replacing my 5th gear again!
 

I think we're all pretty much familiar now with the 5th gear story on the 34L- I was not a believer until I opened up my bike 5 years ago in preparation for a trans Africa trip, but I replaced the 5th gear and it's mate and rode accross Africa twice always considerate of the fact that these bikes dont like low rev riding in 4th and 5th and thought then that such troubles were over. I was wrong. Ive opened the old beast up again now to find that the "new" 5th gear as well as the old 4th need replacement! F**ck!
Anyways Ijust thought Id share that in case anyone thinks, like I did, that their 5th gear troubles were over.:nono:

Thanks for sharing.

How many KM do you have on the gears you are now changing?

Can you post pictures of the gears?

5th Gear Photos
 

I have photos I can send you but I dont know how to attach them on here.... I can email them to you.
The current 5th gear has about 35000km on it, but 35000km of riding by someone who was constantly aware of the 5th gear issue and so made a point of being careful not to ride in 5th below 3500rpm (as much as is possible on bad roads). The 4th gear is on 79 000km , when i replaced the 5th originally (at around 45000km) I saw that the 4th was not 100% but it looked good enough and I couldnt afford it then so I left it be. Incidentally Im also having to replace my oil pump, various seals and doing a top end overhaul.

Jim

Gear worries
 

Scary stuff! Having recently bought an 86 1VJ with 29000km on the clock, I'm now thinking I ought to take a look inside the gearbox! Is there any way I can get an indication of gear condition without stripping, eg backlash through the final drive sprocket, metal in the oil, noise etc? I'm not frightened of splitting the cases etc (honest!), but would just rather avoid it! BTW, anyone got experience of what the final failure mode is - ie do you just lose the top 2 gears, and can go on with 3?

Hi,I just bought a 2002 and the fifth gear sounds bad,how easy it to replace the gears and do I need a full gasket set?I may as well check the piston out as I need to take the top off too ,I was hoping to get through the summer but I don,t know how long 5th will last....

Keny, how many km on yours?
Do a search here on "5th gear" & you'll find plenty of info incl upgraded oil pumps, etc for the early models to help with 5th gear wear.
Bob

As far as I know the 5th gear problem is unique to the 34L Tenere which was the first one Yamaha made so later models came out with an improved gear. You can tell (sometimes) that the gear is going if you ride in 5th close to a wall or barrier and you can hear a sortof deep humming sound echo off the wall... Vague I know, but basically it seems that if you are riding a 34l with around 40000km on the clock it more than likely needs attention. Unfortunatley checking the gears does require a full strip down of the crank case which is a pretty big job. I would recommend that if you do go for it you use the opportunity to replace the big ends and any other bearings or seals that look even remotely suspicious (bearings and seals need not be bought from Yamaha- you can get perfectly good ones for a fraction of the cost from an engineering supplier). Of course also all gaskets will need replacing and hell you may as well do the top end too! Also to replce the actual gear you need a press to remove and replace the gears from their shaft- I have it done by an engineering workshop, there are clearance limits listed in the Clymer Manual for this job. The crank case halves dont have a gasket, they just take a bit of sealer. BTW no oil pump upgrade will have any effect on your gears. As for what happens when the gears do finally go- I would imagine that it could be disasterous and result in a totally mangled engine as there would be lots of little pieces of metal in the gearbox and oil pump... ugly.

Thanks for that Jim. Think I'll risk leaving it unchecked for next years Morocco trip, but will have to seriously consider getting stuck in if (when!) I manage to get my act together for a longer trip.

Hi Bob,mine has 74,000 kms on it and has a bad whine,don,t know how long it will last but maybe I can get a replacement engine cheap or wait till the winter and tear it down,I,ve asked a couple of questions on a local bike site and maybe I can find some one with a bit of experiance to help me do it.....know any where that is good for cheap gasket sets or parts .....cheers

Some pics from Jim...


http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/v...im_gear_01.jpg

http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/v...im_gear_02.jpg

They look terrible!!!:thumbdown:

I've got a gear set in my shed that are immaculate in comparison!

It's a shame you are so far away!!!:(

I,d be willing to post or have a cash transfer to cover any costs if your still keen to help....ch:thumbup1:rs

Here's what my 43F gearbox looked like:stormy:.
I only looked at it because the top end needed rebuilding...
http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/u...-Gears-WEB.jpg

Wow. Is that fifth and third? And fourth gear OK? Strange…

Do you know if your 43F has the same engine as Jim’s 34L?

This fifth gear thing seems pretty common.

Regarding what XT600 models are at risk, has someone experienced this fifth gear problem on a “newer” bike, say after 1990?

Hey G600, (spit it out)......................... or even a 2004/5 TTR600 !!!!!!!!

my 96 xt600e gearbox was in perfect condition when i stripped it down because of a different mechanical failure :(

there has been a few crankshaft woodruff key failures on the later 4pt models :thumbdown:

my 2003 xt600e has done just around 72.000km with no enginework.

I've always heard it only was the early models.

Pigford, yep, wondering if I should tear into the TT’s engine and take a look. Not now but maybe next winter. I think the new oil line that squirts oil directly on the gearbox was introduced in 1990, in the 3TB model. So I am curious if this new oil line eliminated the fifth gear problems.

Wolfzero… thanks. I saw the pictures of the engie… Ugly stuff.

Jens, 72K? No engine work? Not even a new clutch? Wow… and I have seen in your pictures that you really use the bike… You got to love these bikes. My KTM520 lasted maybe 10K km, before the gearbox broke. It had some crankshaft problems also…

I bought it with 51xxxkm on last summer, and now its just under 72.000, so it has been used well =) But i do change oil often, and change the filter everytime. Thats a good start.

Its been riding all winters (and you can tell) but the engine is going strong, without any weird sounds, and I've even tuned it up a bit. Foamfilter, opened airbox, oversize headers and laser produro exhaust. I guess the foamfilter is adding to make the bike more reliable, as it should let less dirt through.

A guy here from Denmark bought a xt600 in the mid 80's as far as i recall, he did 250.000 of commuter km's before the piston got stock. New piston, bored and honed cylinder new bearings and rod, and cam chain and he's done 35.000km since. It costed him under 300$ in parts.

Thats what theese bikes are all about. The wont wheelie in 3rd or 4th like a pumped ktm, husqvarne og anything like that, and they are big and heavy, but they will keep on going.

This pic from todays ride says it all:

http://peecee.dk/uploads/112009/DSC00289.JPG

Mine is a 2002 600e and the gears are on their way out,anyone know who does good replacement gear cogs apart from yamaha that is!

Kenymact, sorry to hear. I have not heard of anyone supplying gears except Yamaha.

But this is new info in this thread. Since you have a 2002, obviously the “new” oil line (squirting oil on the gearbox) did not fix the problem.

The Yamaha gears are not actually as expensive as you may think - I paid about R1100 for the 2 which is around 85 Euro. This is the cost in South Africa- maybe you guys get ripped harder than we do...

I think Kenymact was after "non-Yam" gears so they last longer - more of an UPGRADE :cool4:

Any gears would be good at the moment,being new to yam xt series I,m not sure how the engine s are identified,or whet year model is which,I still need to find my eng id number but don,t know where to look as I have no manual yet.

I,ve just ordered a complete overhaul gasket set from e bay,I will order a wiseco oversize piston next and start by finding some special tools I might need like the one that holds the crank from turning,looks like a pair of mole grips with long arms and two dowels for holding stuff.......

Not sure how big I should go on the oversize piston so if any one has done it before drop me a line as all help is welcome.

I,m looking on e bay for some gear clusters but as mine is a 2002 600e model I don,t think they come up very often but if any one has sourced some from somewhere could they let me know....

Kenymact if you have the time, I think many guys on the HUBB would be most interested in a short description and some pictures of the rebuild. :thumbup1::thumbup1:

Btw, how many KM do you have on the XT?

[quote=kenymact;264654]
Not sure how big I should go on the oversize piston so if any one has done it before drop me a line as all help is welcome.
quote]

piston maximum is dictated by barrel liner size if you don't change the barrel liner and enlarge the crank case aperture 3mm oversize is the max without new liner and crankcase mods which gives you a piston of 98mm and a capacity of 635 ish cc :innocent:

i've got a high comp 98mm in my supermoto xt 600 see the thread of the same name for details :thumbup1:

Hi G600,it had 73000 kms when I picked it up but put anothe 800 riding home from the North Island of newzealand to my house in christchurch which is in the south island...