Only got 1 st. gear?

A common complaint with XJs is that you are out riding and suddenly the XJ will only go into first gear, you tap the leaver up and only get neutral. Try it again same thing. Pull over, check everything and still only 1 st and neutral. WTF? Oh no something is broken! .

What has happened is that the guide for the primary, or starter, chain has started to break down and little bits of guide have fallen and jammed in your gear selector. If you can hear the bike rattle and it does not have a nice whine when you gas it these are warning signs.

You can get home with a temporary fix. If you have no tools with you go and buy a allen key, 10 mm spanner and a pair of vice grips. You will also need to drain the oil (19 mm ring spanner) and make or buy a gasket.

Drain the oil. Remove the gear lever and transmission cover and see if you can remove what is jamming the selector. If not this is where you use the vice grips. Firmly attach the vice grips to the selector shaft and give a big heave to see if you can free up the selector. If this works (and it should, did for me). Reassemble.

This will get you home.

You will then need to remove the engine and split the cases to replace the guide and install a new primary chain.

 

This may seem like a dumb question, but do you think that the part will be the same, regardless of which model it comes from? I mean does it matter if it's for an 81, and my bike is an 82. I'm not the most mechanically minded, but I'm slowly working on my bike. Thanks for the help!

 

Well, you didn't tell us which model(s), so hard to answer for sure. Even if they are the same, it's the age of the part more than the miles. So, if you put a used one in you might have to do it again soon.

Just buy a new one for your year and model. They're cheap.

 

It's the XJ650 (1982). If I were to go for a new part, could you recommend a web-site to go to for it? I just called a Yamaha dealership, and they show the part as not being in production anymore. For now, I think I will go for the part I saw listed, but will keep in mind what you said regarding a new part. Thanks for the help.

 

Taking the whole Engine down to replace the Primary Chain Guide isn't going to be a quick and dirty affair. You'll be disassembling the whole Engine.

That kind of project is something for the whole of the off-season. With "The Season" just around the corner; I think you should explore some other options.

One of the best options is to secure a used Engine and do a complete swap.
Finding a used Engine isn't that difficult but getting it to you sometimes IS.

If you can find a good running Engine; you'll be able to use the Bike and take your time doing the tear-down of your original Engine ... making it as good as new after installing a handful of new parts.

Otherwise, you are likely to rush through doing the repairs and leaving yourself open to taking shortcuts that can cause problems down the road.

 

www.cheapcycleparts.com

4H7-11474-00-00 $21.03

Your dealer should be able to get it too.

Rick - Do you PROMISE riding season is just around the corner? Seems to be real late this year!

 

Tell me about it Carl. What's with this snow! (I live in Sterling Heights). Thanks for the help!

 

You doing the whole tear down? Let me know if I can be of assistance.

And please change your profile to "Sterling Heights" in the location. In 10 minutes I'll forget

 

Yeah, I'm in the middle of taking the engine out. Hard to find time to do it with school and work.

 

Ok, so I got the new part, but it appears to be rubber (kevlar?), and the old part seems to be plastic. The section of the new part that matches my piece of the old part is hard rubber. Is there some way the heat could have hardened the piece to give it the appearance of plastic? I might just have to buy a different replacement part.