xs 650 5th gear?

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Bruce Wayne

XS650 Enthusiast
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I have a 1981 xs 650 and I've seen a lot of 650's that have 5 gears but mine only has 4...
Do most 650's only have 4 or is my 5th gear just busted?

Thanks!
 
before we jump to conclusions.... what kind of RPMs are you turning to run 60mph? When I first go mine, I was overshifting (unknowingly) and skipping 2nd gear... my shifter was sticking a bit, and I had to pull pretty hard on the shifter to get it to comeo up... turns out, I was double shifting... I got it working much better, and it shifts quite nicely now.
 
It's right up between 4 and 5 thousand. The thing is the bike tops out around 85mph and it seems like there should be one more gear after that to push over 100...
 
Bruce Wayne said:
It's right up between 4 and 5 thousand. The thing is the bike tops out around 85mph and it seems like there should be one more gear after that to push over 100...
Click to expand...
I prefer the Factory Service Manual but there are others, Clymers, maybe even online versions. Sounds to me you have multiple problems or perhaps just inexperience. Hanging idle is usually suggestive of a lean condition ie. intake leak. If you can reach 85mph at only 4-5,000 rpm you are most likely already in 5th gear. Indicated speed on the bikes clock can be far off from your actual speed. These don't usually top out at much over the ton.
 
No i'm positive there's only 4 gears on this thing. I'm no idiot. But that's good to know that the speedo on the bike may not actually be what it is... I'll check it against my buddy's car one of these days. And I don't think I'm double shifting each shift seems pretty crisp. Would the clymer service manual have instructions how to fix this?
 
it says how to adjust the shifter pawl and take things apart/put back together.....nothing is a guaranteed fix....could be a transmission problem itself....dive in. you bought an old bike.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
No i'm positive there's only 4 gears on this thing. I'm no idiot. But that's good to know that the speedo on the bike may not actually be what it is... I'll check it against my buddy's car one of these days. And I don't think I'm double shifting each shift seems pretty crisp. Would the clymer service manual have instructions how to fix this?
Click to expand...

There would be instructions for adjusting the shift shaft and diagrams of the transmission gears and gear dogs the rest would be up to you to determine. Gotta drain oil and remove right sidecover to check operation of the shift shaft. See Youtube link below.

 
Sweet thanks for the link! cool to see how things work. I'm gonna have a lot of spare time this week so I'll order a manual and see how far it get's me... Ill post some pics once I get in there because i'm probably gonna need some experienced help.

haha nj1639 do you not have 5th gear either?
 

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