I horse traded my trusty 2001 Honda VLX for a 2000 V-Star 650 Custom last weekend. Here the bikes are chilling together while their owners do a little old-fashioned horse trading.
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I got some cash, plus the XVS650 with less than 7K on the odometer, for my VLX with 22K on the odo. The V-Star had spent most of its life sitting, waiting patiently in a garage. It's in very nice condition, plus a Mustang seat, and Viking bags. But, it has a serious problem.
It seems like once I get a machine fully sorted out, I get a bit bored, and start thinking about a new project. My Royal Enfield 500 single was perfect for me, those things always need some attention, but that's another story.
The Yamaha's owner is a friend of a friend, who I've known for some years. He was riding, out of town with a group, they stopped for a while, then when they got going again, the bike refused to shift into 4th gear. He got it home, riding on 2ndary roads in 3rd gear. He investigated as far as removing the right side cover, and pulled the clutch to investigate the shifter sector, then decided he didn't want to take it further. The machine will shift up to 3rd, then encounters what feels like a very solid and immovable interference.
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This is where I came in. I quickly pulled off the easy stuff. By now the bike had been sitting a year, and the battery would need charging, the fuel tank cleaning out, and perhaps the carbs also, and I pulled the seat, just to keep it out of harms way while I work.
![Image]()
If anyone has any suggestions as to what I should be looking at, I'd love to hear them.
I discussed the non-shifting issue in my introductory post and member @dmil123 suggested looking at this thread and viewing the video linked to, which is this: V STAR GEAR SHIFTING PROBLEM - YouTube
The above video discusses a 2002 XVS1100 that developed a shifting problem at ~13k miles. In this case, it seems the screw retaining the shift segment got loose, backed out, and physically interfered with the shift mechanism.
![Image]()
Where the 1100 has this component on the left side with the alternator rotor, my 650 places it on the right side, at the bottom rear. I'm going to take a closer look at the shifter segment, if this is the issue, boy, that is a much easier fix than I expected.
Another thread, that my friend who traded me the V-Star found, is this one:
False neutral problem | Yamaha Starbike Forum (starbikeforums.com)
That's my buddy posting in #36. He was sure that this was the same issue with our red 2000 650 custom.
In this thread we have several owners of XVS650s encountering problems where their machines fail to shift into various gears, mainly from 3rd to 4th. The Original Poster resolves his problem by buying another transmission and rebuilding his original with the best parts from both. It seems that he has decided that the issue was the sliding gear that gives 4th gear stuck on its shaft and would not move laterally. He warns against leaving the machine sitting for too long. There is also some discussion of overheating and oil coolers in the thread.
Our red bike had definitely spent a lot of time sitting, and my buddy didn't change oil when he bought it, which, in retrospect, he considered his "fatal mistake". Even though the bike had less than 6K miles at the time he got it, who knows how old that oil was?
Here's diagrams for the XVS650A transmission:
![Image]()
Here's a verbal description of what I think I'm seeing:
Shaft #1 is input, and has 1rst pinion built in. #5 is splined and sliding. #7 catches the end of the spline and is locked to the Input shaft.
#10 is output shaft. #18 and #14 are splined and sliding, the other three are free spinning, but can be engaged by the dogs on the sliding elements.
Neutral
All forks are centered. 1rst pinion drives #19, first gear, which is freely spinning.
#5 drives #15, which is freely spinning.
No drive goes from input to output.
1rst
Right side fork, #13 pushes #18 into engagement with #19
1rst pinion drives 1rst gear, #19 via sliding #18
2nd
Fork #13 disengages #18 from #19, centers #18.
Left side fork #11 pushes #14 into engagement with #11
2nd pinion #7 drives 2nd gear #11, via sliding #14
3rd
Fork #11 disengages #14 from #11.
Fork #13 pushes #18 into engagement with #15.
3rd Pinion, #5, drives 3rd gear #15, via sliding #18
4th
Fork #13 disengages #18 from #15.
Center fork, #12, pushes #5 into engagement with #2
4th Pinion #2 (via sliding #5), drives 4th gear, #18.
5th
Fork #12 disengages #5 from #2.
Fork, #12, pushes #5 into engagement with #6
5th Pinion #6 (via sliding #5), drives 5th gear, #14.
If I'm seeing this correctly, and the problem is not with the shifter itself, this suggests the problem lies with:
- 3rd Pinion #5 is prevented from sliding, or
- Center Fork, #12 is damaged or locked up on its sliding shaft, or
- Track on shifter drum associated with center fork is blocked or distorted.
I'm thinking of taking a shot at loosening things up with penetrating oil. The clutch is already out. I could close the case back up, fill the case with 50/50 transmission fluid and diesel fuel, pull the plugs out and spin the engine around with the starter motor to pump a little oil into the trans. I could probably even run the engine briefly. Or perhaps winch the machine nose up, so the trans ends up immersed in the juice. I can even apply heat with my electric oil pan heater, then I'll wiggle and jiggle and tap, to try to get things moving again. From the pictures I've seen, it looked like the transmission doesn't normally sit immersed in oil. Is there any access port to get some Kroil in there that doesn't require a complete teardown? Kroil has never failed me, but it's a bit expensive to fill the case with. Also, I'm sure there are plastic parts in there that wouldn't be very happy about meeting Kroil.
What do you guys think? Worth an attempt? Or should I just concentrate on getting the engine out and the cases split?
I found this U-tube video that shows the teardown of a 650 engine, to the point of splitting the cases:
Yamaha V star 650 Crankshaft or Transmission Issues - Engine Split - WATCH OUT! - YouTube
Looks like fun!
I got some cash, plus the XVS650 with less than 7K on the odometer, for my VLX with 22K on the odo. The V-Star had spent most of its life sitting, waiting patiently in a garage. It's in very nice condition, plus a Mustang seat, and Viking bags. But, it has a serious problem.
It seems like once I get a machine fully sorted out, I get a bit bored, and start thinking about a new project. My Royal Enfield 500 single was perfect for me, those things always need some attention, but that's another story.
The Yamaha's owner is a friend of a friend, who I've known for some years. He was riding, out of town with a group, they stopped for a while, then when they got going again, the bike refused to shift into 4th gear. He got it home, riding on 2ndary roads in 3rd gear. He investigated as far as removing the right side cover, and pulled the clutch to investigate the shifter sector, then decided he didn't want to take it further. The machine will shift up to 3rd, then encounters what feels like a very solid and immovable interference.
This is where I came in. I quickly pulled off the easy stuff. By now the bike had been sitting a year, and the battery would need charging, the fuel tank cleaning out, and perhaps the carbs also, and I pulled the seat, just to keep it out of harms way while I work.
If anyone has any suggestions as to what I should be looking at, I'd love to hear them.
I discussed the non-shifting issue in my introductory post and member @dmil123 suggested looking at this thread and viewing the video linked to, which is this: V STAR GEAR SHIFTING PROBLEM - YouTube
The above video discusses a 2002 XVS1100 that developed a shifting problem at ~13k miles. In this case, it seems the screw retaining the shift segment got loose, backed out, and physically interfered with the shift mechanism.
Where the 1100 has this component on the left side with the alternator rotor, my 650 places it on the right side, at the bottom rear. I'm going to take a closer look at the shifter segment, if this is the issue, boy, that is a much easier fix than I expected.
Another thread, that my friend who traded me the V-Star found, is this one:
False neutral problem | Yamaha Starbike Forum (starbikeforums.com)
That's my buddy posting in #36. He was sure that this was the same issue with our red 2000 650 custom.
In this thread we have several owners of XVS650s encountering problems where their machines fail to shift into various gears, mainly from 3rd to 4th. The Original Poster resolves his problem by buying another transmission and rebuilding his original with the best parts from both. It seems that he has decided that the issue was the sliding gear that gives 4th gear stuck on its shaft and would not move laterally. He warns against leaving the machine sitting for too long. There is also some discussion of overheating and oil coolers in the thread.
Our red bike had definitely spent a lot of time sitting, and my buddy didn't change oil when he bought it, which, in retrospect, he considered his "fatal mistake". Even though the bike had less than 6K miles at the time he got it, who knows how old that oil was?
Here's diagrams for the XVS650A transmission:
Here's a verbal description of what I think I'm seeing:
Shaft #1 is input, and has 1rst pinion built in. #5 is splined and sliding. #7 catches the end of the spline and is locked to the Input shaft.
#10 is output shaft. #18 and #14 are splined and sliding, the other three are free spinning, but can be engaged by the dogs on the sliding elements.
Neutral
All forks are centered. 1rst pinion drives #19, first gear, which is freely spinning.
#5 drives #15, which is freely spinning.
No drive goes from input to output.
1rst
Right side fork, #13 pushes #18 into engagement with #19
1rst pinion drives 1rst gear, #19 via sliding #18
2nd
Fork #13 disengages #18 from #19, centers #18.
Left side fork #11 pushes #14 into engagement with #11
2nd pinion #7 drives 2nd gear #11, via sliding #14
3rd
Fork #11 disengages #14 from #11.
Fork #13 pushes #18 into engagement with #15.
3rd Pinion, #5, drives 3rd gear #15, via sliding #18
4th
Fork #13 disengages #18 from #15.
Center fork, #12, pushes #5 into engagement with #2
4th Pinion #2 (via sliding #5), drives 4th gear, #18.
5th
Fork #12 disengages #5 from #2.
Fork, #12, pushes #5 into engagement with #6
5th Pinion #6 (via sliding #5), drives 5th gear, #14.
If I'm seeing this correctly, and the problem is not with the shifter itself, this suggests the problem lies with:
- 3rd Pinion #5 is prevented from sliding, or
- Center Fork, #12 is damaged or locked up on its sliding shaft, or
- Track on shifter drum associated with center fork is blocked or distorted.
I'm thinking of taking a shot at loosening things up with penetrating oil. The clutch is already out. I could close the case back up, fill the case with 50/50 transmission fluid and diesel fuel, pull the plugs out and spin the engine around with the starter motor to pump a little oil into the trans. I could probably even run the engine briefly. Or perhaps winch the machine nose up, so the trans ends up immersed in the juice. I can even apply heat with my electric oil pan heater, then I'll wiggle and jiggle and tap, to try to get things moving again. From the pictures I've seen, it looked like the transmission doesn't normally sit immersed in oil. Is there any access port to get some Kroil in there that doesn't require a complete teardown? Kroil has never failed me, but it's a bit expensive to fill the case with. Also, I'm sure there are plastic parts in there that wouldn't be very happy about meeting Kroil.
What do you guys think? Worth an attempt? Or should I just concentrate on getting the engine out and the cases split?
I found this U-tube video that shows the teardown of a 650 engine, to the point of splitting the cases:
Yamaha V star 650 Crankshaft or Transmission Issues - Engine Split - WATCH OUT! - YouTube
Looks like fun!
