missed shifts from first to second gear

Hi all, I just parked the bike for the winter and I am starting on winter projects and had a question about the transmission. (80' XJ 650 all stock) When accelerating sometimes I miss the shift from first to second and it stops in neutral, sometimes when downshifting I get a hard clunk shifting from second to first and it goes into neutral. I figure something is bent or worn (41,000+ miles) but I was checking to see if this is a common problem and if there is a specific part that wears there.

Also I just picked up a 750 gas tank so I am stoked about getting some more range between fill ups!!

Thanks for reading!
Lee

 

Hey Lee
OK as brief as I can be on this subject;
The gear ratio for 1/2 is the steepest ratios in the transmission therefore it is also the largest amount of load on parts.
If a Rider is lazy/sloppy/short in making the shift from first to second gear and does not fully engage the shift then the gears may or not fully engage. IF they do NOT fully engage under heavy acceleration they may slowly "back out" and slip into the space 'between' 1st and 2nd. The 1st few times this happens it's no big deal but as the event occurs more often the damage can increase to the point that the transmission will not stay engaged under heavy acceleration.
Panicking yet?
OK first the test;
Shift the Bike into first ease out the clutch get moving on CLEAN smooth straight ground at low RPMs pin the throttle hold it all the way to about 1000RPM below redline.
If there is damage to the gear dogs this will cause it to jump out of gear. Repeat test in 2nd and 3rd don't bother with the others they are seldom damaged.
Preventing damage:
Rotate the gear selector lever one or two teeth downward. This makes it much more likely that you will shift the lever all the way into full engagement. Downshifts, make sure again you shift the full travel. But upshifts are the primary concern.
If it jumps out of gear on the acceleration test, uh well, that's a much longer post starting with;
Grab beer
Remove motor
Drink beer
Split engine cases
Drink beer
Access damage
Drink beer
Scour EBay for motor
Drink beer
Scour dealers for parts
Call Chacal
And on and on

 

Odds are you aren't lifting up enough on the lever. That's easy to do if the lever is adjusted too high.

The downshift clunk might be normal Or it could be that the clutch is dragging a bit.

 

A sticky or kinked clutch cable can also give you symptoms like that. If you clutch cable is 34 years old, or the clutch lever feels stiff, replace the cable. And check the routing to see that it doesn't have any sharp bends or kinks in it. You have to be careful to get nice smooth bends in the cable, especially if you or a PO has changed handlebars.

 

if you miss the shift to second the shift drum hasn't pushed the forks to the second gear notch yet so nothings hurt yet.
but if it pops out of second the shift drum has moved the forks to the second gear slot and they can't move out of the way if the gear is forced back out. the chrome plate on the forks gets burnt or the forks bend or both, bad news follows.

 

Thanks for the info. It holds in first, second and third all the way to red line so no problems there. I have to pull the forks to replace the fork seals and a loose head bearing so I will check the clutch cable and relube or replace as necessary and rotate the shifter a tooth or two while I'm there. I hope it's just a clutch that needs adjustment since the rest of the engine is running so well and I don't want to pull it if I don't have to.

 

I have noticed, that if I shift too quick and not "hard" enough into second
it will pop into neutral
I avoid this by shifting "hard" from 1st to 2nd
not sure if that makes sense.. but going in soft will often cause 2nd to not
take

 

Agreed. The shift from 1-2 requires more lever throw than the other up shifts. If you get lazy you end up in neutral. Happens on other motorcycles too.

 

exactly.. I got a little scared, it started sounding very sexual and weird
I can go from 3rd to 4th to 5th with little effort
but 2nd requires a good push
scared the crap out of me the 1st time.. especially if you are riding for speed

 

from xs11.com , shows what happens to the gears, unfortunately the last link is gone that was how to actually fix them
http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/tech-tips/repairs/33/106-the-second-gear-repair-illustrations.html