1. Hello Guest. You have limited privileges and you can't "SEARCH" the forums. Please "Log In" or "Sign Up" for additional functionality. Click HERE to proceed.

XJ 550 Shifting issues. (Won't find neutral while running)

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by MalachorMouse, Jul 19, 2021.

  1. MalachorMouse

    MalachorMouse New Member

    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Salt Lake City
    Hey Everyone!

    I apologize if this is posted somewhere else. I have looked and looked and cannot seem to find anything. I am in need of some assistance. It's kinda a long story, but I feel it's essential for you to get the full picture.

    I have a 1981 XJ 550 maxim and she is giving me grief.

    Back at the beginning of May I was riding home from work, and I was having a hard time shifting below 3rd gear. No matter how hard I pressed on the shifter lever it wouldn't budge. I could shift up no problem, but could not go down below 3rd. I would have to Shut off the bike, wait a second, push the lever back down to 1st or 2nd gear as Neutral was extremely hard to locate. This usually meant I needed to do a push start to start the bike. After some research I settled on it being the clutch slipping. I took it apart and the clutch had several burn and warping marks so I replaced it. I also noticed that part of the shift lever assembly looked odd. Upon further inspection the lever that turns the shift cam (the star wheel or Segment I believe its called *Part # 4G0-18185-01-00) was on the outside of the star wheel which according to my manual is wrong it's suppose to be on the back side of it attached to the dowel so it can rotate appropriately.

    Once put back together I took her out for a spin. I can now get down into 2nd gear, but it is still very difficult to go past neutral into first while riding or stopped with the engine on. Once in first I can go up to second, but it will completely bypass neutral (I know it's technically suppose to, but a half click up should allow me to to go into neutral which it doesn't. Also I have noticed that shifter lever isn't really staying in position like its suppose to. With the bike off I seem to be able to shift through the gears no problem.

    I took it apart again and decided to go in further and take out the shift lever assembly because I had read about torsion springs breaking and causing a similar issue. Upon my review of them, they look intact and I cannot see any breaking. The only thing is one of the springs (the first one on the shaft) has a bit of a wide gap and it can freely move from side to side (left to right if looking down the shaft). My issue now is reassembly of the shift shaft as I cannot get the stopper lever assy to go in properly. I feel like it's suppose to connect to the start wheel as well but I cannot find anything to confirm this.

    SOOOOO here are my questions.

    1. Based upon my description, am I on the right track and it's a shift lever issue? I want to get all new springs for it, and attempt to reassemble as I believe that something caused the whole assembly to "shift" and caused it to not align properly with the Start Wheel. I believe this was caused by oil over fill which happened the day before the symptoms appeared. (Long story short, too much oil, it went every where, did an oil change and replaced it with the correct oil and correct amount)

    2. My father in law says it sounds like a bent/broke shift fork. With that being said my research doesn't support that as from what I can tell when you have a broken/bent shift fork it won't get out of said gear at all, or while driving it will kick you out of gear neither of which I am experiencing unless not being able to shift between neutral while the engine is running is a symptom which I cant seem to confirm. His bike was just in the shop and when we went to pick it up we attempted to talk to the mechanic about what i was going through and all he said was "it's a bent fork, if I were you I'd trash the bike." However all my father in law said to him was "we can't shift past 1st gear into second" but wouldn't listen when I tried to correct that as that is not the problem.

    If it is a bent shift fork I have no issues replacing that other than it's summer and I haven't ridden since may, and I would much rather do this in the winter....Sorry for the long post but I am stumped and I need some help/advice.
     
  2. Dan Gardner

    Dan Gardner Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Messages:
    1,177
    Likes Received:
    568
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    One common cause of shifting issues is that the cam chain guide will disintegrate and the pieces will jam up the shift drum/forks. Have been able to pop off the left side case and see if there are any cam chain guide bits and pieces floating around in there?
     
  3. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    3,646
    Likes Received:
    1,037
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Scotland UK.
    I think you can only see into the crankcase on the shaft driven bikes with the gear selector cover off the engine. Usually it is the starter alternator chain that breaks up on the shaft drive bikes.
     
  4. lostboy

    lostboy Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,225
    Likes Received:
    324
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Location:
    Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada
    Cam chain guide braking apart on the 550 cc engine is rare.
     
    MalachorMouse and Franz like this.
  5. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    3,646
    Likes Received:
    1,037
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Scotland UK.
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2021
  6. MalachorMouse

    MalachorMouse New Member

    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Salt Lake City
    Franz Is right, I cannot see into the crank case. However I've done two oil changes to make sure there isn't any metal or plastic pieces floating around. So far nothing at all which is why I'm leaning away from something being totally broken. BUT I am new to the 550 transmission. I can do carbs all day long, but this is a different ball game.
     
  7. MalachorMouse

    MalachorMouse New Member

    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Salt Lake City
    BigFitz's post/thread is the thing that got me through the clutch rebuild. Upon my first review it didn't really address the same issue I'm having now, but I just realized I may have only focused on his new clutch and not the posts that followed. I'll re take a look at that. Thanks Franz!
     
  8. Rooster53

    Rooster53 Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Messages:
    1,852
    Likes Received:
    723
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    North, FL
    And if you have the time do all the 550 owners a favor and post some pictures of the shift mechanism hiding behind the clutch. I searched a good bit and found none, the closest I could find was this thread on a bearing modification for an easier shift:

    Perhaps @LarryMc has some more pictures of the entire right side

    https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/smoother-shifting-mod.117483/
     
  9. Dan Gardner

    Dan Gardner Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Messages:
    1,177
    Likes Received:
    568
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    I just learned about the bearing upgrade for the shifter pawl arm. This could be life changing. Who else has done it?

    I once heard the shifting of Yamaha transmissions described as "smooth as a Russian tank". I thought that was a good description. If it could be substantially improved that's really tempting.
     
  10. k-moe

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

    Messages:
    19,613
    Likes Received:
    6,703
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The City of Seven Hills
    That is not at all the case with the chain-driven XJ, and certanly not the most likely reason why he can't find neutral (on any XJ).


    OP. The main problem with not finding neutral is that it's easy to just blow right past it.
    The second issue is not having the clutch cable adjusted properly. The clutch thread linked above outlines the procedure.
     
    cgutz likes this.
  11. Polock

    Polock Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    9,751
    Likes Received:
    2,093
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Beaver Falls, PA
    from second, down works better for me
     
    k-moe likes this.
  12. cgutz

    cgutz Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,203
    Likes Received:
    719
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    SE South Dakota
    When I have trouble finding neutral on my XJ550, it is usually a clutch cable fine tuning issue as stated above.

    And yes, I agree the shifting is about like what I imagine a Russian tank transmission is like.
     
  13. MalachorMouse

    MalachorMouse New Member

    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Salt Lake City
    Rooster 53. That is the problem I am have. When I get the springs in I'll make sure to get some pictures to post them.

    K-moe and cgutz thanks for the advice, I will try that.
     
    Rooster53 likes this.

Share This Page