Honda XL 600 RMG stuck in 3rd gear

[crystaljohn]

My Honda XL 600 RMG is stuck in 3rd gear and I cannot manage to change gear or even select neutral.

The gearbox has always been faultless and there has been no gradual loss of ease of changing gear it just suddenly happened.

The gear-lever is not fouling the casing and I can move the lever up and down but nothing is happening.

I have removed the clutch casing on the r.h.s of the bike to see if there was anything untoward visible but everything looks o.k

I would appreciate any input as to what might be the problem

Thanks John.

[hmmmnz]

i vaguely remember a circlip being an issue on the selector arm?? on one of mine pre-internet days, ill have a look at some disgrams and see if that actually makes sense
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[crystaljohn]

Thanks for your reply Hmmmmnz. That sounds like a possibility that a circlip has failed, it was and has been such a great gearbox up until the moment it failed, no signs of anything wrong and then......Just can't get it out of third. I presume a splitting of the crankcases is going to be necessary to repair this problem

[hmmmnz]

in my case it just the side case that the selector is connected to,
id try an avoid splitting the cases untill you have checked everything else,
pull off left hand side cover and see if any thing drops out etc
____________________
the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[crystaljohn]

I already pulled the r.h.s cover and all looked o.k in there, I believe there is nothing selector related under the l.h.s cover from what I can work out. I have a feeling that the only way to access the selector mechanism is to remove engine and split the crankcases!

[hmmmnz]

hmmm, i dont remember having to split the cases (i had already split the cases for a rebuild) but i dont know that i had to re-split them,
fuck knows was 18 years ago
____________________
the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[crystaljohn]

Hmmmmnz I think you might have had one of the earlier XL's where the selector mechanism was behind the r.h.s cover.

[bikenut]

see the exploded views in cmsnl, they will help
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[crystaljohn]

Thanks for your reply bikenut. Sorry I don't understand 'cmsnl' would you explain please. Thanks.

[bikenut]

google cmsnl and follow your nose
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nuts about bikes

[Suntan Sid]

https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-xr600r-1987-belgium_model6867/partslist/
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"Everybody needs money, that's why they call it money!"

[crystaljohn]

I'm on it bikenut, didn't know about that site, very many thanks that's very useful.

[crystaljohn]

Thanks again suntansid.
My XL is an Italian import, called an RMG , the previous owner told me that it was slightly more powerful than the English XL it being something like 41bhp as opposed to the English version 36bhp I don't know how accurate this information is !

I am presuming that XL's share the same crankcases and gearboxes despite slight differing levels of tune?

[bikenut]

look on cmsnl for an italian market one, you have eng,frame numbers etc..........cmsnl is great aint it?? you can see whats inside without laying a spanner on the bike.....bloody marvellouse!!
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nuts about bikes

[crystaljohn]

bikenut I agree a superb site with very clear schematic drawings.

My engine number is: PD04E- 5104981

When I look at the Italian listings for engine numbers they are from

Engine s/n: from 5000057 up to 5013894

So, the plot thickens. I'm still not exactly sure what model bike/engine I do have?

[bikenut]

:D david silver spares may be able to help with numbers or how about honda uk??
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[crystaljohn]

Good thinking bikenut, I'm new to Honda's so all info' gratefully received.

I must say that I'm impressed with the quality of engineering from the little that I have seen of the bike so far, I have only had the carbs off and the clutch cover and it looks very high quality.

I got the bike from a mate of mine who after an accident decided to give up biking. The bike had been standing in a builders yard for about 2 years, unloved and corroding away. I got hold of it, gave it a thorough cleaning, new wheels, chain and sprockets carb strip down and clean e.t.c.. e.t.c and the beast started first stab of the button.

I had a trackday booked for my Ducati but the day before the TD the Ducati started playing up so I took a big chance not wanting to waste the money and took the XL to Brands where I did all six sessions on Knobbly tyres! Great bike until the recent gear issues.

[bikenut]

so its been standing for a while, good job a valve wasny stuck open...........and the clutch was stuck?? due to corrosion of the metal plates??

maybe they have worn the corrosion off by now and dumped it into the eng oil?? and clutch is now out of adjustment??
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nuts about bikes

[crystaljohn]

bikenut The engine, that had had some work done on it prior to being abandoned, was in good shape. It had recently had a new piston&rings, cam chain & tensioner which was the deciding factor in me deciding to buy it. I think my mate had started it once during its layup. The only thing preventing me from starting it when I first got it was the inevitable 'jelly' stuff in the carbs. Once they had been cleaned up and fresh oil & filter in the engine it fired up first go! No corrosion on clutch plates! I can start up the engine with the clutch disengaged!

I did contact David Silver spares and they were very helpful in identifying the bike as a 1986 XL600 RM-G from the engine numbers and Vin/chassis numbers.

Hi John,

No worries. That’s great. In that case your data does match an XL600RM-G 1986 model.
Unfortunately it’s not possible to narrow down the country it was manufactured for from the VIN and engine numbers.

However, if the bike has a VIN plate, it may say ‘Manufactured in Japan’ or ‘Honda Italia’ or similar, so you’ll be able to tell which factory it came from (although, again this won’t tell you which market it was kitted out for (eg UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, General Export, etc, etc)).

Kind Regards
Tim