Any ideas where I can get a replacement shift lever return spring?

[Edgey]

When are you taking it for a run??

I'll be out as soon as I can replace the spark plug caps - hopefully I can source some this week. I'm on holidays until the end of next week and am itching to get two new tyres and then go for a proper ride or two.

[Eveready1100]

That's excellent news, Jarrad! I'd be in "11th heaven" to have Mal (XS 1100 LEGEND) looking over my shoulder while fixing my bike.
Glad it was just the spring instead of anything more nasty. When are you taking it for a run??

[Edgey]

All fixed!!!

I just finished a brilliant 3-hour session working on the bike with Mal...what a legend!  The best part was that I did (almost) everything myself, under Mal's watchful eye.  I've learnt some great little tips and tricks in the last few hours and must say that, as a novice in the home-mechanics arena, it's a bloody good feeling to work on your own bike. 

So here's the rundown...

We leant the bike over to the right by resting the handlebar on a pillar between my two garage doors, leaving the tank and seat on.  Removed the shifter and the cover, to reveal a broken spring as suspected.  Changed the spring and put everything together, replacing the gasket as it had broken into pieces (pretty sure it was the original!)  Liked the tip from Mal about greasing the gasket so it comes off in one piece next time.

A quick test found the gears to be working beautifully.  Thansk for the advice guys - you were spot on.

Then it was time for my first oil change.  (Yes...I know it's very basic it was exciting for me!).  We also took off the R/H cover to clean the oil level inspection window so you can actually see through it.  This meant I had to remove the rear brake pedal to get out all of the bolts for the cover.  Then we used my multimeter to confirm that the spark plug caps/covers need replacing, which explains the issues I've been having with cylinder 3 on start-up.

Mal left me with a shopping list, a big grin on my face and a lot more confidence to start doing a few more basic jobs myself.  Next up we're going to re-balance the carbies...can't wait.

I'm about to start searching online for some of the items on my shopping list (sorry if I've listed anything by the wrong name!):
- Ignition coils
- Centrestand rubber
- Inspection point cover for my rear brake
- Rubbers for my speedo, etc (it wobbles at the moment)
- Fork seals

Cheers,

Jarrad

[petejw1966]

thats out by a bit bryan,
should make some sort of difference ,
at least it was worth a look at.

[AussiXS11G]

hmmmmmm.....
well only into Brisvagis and back.....its is better but not perfect - I didn't try a drag start tho....
 

[Eveready1100]

Now to test ride

Bryan, why is it that when I see a quote like this from you, I immediately think Mount Glorius, Nebo etc??
Like you really NEED an excuse to get out there and play!
                                                  Envious Errol

Seriously, I hope the adjustment you've done sorts out your gearchange issue.

[AussiXS11G]

ok Boys.....finally got around to looking at that.....
I had a trial run on my "parts" bike (after draining the stinking treacle from it) the lines were like this.....mine were only a couple of mm apart...



So - drag out the w/shop lounge, lay the bike over....









Now to test ride....hopefully this will make the difference 

[petejw1966]

i just used the outside wall of the garage,
as jonesy stated it doesnt need much of a lean angle.

[Jonesy]

Doesnt need a lot of lean angle just a tad more than sidestand angle
park the bike near a wall or solid thing......not the fridge coz you will likely use that sometime during the process
you could suss out the distance required by testing with the sidestand how much from vertical to rest
turn the h/bars to full left lock. apply the front brake and hold the lever applied with cable tie, ocky, wire or whatever and lean bike to the wall with something cushiony between bar end and wall

[excess.11]

To lean it over against a wall or something similar.......take the tank and seat off first........then if you have a heavy old blanket or similar...drape that over the frame at the contact point on the wall....all should be good......chock the wheels so it doesn t move forward or backwards when working on it.
The indicators should be ok due to the lean angle .

[Eveready1100]

Hi Jarrad,
           Sorry to read your tales of woe. Just quickly, with the bike on the centrestand, when you press the shift lever down, can you feel the spring resisting its movement and wanting to push it back up into position? And check to see if it's the same in the upward direction, too. If not, it may just be that the spring centering post has come undone. I've seen it happen before, but not on an XS. I see in the pics that it also doubles as the lever movement limiter, so it could have been stressed by overzealous stomping on the lever while downshifting, but given the overall condition of your bike when you bought it, I'd consider this unlikely. If that feels ok, then the case wiill have to come off to check out the marks that Pete was referring to. Once that's all confirmed to be ok, then the main offender after that would be bent selector forks, but we'll talk about that once the other checks have been done and dismissed.

[Edgey]

Gday all,

Thanks for the tips and links as always.  I'm off to Robe tomorrow with the kids and the camper trailer for the long weekend, so will have to wait until next week to get stuck into it. I have a couple of weeks off work and was planning to get some much-needed miles into the bike, so am gutted about the gearshift problem.  Keen to get it fixed ASAP.

Being a novice (and I really mean a novice!) at weilding my tools on the bike, here's my silly question for the day...what's the best way to lean the bike against a wall as Pete suggests - without dropping or damaging the bike?  I agree that it looks like a simple enough job to take the cover off and check but don't want to stuff it up!  I'll also make a few calls locally to see if I can source the part - if not, it's the US ebay option.

If any Adelaide members want to offer a hand later next week or the one after,  I'm more than happy to throw a carton (or similar universal currency) to say thanks!

Cheers,

Edgey.

[Jonesy]

Such a simple looking part....if you had the time to trawl a few mechanics stash's of odds n sods you reckon something would turn up to do the job ay

[XSIIE]

Hey Edgey,

try this

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/XJ1100-Gear-Shift-Shaft-1982-Yamaha-Maxim-XS1100-/380475925400?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item589621e398

or

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/78-79-80-81-82-YAMAHA-XS1100-XS-1100-H-XJ-XJ1100-GEAR-SHIFTER-SHIFT-LEVER-SHAFT-/290745748785?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43b1cc0d31

or

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Yamaha-XS1100-XS-1100-Trans-Gear-Select-Shift-Shaft-/360190717922?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53dd0a2fe2

Cheers

Eddy

[petejw1966]

bryan, theres 2 dots on the shift pawl that needs to line up,
also with the bike in 2nd gear theres a cpl of notches that need to line up
on the shift drum, not sure if thats whats causing  the problem but wont hurt to check
while the cover is off.