empty to empty-08

[revmaaatin]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "albatrossklr" wrote:

> > I ride year round in NC and have had no problem with temp with the > stock set-up, coldest ride 30 f hottest ride 100 f. > > Perhaps I'm thick or deluding myself but do not understand the why

of it.

> > albatross > just wondering? >

Terry, Smarter people than me will answer with smarter answers. cough. I will offer the 'consumers' view.... For the bike to operate the 'best' and the 'longest' it needs to operate at its optimum temp. Bill W. says it doesn't. I read his data--his data says, the bike does not get to optimum temp particularly in cooler wx. Yeah, many a bike has survived many a mile without this new 'farkle' but not many people are intending to keep their bike into the 60K+ smiles or really ride when the temp is much below 60 let alone 70F. I ride to cooler temps, and I believe Bill's data, that getting the KLR to optimum operating temp = longevity. I'm convinced. I bought one Thermobob earlier, bought another 'bob' today. I am about long term ownership--not a one-year stand, and move on to the next pretty-girl floozies dual sport. snort. This girl suits my needs just fine (mostly)...I ride the KLX 300 when I want to ride in 'over-my-abilities'...which might be, right after I get it started. Yeah, you to Brute' revmaaatin.

[Nathan Nichols]

On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 3:22 PM, albatrossklr wrote:

> I ride year round in NC and have had no problem with temp with the > stock set-up, coldest ride 30 f hottest ride 100 f. > > Perhaps I'm thick or deluding myself but do not understand the why of it. > > albatross > just wondering?

My 08's temp fluctuates like crazy when its under 40 degrees outside. I can be at a stop light, and the bike may warm to about 1/3 above C. Then after taking off it will cool down to where the temp will be on the line right above the C. Some mornings I've been able to get off the bike after riding 30 minutes to work, and I can hold my hand on the engine and not get burned. My concern with that aside from the engine needs to be warmer to be more efficient, is that the oddball expansion and contraction of the cylinder at the top compared to the bottom is going to cause some abnormal ring and cylinder wear. ----- Nathan

[Terry Hamrick]

So the problem we are discussing is the expansion & contraction of the engine components which some feel may cause undue stress and decreases the life of the engine. I've ridden a wide variety of two wheel contraptions air/liquid cooled and all of them had wide swings in temp, cool when at cruising speed and hot (sometimes brutally hot) when stuck in a light for 4 cycles. I hope the KLR is built to withstand hot & cold cycles as well as the other machines I've had in the past without needing a mod. If not, then I made the wrong decision when it was purchased. albatross just one carzy bird's opinion

On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 8:00 PM, Nathan Nichols wrote: > On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 3:22 PM, albatrossklr > wrote: > > I ride year round in NC and have had no problem with temp with the > > stock set-up, coldest ride 30 f hottest ride 100 f. > > > > Perhaps I'm thick or deluding myself but do not understand the why of > it. > > > > albatross > > just wondering? > > My 08's temp fluctuates like crazy when its under 40 degrees outside. > I can be at a stop light, and the bike may warm to about 1/3 above C. > Then after taking off it will cool down to where the temp will be on > the line right above the C. Some mornings I've been able to get off > the bike after riding 30 minutes to work, and I can hold my hand on > the engine and not get burned. > > My concern with that aside from the engine needs to be warmer to be > more efficient, is that the oddball expansion and contraction of the > cylinder at the top compared to the bottom is going to cause some > abnormal ring and cylinder wear. > > ----- > Nathan > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bill Watson]

Ed Dobson wrote: Bill, is there any advantage to owners using their bikes in hot climates in using a 13828/180deg 'stat vs. the 13829/195deg 'stat supplied in your kit? Also, it appears that Stant now also makes SuperStat versions of 13828 and 13829 which are 45828 and 45829. Any advantage to using the SuperStat thermostat? --------------- The 180 and the 195 both work. My preference is the 195 because in the winter, I've always seen oil temps on the cool, not hot side so I'm trying to make that better. In the summer, the bike will be over 195 anyway so it won't matter which stat is used. Superstat; interesting concept, I'd have to test one with the thermocouples to see if it has even less cycling than their current product. I don't know yet. Bill __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bill Watson]

Albatross wrote: -------------------------- I ride year round in NC and have had no problem with temp with the stock set-up, coldest ride 30 f hottest ride 100 f. Perhaps I'm thick or deluding myself but do not understand the why of it. albatross just wondering? ----------------------------- Terry, that is a totally fair question, I understand. The KLR seems to go anywhere from 30 to 100K all the time already. I can't put a number to it but having warmer oil is a move in the right direction. MPG? Small improvement, around 2 mpg. Longevity? Well, we do seem to see out-of-round cylinders as the bikes age, is this the reason? I don't know. But it seems that the hot-cold-hot-cold water cycle at the bottom of the cylinder doesn't help. So you're right - I can't say "adding this will increase the life of your bike by 30,000 miles" because of all the variables. It seems to provide side-effects that are good, but I can't honestly put a specific number to their value. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bill Watson]

BW wrote: ---------------- If you do the 'tip over' you can get into the 5.6's - not worth the effort IMO. Hope this helps. ----------------- Then the Rev. wrote: ----------------- Bill, ..may I kindly disagree? In fact, TWO 'tip-overs' is better than pushing 7+ miles. Yeah, ask me how I know. (And I am not the only one!) And no, it was not fun, but better than walking. -------------------- Rev, we agree. I should have worded that differently. I was saying you can get 5.55 without a tipover, and I tend to run pretty late before fillups (5.4 to 5.5 at fillup is very common!) It's not worth the risk of a tipover to shoot for a gas station that is 7 miles further down the road when one is in front of me. That was what I was trying to say. I'm with you- if you DO run out, the tip over is well worth it! Bill __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Nathan Nichols]

On Sat, Apr 12, 2008 at 6:24 AM, Terry Hamrick wrote:

> So the problem we are discussing is the expansion & contraction of the > engine components which some feel may cause undue stress and decreases the > life of the engine. > > I've ridden a wide variety of two wheel contraptions air/liquid cooled and > all of them had wide swings in temp, cool when at cruising speed and hot > (sometimes brutally hot) when stuck in a light for 4 cycles. > > I hope the KLR is built to withstand hot & cold cycles as well as the other > machines I've had in the past without needing a mod. If not, then I made the > wrong decision when it was purchased.

The reason I ordered one is that my bike's inability to warm up to a proper operating temperature has always bugged me. I'll baby it until it warms up, but that gets really inconvenient if it never warms up There's a lot of KLRs that have hit high mileage without any issues. However, the 08 has more of a radiator (someone correct me if I'm wrong), and due to some of the oil usage stories from some of the other 08 owners, I felt better about installing one. What convinced me is the charts and data Bill posted on his site. Like the balancer spring that's too short, this is another one of those annoyances that Kawi missed and probably could have corrected if they would have taken the time to study it and cared. I personally don't think this issue is as important as correcting the balancer spring (as lever itself if pre-08). I'm actually more annoyed with having to tear into the side of my engine to remedy it. Nathan

[E.L. Green]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Terry Hamrick" wrote:

> I hope the KLR is built to withstand hot & cold cycles as well as

the other

> machines I've had in the past without needing a mod. If not, then I

made the

> wrong decision when it was purchased.

Note that the average motorcycle is ridden less than 4,000 miles per year, and is retired when it is five years old. That is, the average motorcycle is retired before it gets 20,000 miles on the clock. Now, if that's your plan for the KLR, know that the stock cooling system will get you there with ease. It'll get you to 40,000 miles with ease too. 60,000 miles... that's when KLR's often start getting a bit of piston slap due to ring/cylinder wear. Somewhere around 80,000 miles many folks find it necessary to do a top-end overhaul on a KLR, with a re-bored cylinder, an oversized piston, and a valve job with new seats and seals. Now, the question is whether the Thermobob can extend that. That's not a question I can answer with any certainty. Theory says it [i]should[/i] extend the life of the engine between overhauls. Right now the KLR engine has much the same thermal profile as an air-cooled VW Beetle engine, and much the same overhaul timeframe as an old VW engine, most of which need new rings/cylinders and a head job every 80K miles or so. With a better thermal profile, you *should* be able to double that, much as what has happened with automotive engines, where a new water-cooled VW engine will go at least 160K miles between rebuilds. But whether that actually happens with the KLR engine... (shrug). I suspect it'll be a few years before we know that. -E