Bike wont shift

Xxspcxcavxx

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So i just picked up an 81. When the bike was delivered it rolled like is was i. Neutral but when i tried to kik it over it pushed the bike like it was in gear (holding the clutch in or not, he also told me it was leaking oil from push rod so when i took the casing off the bike went into gear but its still not shifting
 

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I agree with the other post on taking the clutch apart. May be a PITA but I think there lies the problem......

I saw that bike on the local Craigslist so you must be close as I am in the metro area of Portland.

Welcome from another NW guy........
 
I live in gresham and yeah there was a lot more wrong with it then he specified, but oh well im waiting for those performance carbs from Mike's xs
 
Uh oh I hope they work I have heard horror stories about them.......the factory carbs work pretty good if you ask me.

My shop is just off Airport Way around 148th so if you ever need anything let me know I am not to far.
 
Sweet ill probably need some help if i can't get it to shift. Im new to the motorcycle world and never worked on tgrm until now
 
I would start here. This is a posting (2) that was put up by another member,(Arfstrom thank you!) that helped me greatly. Here it is:
So, I had already pulled off the cap with my finger tips. Underneath I found the Lock-nut, and screw bolt for adjusting the Clutch.
I used a 12mm Deep-well socket to set the nut, while I held the screw in position with the screwdriver.
Then I put the plug back. I suspect the 2 screws is for the older systems.
When I got to the top clutch handle, I found that the inside clutch cable had a lining, and it was being pulled out by a ratcheting effect of the normal clutching activities. so that means, if the pic turned out any good, the gray matter stuck in the handle zone, is extra I started cutting it out, then re-built it again, only to find out that no matter what I did, the gray covering was going to be pulled out. So I continued to remove it.

Now that its put back together, I can feel the spring effect, It seems to be a totally different feel for clutching. Now I wonder if the overheat symptoms where more to do with the clutch handle being fouled, or not. Perhaps Tomorrow I will find somewhere to get her to overheat.

You can see the gray thing being fouled up, and then next shot was the longest length of it that I cut out.


I followed the manual explicitly, I had printed out the segment I had copied into this posting earlier, and read/re-read it, till I knew I did right. (what I am trying to say, Use the manual, as well as google)


I would also make sure that the shift shaft has not been pushed into the case, there is a circlip holding it, if that happens it will push the linkage apart on the clutch side. Not a tough fix but a pain in the butt.
I did this adjustment and it worked perfectly and solved a very similar problem that I had after having the clutch adjustment side cover off. Good luck. Here is the link to manuals that you can download....http://www.xs400.com/threads/yamaha-xs400-manuals.4503/ . You are going to have to start with these I think.
 

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Uh oh I hope they work I have heard horror stories about them.......the factory carbs work pretty good if you ask me.

My shop is just off Airport Way around 148th so if you ever need anything let me know I am not to far.
Agreed, a 40 dollar overhaul kit and a cleaning will do great things...and they are so simple to work on if you take your time!
 
So i took the cover off where the shifter is and the bike went into gear but still wont shift out. But when i put the cover back on the bike roles again like it was in neutral
 
Not yet i have to do that when i get back from my drill weekend. I spent time putting the new carba on and tried running it
 
I would start here. This is a posting (2) that was put up by another member,(Arfstrom thank you!) that helped me greatly. Here it is:
So, I had already pulled off the cap with my finger tips. Underneath I found the Lock-nut, and screw bolt for adjusting the Clutch.
I used a 12mm Deep-well socket to set the nut, while I held the screw in position with the screwdriver.
Then I put the plug back. I suspect the 2 screws is for the older systems.
When I got to the top clutch handle, I found that the inside clutch cable had a lining, and it was being pulled out by a ratcheting effect of the normal clutching activities. so that means, if the pic turned out any good, the gray matter stuck in the handle zone, is extra I started cutting it out, then re-built it again, only to find out that no matter what I did, the gray covering was going to be pulled out. So I continued to remove it.

Now that its put back together, I can feel the spring effect, It seems to be a totally different feel for clutching. Now I wonder if the overheat symptoms where more to do with the clutch handle being fouled, or not. Perhaps Tomorrow I will find somewhere to get her to overheat.

You can see the gray thing being fouled up, and then next shot was the longest length of it that I cut out.


I followed the manual explicitly, I had printed out the segment I had copied into this posting earlier, and read/re-read it, till I knew I did right. (what I am trying to say, Use the manual, as well as google)


I would also make sure that the shift shaft has not been pushed into the case, there is a circlip holding it, if that happens it will push the linkage apart on the clutch side. Not a tough fix but a pain in the butt.
I did this adjustment and it worked perfectly and solved a very similar problem that I had after having the clutch adjustment side cover off. Good luck. Here is the link to manuals that you can download....http://www.xs400.com/threads/yamaha-xs400-manuals.4503/ . You are going to have to start with these I think.
hi.i know this is an old post.i was checking the gear shifter seal.took the circlip off and washer .seal was ok .I noticed the gear shifter shaft could come in and out a little. put everything bk together. I only managed to get second gear and can't get it bk into neutral. any ideas .thanks
 
hi.i know this is an old post.i was checking the gear shifter seal.took the circlip off and washer .seal was ok .I noticed the gear shifter shaft could come in and out a little. put everything bk together. I only managed to get second gear and can't get it bk into neutral. any ideas .thanks
Hi, I don’t know if you’ll see this but I’ve had the same problem. Did you ever get it fixed? If so can you help me please?
 
I did get it fixed. how can I help🤔
get the back wheel off the ground. put the gear lever bk on.rotate the wheel back and forth while wiggling the gear lever out and in and try slightly forcing the lever up and down.i was at it for 2 hours but got there.worse case scenario is ull have to take the right hand casing off .also if you take the oil filler cap off .shine a torch down you will see the shaft moving gives you an idea of where it needs to be.hope this helps .
 
get the back wheel off the ground. put the gear lever bk on.rotate the wheel back and forth while wiggling the gear lever out and in and try slightly forcing the lever up and down.i was at it for 2 hours but got there.worse case scenario is ull have to take the right hand casing off .also if you take the oil filler cap off .shine a torch down you will see the shaft moving gives you an idea of where it needs to be.hope this helps .
Thank you very much I’ll give it a go!
 
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