Howdy folks!

I have an 88 cane and she runs like a top. She looks a little rough but I'll still hit 60 in 1st gear when I want to.

I am starting to notice a little chatter leaving 1st going into 2nd. I can feel a little bump or two then it snaps into gear. 1st is good, and the rest of the others are fine too only 2nd is having this problem. My mechanic thinks that it's the clutch but there are no other symptoms of clutch wear, at least not that I know of. I do have to hold the clutch in REALLY tight to get it to start sometimes, but that's it. Is this a possible shifting fork problem? If so, how urgent is it that I get it repaired? If not, could this really be the clutch? If not, what in the heck could it be?

Thanks for your help guys...

Oh, while I'm here I'll ask one more question. Once my bike gets past normal operating temperature, sitting in traffic or long at a light or something. I tend to get a vapor loc situation. The bike will shutter until I get past 5k rpm. Also, if I shut it off while it’s hot I'll need to let the bike cool all the way down before it will start again. Any ideas on the cause of something like that?

Thanks again guys and ride safe...

 

does it slip out of gear under heavy load in second? its possible that second gear needs to be undercut since it might be starting to get rounded off.

 

My first thought was the clutch too. Having to pull in the clutch tight to start would probably just be the switch on the lever playing up. Start with these as they're easy to check. Short the switch out (or disconnect if it's 'normally closed') and see if it starts easy. Pull the clutch cover and have a squiz inside for any damage to the basket etc. The shifts from 1st to 2nd at 60mph could be a bit..er...harsh for a 22 year old bike, good fun though, l can't help myself sometimes either.

Your traffic probs. Does it make a difference if your tank is full or nearly empty? If it did it more when full I'd suspect a slightly sticky float valve. If it does it nearly empty I'd be thinking maybe a bit of crap in your tank vent. Try opening the tank (slowly!) and see what happens. Another thought would be float heights a whisker high. Motor gets hot, carbs get hot, fuel sitting in the bowls expands?? Sound like bull5hit to me now I've written it but a lot of heat builds up behind the motor in traffic even with the fan on. Weird it only plays up when hot.

I'm sure you'll get plenty more thoughts on the subject.

 

I'm with Dave on this.
As far as the shifts, is it doing it all the time between 1st and 2nd, or is it just at redline?
If it's way up in the revs, it could just be a matter of kicking it in harder.
Fuel problem sounds kinda like venting to me.
It could also be an issue with something electrical that's heating up and not allowing as much power through. (like coils/wires).

 

It does it all the time but again, only 2nd gear. If I'm red lining it sometimes I'll miss 2nd all together and it will go into neutral. If I'm easy on the throtle, which I normally am, I get the bomp, bomp shift feeling from the shift lever. It's never popped out of gear. I drive it every day and have never had that happen.

I'll be replacing the fuel snesor in the tank and the float in the tank soon (all one unit). My gas gauge is not working. I'll also be replacing the gas line from the petcock to the carbs. It's a shaped line not just stright tubing. It was replaced with stright tubing and I think that it's gettin pinched when the tank is let down causing the problem. Also, the heat shield is gone (the one that goes between the tank and carbs and air cleaner). I'll be ordering that too. Hoping it helps.

If not then I'll look at the spark and the floats...

Any other sugestions would be great. This is my first bike and I'm really enjoying it.

I'll also be replacing the chain this spring. The sprockets too. Any recomendations on a chin and sprocket set / combination? What about tooth count on the speockets?

Thanks again guys!

 

Good DID xring chain and Sprockets ...... well there's soooo much to chose from.
get mine usually from Sprocketcenter, even if ya don't buy 'em there it's a good
reference site to explore your options.

With the chatter , and since it's not jumping out of gear , I'd go checking out the
clutch basket etc. first ..... my two cents

 

Pat,
I'd be thinking twice about riding a 22 year old bike that hard mate. Take it easy with her and she will serve you a long time. The days of doing that to a bike as old as these are over imo. Sure you can still give it to her, but 60 mph in first gear might not be helping the situation....lol. Hope you sort it out in any case. Cheers.

 

Bio248 - It feels like you are on the money here, I really cant afford to have the cases cracked so I'll see how she does this season and take it easy on her.

As for riding it hard... I try not to... I'll have to try harder... :-)

I'll still replace the clutch and plates to see if that improves it at all. Hoping for the best.

Thanks so much for all of your help guys. I really appreciate it!

Reality is, by replacing the clutch and plates, sprokets and chain, changing the oil / filter and fixing the fule gauge problem, it should still run like a better bike, not that is runs bad now... I replaced the cam chain tensioner last year and put new tires on her and replaced the wheel bearings and brake pads last year. Any other suggestions on what needs to be done to a bike that's 22 years old and still runs great?

I'll start working on the plastics soon if there aint too much more motor stuff. It's an 88 but I really like the Red, White and Blue on the 87s. Once I get all of the plastices together I'll probably have it painted, either that or all fat black with a few red pinstripes for detail.

Be safe fellas...

 

it happened to my '85 FJ1100 that i rode for many years up until now. under heavy load in second it would pop in and out of second making acceleration very choppy and it made it harder to actually hit second when trying to shift nice and fast and i actually ended up missing second a number of times because of it. after the gear set was taken apart and the first few gears were under cut it stuck in gear like it was supposed to and i never had any more problems. i know what you mean when youre shifting and it feels like its bouncing off a couple teeth before it locks up and settles into second like its supposed to. i ride my bikes hard and i always will, so ill likely find many of the faults in the motor and transmission along the way.

hopefully you can get it solved, even taking the set apart and taking it to a machine shop to get undercut shouldnt be that bad. good luck!

 

Pat, when you get the Clutch Basket off take a good look at the engine casing behind it for stress cracks etc right around the bearing ......hopefully though it
will be good.