hello all you fellow xt owners can i ask a question? i have recently put a new clutch in my 1vj because it was slipping when i opened the throttle above second gear but now it is not slipping i can ride along in fourth and it will plod along nicely from about 30mph and go up to about 60/70 but if i put it in 5th too early ie below 60 it sounds as though it is in the wrong gear so i need to drop down to 4th but when i am doing 70+ it is ok does this sound correct is it like an overdrive gear for higher speeds or have i got a duff gearbox? i also have trouble getting from 1st to 2nd sometimes which means a stripdown and sort out one day but i can live with that at the moment!

Sound's like it might be to high geared.

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Gearing too high, or a serious lack of power meaning that the engine can't pull the highest gear until it is at the top end of its rev range. As it is capable of over 70, a lack of power seems unlikely, so it's back to gearing. Does it have the original sprockets? (15 and 45, from memory.)

FWIW, my 600 will pull top gear from about 30 upwards without snatching, and gets into its stride by about 50 mph.

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2006 XT660R daily ride, 1994 XT600E about to be reborn, Blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

Hi,
I occasionally end up in neutral when changing from 1st to 2nd and so does my mate on his XT. Probably not worth trying to fix as you get to know when it hasn't quite gone in (neutral light gives a clue as well!). Hope this helps.

Me too. I think "they are all like that, Sir."

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2006 XT660R daily ride, 1994 XT600E about to be reborn, Blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

thanks for your feedback i will check out my sprocket sizes and it seems that my second gear is not unusual so i can live with it as it is thanks again folks i will post my findings to keep us all informed.

crikey i counted my teeth on my sprockets and i have got 15 front an 39 on rear so if it should be 45 then that is quite a difference no wonder i have to be going like a loon to get into top gear i will get a new rear one or set if needed thanks for all the guidance so far i will post my results when i sort it

blimey! give that previous owner a poke in the eye.

just a thought - your present chain might not be long enough for the new rear sprocket

cheers
andy

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Blimey - that's geared about 14% higher than standard. No wonder you were having problems. Fit 15/45, then it will be a happy bike. Agree about the chain - perhaps it might be worth a new chain and sprox whikle you are at it.

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2006 XT660R daily ride, 1994 XT600E about to be reborn, Blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

You may want to double check what year engine you have and then check what sprocket size should be.
They seem to go from 15-39 up to 15-45 depending on year
I got this info from the Kedo catalog

On my 1VJ,it's got a 45 rear and I swap between a 14 tooth and 16 tooth front,depending on what I'm doing.
The 16 front still doesn't make it as tall as the factory gearing (15-40) so it's a bit buzzy at 100km/h.
In your case,you could go down to a 14 tooth front and that should make the bike a bit more interesting.
As it is,you're only 1 rear tooth off factory gearing anyways.

More precisely, if your bike was manufactured until and including '88, the ratio should be 15/39 (long) to 15/41 (very short). If it was manufactured from '89, the standard ratio is 15/45. That is the manufacturing, not the 1st registration!
Pitting in the 5th gear might explain the trouble you have with that, and unfortunately it can affect other gears as little bits of steel travel around the oil circuit. Any strange noises in 5th gear? It pays to use a magnetic drain plug/screw and to keep it under observation.

thank you for your info S P Arnold my bike 1vj has got an f reg plate but i think it was made before/during 1988 so my sprockets could be correct i think the problem is my 5th gears because when i am increasing my speed steadily through the gears when i put it into 5th it is crunching/grinding (i thought this but was trying not to recognise it) lucky for me i have another bike i was rebuilding until i found out it is about three bikes put together but i rebuilt the gearbox because that would not go into third and i replaced all the gears with a good secondhand set but the wiring was a birds nest so i bought myself another bike but i should have took it on a longer test ride so that i might have heard the gear problem/clutch slippng/oil leaking from crack in casing but the more i learn the more i would spot these problems so i will put my other engine in and see how it performs and one day possibly rebuild my original one.Even though these things are a pain i am glad i have my bike i think they are great and i will keep plugging away at it even though i have only had it since oct 08 and only done about 6 hundred miles on it ,once it is sorted i will hopefully do some serious miles i will let you all know how i get on and thanks for all your responses.