miles when I picked it up early 2006, and I'm sure it's the original speedometer.

And I always told myself that no matter how much torque these make, I won't put a second person on it without 1st. I'm hoping my girlfriend becomes that second person this summer.

[AlanB]

Hi BlkMage,

I wouldn't worry about it too much; I have covered a LOT of miles on mine, and even done dyno time..... Mine will spin the tire (feet up) in second.... and wheelie if I want it to.
It has been without first for so long that I find it difficult to use first on other bikes...... although most others don't even pull away in 2nd.....

AlanB

[AlanB]

Hi Guys,

I had to think about the poll...... The engine in my SG is a UK Standard, without first gear...... The original engine from the Special is in my trike.... and has a good gearbox.

AlanB

[BlkMage]

Alan,

Oh, I know it's power. Ask the guys that were at Tahoe last fall what happened when we were facing uphill, stopped on the side of the road, and I accidentally put it in 3rd to get going. But also keep in mind, this is my first bike and I only have about 1k miles on it myself. So that little insurance policy would be a nice touch.

[wa407mpp]

Before anyone with problems with your bike jumping out of first gear on start up, starts wrenching on their transmissions, first replace the clutch cable, it is probably stretched and isn't letting the gears fully engage. If so it's in need of replacement. Which is a lot easier to do and cheaper.

[Brent]

No transmission troubles

My 80 XS1100SG special has 85,000 miles on it with no trans problems yet. Pulled a sidecar with it for a while. Years ago, before i heard that the trans might be a weak spot, I used to shift 2,3,4 without using the clutch. I would try to get rpms close for a smooth click. Now, I often box shift when downshifting, pulling in the clutch and clicking down 2 gears at a time, so I would skip 4th & @nd while down shifting.

Cross my fingers & hope it lasts.

[vben714]

1st Gear Gone

My "80" XS 11 had no problems when I got the bike, Od. 17k.
Now at 20k 1st slips so i start off in second. Is this fix a major pain in the butt cause I need to start thinking about fixing it?