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thoughts on hard shift to 2nd (and neutral)?

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by turpentyne, Apr 9, 2019.

  1. turpentyne

    turpentyne Active Member

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    Figured I'd see if there's any thoughts on tricks to improve things.

    I've got an 82 XJ750. Getting to 2nd gear can be a little rough. In fact because of it, neutral's kinda rough to get to as well. Like "I might need steel-toe shoes" tough, at times. Obviously, it's easier when going down the road, but in the driveway... neutral is what I'm struggling to get to.

    Clutch is completely redone, smoothed out, new plates, etcetera. I've popped the shifter cover off and the springs all look good in there. I've heard these bikes are normally a bit chunky in this area..

    But, I figured I'd see what suggestions there were to make that a little easier on the ol' toes.
     
  2. Ryengoth

    Ryengoth Active Member

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    Is the lever difficult to push or are you having a hard time getting it to "catch" a gear?
     
  3. turpentyne

    turpentyne Active Member

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    Difficult to push (pull up, rather) . A little easier if I'm rolling down the road - which makes sense. Where it's mostly annoying is when I'm trying to park, and just want to get to neutral. Because it takes more force, it takes finesse and a few tries to get to that half-click.

    As far as actually catching the gears, it seems fine.
     
  4. Ryengoth

    Ryengoth Active Member

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    Wish I had more indepth knowledge of the mechanics in that trans. I see on the diagram that it's a reverse lever with a linkage to the main pawl. It could be any of those pivot areas, or the pawl itself, where it's binding up. I think you may have to open it up to see what's binding. Hopefully someone here has BTDT with the 650.
     
  5. Polock

    Polock Well-Known Member

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    i find it easier to get neutral going down from second rather than up from first.
    while your moving, you don't want to get neutral when you go up from first
     
  6. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    The typical clunk is when shifting from neutral to first. Going from first to second should be as smooth as any other gear change.
    What Polock said about neutral is true, and proper clutch cable adjustment plays a huge role in being able to hit neutral easily (and minimizing first gear clunk).
    Clutch cable adjust

    Are you positive that the alternator chain guide is in an unbroken state?
     
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  7. raskal

    raskal Active Member

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    I'm getting an error when I click that link, and there are A LOT of threads about the clutch :)
     
  8. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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  9. turpentyne

    turpentyne Active Member

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    A couple months back I looked through the hole with a flashlight, while I had the shift cover off. I didn't see any broken bits in there. Not to say it isn't broken - just that I didn't see anything.

    I'll start by trying to get the the clutch cable situated. It is definitely a new one, and a touch stiffer than I expected. Maybe that'll help some.
     
  10. cgutz

    cgutz Well-Known Member

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    I find it hard to find neutral when the clutch cable is slightly out of adjustment.
     
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