wont go past 2nd gear

hi everyone im new here anyway i got 86 xj750 basicly has everything 82 seca has including atari dash think it just might of been old stock stamped off with a new date the 80s where pretty shonky in australia ..anyway i can get in 1st neutral and second but not up to 3rd unless i push down on the selector then up again does anyone know what this could be

 

Shifting fingers not meshing , have to remove the shifter and cover, also it could be a chain tensioner inside that other members have talked about...
Could even be the shifter drum , take the cover off and let us know what you find.
Alan

 

thanks i did some more reading and found that if the foot lever is not lubricated on the cog it will have trouble returning so i had a look at it it was dry and powdered rust there so i greased it up returns fine now' but only seems to go up to 4th no 5th. do you have to be running go into 5th my bike is non running atm i need to clean carbies and adjust float

 

Push the bike forward until you hear the transmission click. Then try to shift into a higher gear.

 

excelent thanks goes into 5th when i moved it a little . i was conidering selling the bike but it seems viable to keep it now just have to clean the carbies because it wont start after running it dry .. i found there was no air filter in the box and it was full of oil and someone had pluged up the drain hose with a bolt pretty shonky .i got this bike not so long ago so i did some reading it sujests float levels and to drain contaminated oil i just hope theres no engine damage from no air filter i pulled the carbies apart and there full of large grit the bike is unlicenced so the farthest i been on it is down the street before it ran out of fuel and stopped wouldnt start again after i refueled it .. if i get it started after carby sorted i will put some pod filters on it and a crankcase filter maybe wrap the exhaust cause its heavily rusted

 

thanks for everyones help

 

A compression test will tell you the condition of the engine. Imo make it run right then mod it. There is a list of neglected scheduled maintenance that should be done.

Gary H.

 

thats a good idea do you know what range is good compression for this bike

 

Idk for a '86 ('82 Seca). It's 156 psi
+/- 14 psi between any of the cylinders for a 750 maxim. Hope this helps.

Gary H.

 

Pull the left shifter cover and look in the little hole___ see if the chain guide is breaking up.

Do a search for the chain "emergency guidectomy " if needed.

Pods? Well... You're just adding time and hassle to your misery, but it's your bike.

 

Yep.

Gary H.

 

well i been talked out of pods i had a hard time getting the airbox out and cracked it a little i will proberly put it back in and mend it with silicon does anyone know if you use filter oil on the stock filter when you get one

 

I don't think you would use any filter oil.
Is it a paper filter? If so , don't use oil.

 

yep its paper but i see those k&n paper filters come with oil gets me confused

 

K&N's are a fabric filter usually

 

Yes on stock filters being paper and not needing oil.

Yes on K&N filters being foam media and needing oil.

No on using a K&N filter in an XJ. They: 1, don't really filter very well, and 2, lean the mixture out a bit too much.

 

thanks i got a oil filter air fliter on order and i made a horn button out of a pacer pencil clicker end just need my carbies sorted out and should go over for inspection .just a bit worried about my shocks they seem a bit soft on the back its not bottoming out but can push down on them easy with a loud sucking sound .also when i got the bike the brake resevoir was empty so i filled it up and flushed the brakes they where good for a week or so now there a tad hard