Oh No!! I've got a big problem!

[Shawn27530]

This is where you guys have me confused. On my XJ under the ignition cover (on the left) there is nothing there but an allen head bolt, there is no nut to put a wrench on. Is the XS different?Thats The first place I looked to find a way to turn the engine over. I hope this makes sense. Where is a kicker when you need one? I really appreciate all the reply's from you guys. I need all the help I can get.

[John]

You're right. The XJ has a different set up than the XS does under the ignition cover. I hadn't paid attention to what kind of bike it is.

[Shawn27530]

I think I have a diagnosis

I think the XJ is suffering from the famous transmission quirk.
I pulled the starter and stuck it in gear again and thought maybe I could at least bump the engine over with the rear wheel (plugs were out and the clutch was still pulled in) Well now it will not shift back into neutral its stuck in first.

What should be my course of action in this heart surgery?

[Shawn27530]

What I don't understand though is even if the transmission is messed up shouldn't the motor spin over with the clutch pulled in?

[Ken Talbot]

Originally posted by Shawn27530
What I don't understand though is even if the transmission is messed up shouldn't the motor spin over with the clutch pulled in?

It should, unless the clutch plates have been sitting a while and become glued together......

[pggg]

Shawn, tear off those dozen bolts and dive into the clutch for a looksee. We know you want to.

[petejw]

hey shawn

some bikes when there put into first gear
can be hard to pop back into neutral sometimes
when the engine isnt running and the bikes
stationary, sometimes u need to rock the motor
in gear and flick up on the gear shift.
i hope i made sense.
not saying that it isnt a transmission problem but..
when u checked the cams did u check if the dots were
aligned correctly, even tho the cams are pushing down on the valves, the timing could still b out, the pistons may not b in
the correct position to the valves.

[Shawn27530]

No I didn't check the alignment of the dot on the cam sprockets yet, because the engine is stuck and I can't spin it over to that point.

[Shawn27530]

I am going to disassemble the clutch basket today and see what happens. I am really flying blind here, what would you guys do if you were in my shoes?

I will give it some more effort and after that I will either.

1.) Part it out to finance another XS or XJ or

2.) I will tear the whole engine down and rebuild everything along with a big bore kit.

[John]

I would

At least pull it out and open it up to find the problem. You don't need a whole bunch of gaskets to put it back together.

[Shawn27530]

Yeah you're right John, Thats the only thing left to do.
I pulled the clutch basket, and now the transmission spins freely by putting the bike in gear and turning the rear wheel. But still the engine won't budge. So I guess out she will come. Before I tear it down though I am just going to buy a manual for the XS1100 78-81 so I can pull the engine apart. And hell since I'm that far may as well freshen her up right? Its weird thought the starter spun it that 3/4 of a turn and thats when it jammed up. Why I hit the starter when I knew it wouldn't make a full revolution is beyond me. I had a stupid moment I guess. I guess I might learn something in the process.

Ok since the XJ has a cradle frame whats the best way to get that heavy beast out with out breaking something? I have pulled engines on Honda's to where there is no frame underneath the engine. Thats a piece of cake. But this is totally different.


You know though one of you generous gents could just sell me a good running engine you have laying around.

[pggg]

O.K. gearbox is fine, pistons wont move. Before pulling the whole motor, remove the cams and pull the head off for a check as the motor is likely perfectly O.K. I remember once that my 78E wouldn't turn after I'd reset the cam dots and all it was a shim had dislodged slightly and jammed tight on a cam lobe. If your pistons don't move with the head removed I'd be bloody surprised. A spun crank bearing might jam up the crank, but the PO says the bike was running good? Camchain twisted and stuck off the crank sprocket maybe? It's probably nothing much at all.

[DiverRay]

Do a search on craigslist.org I've got TWO XS1100's within a two hour drive, one for FREE and one for $100!!
The bad news, no place to put bikes or parts
Ray

[Shawn27530]

Yeah the PO said it ran fine when he parked it. He parked it because he got stationed in alaska. OK, I don't have a manual yet but I will get one tomorrow. I will pull the head off right now if you will tell me how to get the cam chain off the sprockets. This is all new to me I have resurrected them from the dead but I have never pulled a head off.

Thanks for the tip on craigslist.

[John]

To pull the sprockets off the cam first you need to loosen the tensioner, on the front of the engine. Do that by just loosening the jam nut on the tensioning bolt. Now loosen the bolt. Pull the valve cover next. On the cam bearing caps, look on the left side of the sprocket, and if you can turn the engine at all, you will see a dot on the cam that will align with an arrow on the cam bearing cap. If you can align these two you will be in good shape. That will insure correct cam timing. Now on to the sprockets...there are two bolts that hold the sprockets to the cam. One of them will be accessable with the cam dots and arrows aligned, and the the other will be 180 degrees out. Do the one that is 180 out first, by turning the cams to acess the bolts, and remove them. Next turn the engine over till the cam marks line up. Remove the other sprocket bolts. Next remove the cam bearing caps, starting in the center and work your way out. Once you have the cam caps off then just lift the cams up and pull them out of the sprockets. Stuff some rags in the cam chain cavity to aviod sacrificing any parts to the crankcase gods. Once the cams caps are off, that will close all of the valves. Keep the chain wired to the frame so it doesn't fall into the bottom of the case, bad news...