awe crap!

[Jim Hyman]

Tim, Time for some involuntary bonding with your KLR. First, get in the right frame of mind to solve your problem. Don't work on your bike all pissed off. Many times, a mechanical problem is related to work that was recently done. Before you start up your bike, check the simple things first. How's the oil level? Has any coolant leaked & mixed with the oil? [milky colored oil] How's the coolant level in the overflow tank? Is the radiator full? Have you performed any other mechanical work recently? Valve adjustment? Balancer chain adjustment? How has your bike been running since the water pump seal replacement? Was everything running normally before it started misbehaving? It wouldn't hurt to drain the engine oil & inspect it carefully, looking for metal particles or small parts. You can easily remove the valve cover & inspect the top end for anything out of the ordinary. Same goes for the right side engine cover to see if anything is amiss. You could start up your KLR & let it idle to see if it sounds ok. You can use a long screwdriver as a stethoscope to help determine where any wierd sounds are coming from. Place the screwdriver's blade at various points around the engine & place your ear against the plastic handle. You can remove the radiator cap & wait for a bit to see if the coolant circulates through the system. If the coolant is still cold & the temperature guage is more than 1/2 way, there's a problem with the water pump circulating coolant. Professor A9 Federal Way, WA. [USA] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ --- tim.anderson@n... wrote:

> Ever had that point in your bikes' history when everything > seems to start breaking at once. Just pulled in from a ride > around the island. > While I was about a 1/4 mile from home the engine started > running real crappy like it was a 2 cylinder running on one. > At first I thought the chain was slipping, but it was ok. I > just finished doing the waterpump seal replacement and now > this. I just put her away for the evening because I was so > flustered with it. Tommorow I'm gonna dig into it to see If > I can see what the problem is. Does anyone have some > suggestions where I should start. Just when it started to > run bad there was a lot of racket coming from the top of the > engine (valves?)and it ran really rough and choppy. I'll take > any advice the collective can throw my way. Thanks. > Signed > "I can catch break" Timan