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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
Photo by George Guille, It's going to be a long 300km... Bolivian Amazon

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by George Guille
It's going to be a long 300km...
Bolivian Amazon



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  #1  
Old 9 Aug 2002
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1 VJ
Hi,

I have just been informed that the 5th gear in the Tenere gearbox always disintergrates after about 15 000 miles. the pieces then proceed to rip up the engine.

Is this true or is it scare mongering?
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  #2  
Old 10 Aug 2002
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Who told you that?

I have also been told this by a certain person (who shall remain nameless for the time being). Someone else has told me that by 30-40K miles the 2nd and 5th will be chipped, possibly leaving small pieces of hardened cog floating round in the oil (until the filter at least).

The problem is that the chips mangle the rotors in the oil pump. Anyone who doesn't think this is true, let me know - I'm not that technical...

It would seem that there is an ELEMENT of truth in this rumour, but I should think that frequent oil changes would eliminate the chance of severe engine damage.

PS - I think it's an expensive job to fix, so beware of mechanics trying to make a quick (BIG) buck out of you.
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Old 11 Aug 2002
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yes, this is a well known problem.
but the milage when this occurs depends very much on how you ride the bike.
i know a XT600 which has done more than 120000 kms and her engine insides have never seen european daylight...
avoid very low and very high revs.
5th gear shouldn't be used below 4000...4500 rpm. avoid hard accelerating from low revs.
always try to keep revs between 4500 and 5500.
use secondary ratio 14/40 (or 14/45 for 3AJ and later models).

klaus
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Old 11 Aug 2002
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The Tenere (3AJ) I bought had just had a complete engine rebuild after 5th gear went pop and showered the inside of the motor with steel chips (at 50000Km) so yes it can happen and if it does it's expensive.

But - I didn't realize that "avoid low revs in 5th gear " actually means "don't use 5th below 4000rpm" - bugger!
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Old 12 Aug 2002
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Thank you for excellent and informative replies. The problem seems to be made worse, since my XT feels happiest (riding slowly round London at the moment) at 3-4K rpm. I will try to rev it a little more in the future!

Is there any way of knowing by listening, or through any inspections procedures the state of the gears? It seems an expensive thing to do, to have to remove the engine "just in case" the gears are bad...

Are there aftermarket parts (gears) available to stop the probem happening again when the motor is rebuilt?

Thank You
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Old 12 Aug 2002
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Hi

I just opened a 3AJ engine this weekend. It had done 25.000 km when I bought it two years ago. I replaced after riding 3000 km with a second hand engine because the 5th gear was 'screaming'. I only noticed it when riding next to a crashbarrier with the sound refelecting. I actually couldnt believe this was really caused by a bad gear but becuase of stories I heard (on this BB)I decided to take no risk and stopped riding with that engine.
Now I'm very happy I did! The engine turns out to be almost new expect for the fifth gear sprockets.... they where pitted really bad, one tooth already had a small piece missing completely.
Riding on with it probably would have ruined the engine, but now it's a fairly easy and relatively cheap operation.
Must take a special kind of rider to ruin a engine in 25.000 km and then sell it (to me) :-)

So ride next to crasbarrier with about 90 km/hour and listen. If you hear something that sounds like German divebomber in the second World War (even in the distance), your in trouble.
To be sure: change gear and it should stop.

Peter
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  #7  
Old 12 Aug 2002
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thanks for all the replies,

i get a whurring sound but only at low speeds in 2nd gear and only occasionally. so i don't know if it comes from the gearbox. has anyone else had this?

also does anyone know how to improve the oil cooling system on the 1VJ as i've heard it is prone to overheating.

we leave on our africa trip in 3 weeks time, the last minute panic is in!! so your help is much appreciated.
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Old 12 Aug 2002
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Whirring sounds, esp. at lower speeds may well be your tyres. Does the sound change when you alter the pressures? How about riding off-road - same sound?

Personally, I'm quite relieved since my bike is *not* sounding like a dive-bomber just yet. The selector drum is worn though, causing it to jump out of gear under load.

Obviously, everything will be replaced when I do the rebuild...
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Old 12 Aug 2002
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maybe what you hear comes from the chain?
of course you can cruise at 3..4k rpm but to accelerate you should shift down or do it really carefully.
regarding cooling please look in older postings. i think i have already described what to do. if you can't find, please contact me.

klaus
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  #10  
Old 13 Aug 2002
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Its really difficult with engine noises. My 1VJ sometimes seems to make a saml sucking noise, but I don't thinnk its the gearbox.

I'm a novice with bikes but I think it is easy to get paranoid about all the engine noises. Unless you (well, WE actually) can hear another 1Vj known to be in good order how can we really know if the noises we hear are "correct" noises or "bad noises" ?

A 1vj isn;t really like a car where you're islotaed from the engine so you'll hear more noises anyway I guess.

Not really going anywhere with this email...

Simon
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Old 14 Aug 2002
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Klaus - a quick question:

When lubing my chain the other week I leaned the bike by the handlebar, with the front brake help on with a strap. I have seen this done many times, when there is no sidestand.

My question is how easy is it to disable the sidestand switch? I hear problems when it gets wet or worn, causing engine cut-outs... I would like to bypass mine, but I don't know whether to wire it "open" or "closed" and how best to do it?

Have you done this modification?

Vielen Dank!
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Old 15 Aug 2002
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it's simple: just connect the blue/white and the blue/yellow cable at the connector. doing this, a lift-up sidestand is simulated.
but you should do so only for testing purpose. i do not recommend to ride continuously like this. you risk your life, riding unaware of a sidestand down can cause serious accidents!
so, as long as the switch functions, leave it as it is. if you get trouble with the ignition you know where to look first. if necessary, buy a new one.

regards
klaus
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  #13  
Old 16 Aug 2002
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Thank you. Just what I needed to know.
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  #14  
Old 5 Sep 2002
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Hello all .
Regarding the xt6 gbox problem.
I believe the 5th (and 4th and 3rd) gear problem starts at about 15000 miles.
I have never found a perfect 5th pair in any pre 4PT(96 600e) that has done more than 20000 miles.
The second 3AJ model with the long oil cooler and the 3TB xt600e is slightly better than the early 3AJ and the 1VJ but not much.
This problem can cause damage to the engine very early on or with enough oil and filter changes can run untill 40 or 50K untill you eventually lose whole teeth.
Its a big gamble.
Come and see my collection of split crankcases and bent shafts if you doubt the end result!!!
There is an uprated gear kit available (but only as part of a full rebuild) that has so far proven to be as reliable as the 4PT setup.
The early short o/p shaft kick only gearboxes can also benefit from upgrades.
Why did yamaha wait so long to use the 4PT setup - it was available as far back as the first 660 in 1991?
Shame it doesnt fit earlier models.
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  #15  
Old 5 Sep 2002
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Uh Oh!

This doesnt sound great!

I have just finished a top end rebuild on a 1vj prior to a sahara trip this xmas. The bike has 45000 km on it and makes no whirring or whining sounds in top gear(or any other). What is a realistic expectation of this bike experiencing problems in the next 5000 miles? ( as a percentage, obviously I know as well as you that there is no real answer to this until something happens) Is it really necessary to complete a bottom end job prior to departure?

Thoughts please?

Dave
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