I'm looking at some XJ bikes to buy, and I've come across a 82 XJ 750. It looks OK, but 2nd gear doesn't work correctly. The bike seems to slip teeth in 2nd gear. The seller told me this is a common problem on these bikes. Is he correct, or is he feeding me some BS?
Also, the bike has the "Batt" warning light on. Does this mean the alternator may be bad? The seller says he put a new battery in. The taillight also would get brighter when I revved the bike higher than idle. Is this normal, or does it indicate a problem with the alternator?
The bike rides really nicely and has lots of power, but the lack of 2nd gear and the battery warning light scares me.
Actually, I've having a similar problem with my '82 750 maxim... I cant get the tranny to shift into 2nd gear. All I have is 1st and neutral... it feels like it wont quite grab 2nd. I wonder if maybe I have a bent shifter fork in the transmission or something... anyone have any info?
Does anyone know how hard it is to pull the case appart and see why I cant get past neutral??? The bike was running fine until 2 days ago all the sudden I couldnt get it to shift into 2nd gear after stoping at a stoplight. I put the bike up on the center stand and pulled the clutch in.... and pulled up VERY hard on the shifter with my other hand... I could feel the gears start to "grind" on eachother but just would NOT quite go into gear (feels like its ALMOST going to go in, but never quite "grabs"). Is there anything else that might be wrong becides the shifter fork?... maybe something else bent?... broke?
I would say your battery is bad. My bike also dims the lights a little bit at idle... and get brighter as soon as you rev it slightly. Been riding it for 3 months now no problem... (until 2 days ago).
Xj's do not have a very strong charging system. The lights dimming during idle should not be a problem. The light on the other hand might be a problem. Start the bike and put an OHM meter on the battery terminals, rev the bike to about 2000 rpm and get a reading. the OHM meter should read around 13.4 volts. 12.5 or less usually indicates a bad charging system or reostat.