Motorcycle Repair: 82 Yamaha XS400J [missing gear; engine noise], cam chain, engine noise

Question
Hello, Mark.
Sorry, I missed the first reply. It's possible that the spam filter at work accidentally caught it--not sure.

Anyway, no worries about the wait. The bike is tarped-up under 3 feet of snow at the moment, so there's no real rush.

Thanks very much for the help--I'll adjust the cam chain and valves when I pull the bike out of storage... It'll probably get rid of the sound. (also, great tip for listening to engine noise--thanks!)

Regarding the missing gear, I'm planning to open up the clutch and maybe change the plates if they look burnt. I may have a look behind the engine cases to look for some obvious wear while I'm at it... Other than that, I don't have any good ideas, so if there are a few easy things that you think I should look for, please let me know. If that doesn't turn anything up, I'll pay someone to have a look at it--but I'm determined to do all of the maintenance myself (even if it means removing the engine--heck, it could use an overhaul anyway!).

Cheers!
Allan  

Answer
Hey Allan,

The delay was caused by a virus. It was taking five minutes to open any window. I was ready to bust a cap in my PC. :)

Send me an email and I will return some information files on clutch and more. You'll like the files. They're very detailed an informative.

My email is "mcso429@netzero.com" Keep my email for future assistance.

Mark