OK... 82' XJ750 Maxim... I have 1st and neutral... can't get it into 2nd gear. It seems to be heat related.... when its cold... I can get it into 2nd... when it gets warm... it wont go. I'm thinking maybe there is a bent shifter fork. Any ideas?
Can you get to 2nd with the bike off? Will it go through all the gears witout running by just rotating the rear tire while on the service stand? When was your last oil change?
Nope... can't get it shift past neutral... irregardless of the engine running or not running, rotating or not rotating the tire, clutch in or not clutch in... no matter what I do, it wont shift. I JUST changed my oil... literally 12 hrs before it happened. New filter... and 3 qts of 20w50 Castrol motorcycle oil.
OK... fixed it. ;) I pulled the left side cover off the bike. I'm not sure exactly what happened or why, but something "poped" all the sudden as I was wiggleing the shifter mechanism back and fourth. All of the sudden, it became silky smooth, ratcheting and "grabbing" gears perfectly fine. I am completely at a loss as to what happened, but at this point we'll unspecifically say that it was simply "jammed". The ratcheting mechanisms in the immediate front of the case were not the problem. By listening and watching as I opperated the shifter, I could discern the problem existed somewhere in the shifting-drum or in the shifter forks somewhere in the gearcase, as the internal linkage was in plain view and appeared to be opperating correctly. I have no clue what happened here. :blink:
Anyhow, after I figured out it was "unjammed", I cleaned up the gasket surface and applied RTV, bolted the cover back down, hooked the linkage back up, and refilled with oil. I took it for a spin and it drove and shifted smoothly... infact, I think it shifts better than it ever has. We'll hope it continues to "cooperate".
Also... maybe its just a fluke, but did the 20w50 oil have anything to do with it jamming? I used 10w40 this time, instead. The reason I ask is that the manual calls for 20w40 for summer... maybe it was a bit too thick for some of the clearances in the shifting drum.
Oil weight has a lot to do with area as well as bike usage. I personally use 15w40 here in FL. Colder the weather you ride in the thinner the oil should be. When it breaks 95 here, I switch to 20w 50. Sounds like your linkage got jammed up. Glad to here you got it going.
Stay safe above all.
mike