nklr: i am pissed and yes i am yelling

[Jeff Saline]

On Fri, 06 Jul 2007 18:07:03 -0000 "kuppy7441" writes:

> I am rapidly approaching my 5oo mile break in service on my '07 > > KLR. What should I be asking my dealer to service... My dealer is > prodominatly a Harley Dealer and has not impressed me with their > knowledge of the KLR. I am stuck with them because I am not very > good > at turning wrenches. Any guidance would be appriciated. > > Thanks > KUP

<><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><> KUP, I guess if I was gonna let a dealer touch my KLR I'd be asking a few questions before I let them write the service ticket. It would also depend on where I'd been riding as to what I'd ask them to do. Here are a couple of questions I'd probably ask. Oh, and also the answers I'd hope to receive. - What service do they recommend? Should be by the book as listed in your owners manual. - Who will do the work and how many KLR650s do they work on in a year? Should be the best mechanic in the shop and he does a dozen each month. : ) - What parts do they have on hand and what might need to be ordered? Oil and filter and valve shims on hand. Nothing normally needed should have to be ordered. - How long do they expect the work to take as in shop hours and calendar days? Maybe 2-3 hours depending on what's being done and maybe two days in the shop depending on the shop workload. - What is the labor rate and how close to they hold to the estimate? I'd hope for less than $50/hour and they'd call if the estimate was going to be exceeded by more than 10% or so. Meaning if they tell you $120 dollars and they are gonna go over to $150 I'd expect a call before the work happens. If it's cause the mechanic doesn't know what they're doing on the KLR you shouldn't have to pay. But you will. Oh yes you will. : ) - Will they write down the specs on the valves like clearance before and after adjustment and shim sizes in place and replaced? Yes and they'll let the mechanic talk with you too. Having gotten through the above... what I'd probably do is tell the dealer what services I wanted them to preform. Here's what I'd probably be willing to pay for around 500 miles if I wasn't gonna do the work myself. - oil and filter change - valve adjustment Stuff I'd expect a rider to do themselves include: - check and adjust tire pressures (each week or before riding if the bike has been parked) - battery fluid level check and adjust with distilled water - chain tension (not by the book but by squishing the rear suspension and checking it at it's tightest point) - clean and service air filter (changing to No-Toil will make it clean and easy) - tightness of fasteners, check and adjust (especially front end components) - coolant level (check and adjust if needed) - all lights for proper function - horn to see if it beep beeps - clutch cable adjustment, check and adjust if needed - idle, check speed and adjust the SPEED and not the mixture unless you have an issue and know what you're doing Guess that's enough for now. If you tell folks where you're located you may be able to find a local lister that can help you do your own maintenance. I would also consider finding a generic motorcycle repair shop and seeing what they suggest for maintenance and cost. If the dealer doesn't know anything about KLR650s you might as well go to a place where they are friendly and willing to work with you. It might be handy to be able to tell a generic shop the valve shims are the same used on BMW F650s. The outside diameter is 29mm. That will give them another place to source the shims if they don't have them on hand. Good luck, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT

[fasteddiecopeman]

Sh*t, Bob, and you're not even OLD!!! ;>) Ed 64

[Spike55]

If you're not set-up (physically or mentally) for tearing into the bike (take of plastic, seat, gas tank, coil, motor mount bracing, torque wrenchs, sealer, gaskets, etc, etc.), it would be better to have the dealer to it. Now you need the "right" dealer, so tell us what city/state you are near so we can help steer you in the right direction or do it with you with. Don R100, A6F

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "kuppy7441" wrote: > > I am rapidly approaching my 5oo mile break in service on my '07 > KLR. What should I be asking my dealer to service... My dealer is > prodominatly a Harley Dealer and has not impressed me with their > knowledge of the KLR. I am stuck with them because I am not very good > at turning wrenches. Any guidance would be appriciated. > > Thanks > KUP >