New Member with questions already

Hello folks, I'm new here and have about a million question but I'll just start with this one.

Am I missing a gear?

Last time I had my '81 XJ550 (maxim) out on the road (couple years ago) I was just using it to commute around downtown and never had the room to go more than say 60km/h. Execpt one day, I took it up to around 90km/h and it 'sounded' like it was reving too high for that speed so I tried to kick it into high gear, only to find that I was in high gear... So I'm thinking to myself sheesh if it sounds like this at 90km/h what's it gunna be like out on the highway? I mean people around here have had their bikes up well over 150km/h. Now I should say, my tach is busted so I don't know for sure what the revs were, but they sounded high to me, like 6500 or something, is that normal at that speed?... I should also say I've never ridden any other bike so I don't know what it should sound like or what it should feel like. Basically I've never been around any normally operating motorcycle to know what's normal. I picked this thing up for a project, cleaned the carbs thoroughly, and rode it. My mechanical understanding of things is fine, but it's just how do you know what something should be like when you've never seen a good one. It's all a bit perplexing.

So what would you all say? Is the 6th gear not engaging (I should've counted the gears when I had it running)? Or is everything as it should be, and I'm just not used to it? At the time I didn't think much of it, but now I scratching my head. Unfortunately I cannot do a physical inspection of the bike cause it's not in this province.

That was a rather long question, sorry. I'll appreciate any help

 

i think you're fine. My xj750 revs high too.... I always try to kick up to the next gear but there is none. haha. These are high revving motors so i wouldn't be concerned.... You shoulda seen my CBR1000.... lol

 

You're correct - you only have 5 gears. It does 'sound' like it's working pretty hard in 5th, but that's by design -- the XJ's powerband is higher in the RPM's so that's where it delivers best. You'll get used to it I find earplugs make a big difference...
Our bikes didn't come with an "overdrive" gear for cruising to lower RPM's.

 

550's are all 6 speeds. At 110 KPH, in 6th, I'm spinning at 5500 RPM.

 

Okay, good to hear. Sounds like I'm making something out of nothing. Thanks for the help. Sure glad I came across this place.

 

Do you have a guess as to what's wrong with your tach? Mine quit once, and it turned out to be just the cable coming loose from the motor. Stuck it back in, screwed the cap down, and it worked. You should get that looked into. I would be uncomfortable not knowing what my engine speed is.
I used to think my Maxim revved high on the freeway too. But after a while I got used to it, and it doesn't bother me anymore.

 

I tried replacing the cable once. Nadda. The speedo doesn't work either. Took the casing off once to see if it was something obvious but I really didn't 'know' what to look for. I confirmed the drive inside the tach cable was turning, so I basically just said 'well the gauges are dead' and left it at that. In time I hope to find and fix the problem, or just find some third party guages or something.