gear problems

I have a 1981 XJ Seca 750 in good condition. The other day i was riding and i came to a stop sign. When i went to take of i couldnt shift. It will only go from first to neutral. If anyone knows what is wrong that would be greatly appreciated.

 

Re: 1981 XJ 750RH Seca

Well - it could be something as simple as the shift lever needs adjusting. On the maxim the shift lever is directly connected to the shaft going into the tranny. On the seca the pegs are rear set slightly and have a linkage.

This linkage can be made shorter or longer - this raises,lowers the neutral point in the shift levers range of movement ( I DON'T MEAN THE SAME NEUTRAL AS BETWEEN GEARS, I MEAN THE RESTING POINT OF THE SHIFT LEVER WHEN IT IS NEITHER BEING PUSHED UP OR DOWN)

If the lever is set incorrectly it will be difficult to shift either up or down ( depending which way it is out)...

Then - the next thing would be bent shift forks... start simple and hope it's not the later.

Could you give some more details on the situation... did it used to work - did it go bang lately - has it been hard to shift for awhile, have you done any maintance lately... all things that will help find the problem.

cheers,
woot.

 

Re: 1981 XJ 750RH Seca

Oh yea! Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt! Parts of your primary chain guide have fallen into the shifter drum and are jamming it. Remove the toe shifter and then the left side tranny cover. Have a pan ready to collect some oil when the cover comes off. Looking inside you will see a round drum shaped piece. On it's top side will be a small oval hole. In there you will find some hard plastic-like black bits. Remove these and the shifter will shift again. Good news is that some have done this simple cleaning and gone on for many miles with no other bits reentring and jamming the shifter drum. Bad news is that to truly fix the problem the engine will have to be removed and the cases split to gain access to the chain guide and replace it.

 

Re: 1981 XJ 750RH Seca

It just started. Once in a while before it was hard to shift. But i could usually get it to go. I was just going along and came to a stop sign. There wasn't any noise or anything like that. I went to shift into second and it would not go. It will go from first to neutral and that is it. Thanks for the information so far. I will try to clean it out.

 

Re: 1981 XJ 750RH Seca

I had a very similar occurance myself last summer. Same stop sign, same stuck in first gear or neutral. I rode home (a little less than a mile distant thankfully) and I pulled the motor to replace the chain tensioner. I like the idea of snaking the parts out of the side in a pinch, but it does not solve the overall problem. I would use the snake approach just to get home. I read that one of our folk used the snake method successfully for a number of miles (tens of thousands as I recall), but I wouldn't push it. Not on my sweetheart. Plan on pulling your motor and do the hard choice. You'll sleep better at night. My deepest sympathy, Rob.

 

See procedure here:

Emergency Primary Chain Guide Removal