safety

[sh8knj8kster]

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

> > 09s are not supposed to guzzle oil like the 08s.

clip, clip, clip ~~~Not all 08's consumed coopious amounts of oil. Mine didn't. The last few oil changes I would drain and refill about every 1200-1500 miles, w/o having to add oil in between Once I rode up to B'Ham AL using a lot of slab and rode at slab speeds (5 K RPM's + w/oe gearing) I didn't have to top off the oil til 800 miles, then used a pint + but that was all high speed droning/riding where a single will use oil. Mixed use locally, no oil was needed between oil changes Jake Reddick Fla. "I always heard there were three types of suns in Kansas; sunflowers, sunshine, and sons of bitches" The Outlaw Josey Wales http://www.shakinjake.blogspot.com/

[sh8knj8kster]

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

> > My KLR 09 likes to drink oil and according to Kawi, a quart every 1000 miles is OK. My drinks (burns out) about a 1 Quart and 5 oz. every 1000 miles. Kawi also said this was acceptable . Bike runs great. I commute 70+ miles round trip on a combination of rural roads (34 miles @ 65/70 mph), City streets (24 miles of stop and go @ 35 mph) and dirt roads (12 miles of dirt roads @ 45 mph). Bikes has had this problem from day one. (Current mileage10785 miles ) No Mods just farkle. HT Crash guards and Panniers. > > I guess I'm looking for some advice on what my next move should be to resolve this issue. > > > Ken > Colorado >

~~~There's a piston kit sold by Schnitz racing that is reputed to stop the oil loss you are experiencing. You send them your barrel and they return the barrel with their piston, or you could have a local shop handle the cylinder boring, but I think addding oil is cheaper, just keep your eye on the oil level Supposedly some cylinders are out of round straight from the factory which will cause high oil consumption. I beleieve most of the oil use issues with the later models of KLR are linked to this and not related to valve train irregularities When I bought my 08' (late 07') it was too early for this model to hear of the oil problems but my plan was to use the mototune man's method of engine break in and I did-lots of high RPM use straight out of the parking lot, and always decel engine brake. I'd run it high as I could in each gear but stayed mostly in 1st through 3rd gear, then let the motor brake the speed by chopping the throttle. I did that for the first 20 miles then drained the motor oil and changed the oil filter. this is a very good way to seat piston rings. the motor was tight when new and resisted being run at a high RPM but I ran it as high as I could (RPM's) Jake Reddick Fla. We believed that anything worth doing was worth overdoing. Steven Tyler http://www.shakinjake.blogspot.com/

[Mike Hilton]

Ken, I had my 08 in for warranty on the oil consumption issue, mine was using about that much and maybe slightly more than yours.  My dealers service rep. convinced Kaw to allow them to tear it down and see if there was a problem.  They found that the cylinder was out of round.  This is with the bike at 11K on the odometer.  I had a choice of having Kaw replace the cylinder and piston with new ones or allow the dealer to bore the cylinder to the first over size and install  a new piston and rings.  I chose to go with the first over size.  Now 7K later, odometer at 18K, my bike is starting to  us oil at the same rate or more.  I reported it to my service rep  and advised him I was starting a consumption test.  To start it off, I  had  them change oil (Kaw 10W40) and filter and note the mileage.  I'm only at 250 miles and have had to add 250cc's.  Plan on making a 500  mile run this weekend at highway speeds,  55 to 65 and finish up the test.  I'll try and post to the list when I find and what Kaw is willing to do. Mike Hilton Louisiana   PS: on the 08's they increased the oil change interval to 7.5K, but I faithfully change oil and filter at 5K.  Your dealer can make the difference with Kaw!  

----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] kjedick@... [b]To:[/b] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [b]Sent:[/b] Wednesday, September 29, 2010 11:09 PM [b]Subject:[/b] [DSN_KLR650] Oil Consumption   My KLR 09 likes to drink oil and according to Kawi, a quart every 1000 miles is OK. My drinks (burns out) about a 1 Quart and 5 oz. every 1000 miles. Kawi also said this was acceptable . Bike runs great. I commute 70+ miles round trip on a combination of rural roads (34 miles @ 65/70 mph), City streets (24 miles of stop and go @ 35 mph) and dirt roads (12 miles of dirt roads @ 45 mph). Bikes has had this problem from day one. (Current mileage10785 miles ) No Mods just farkle. HT Crash guards and Panniers. I guess I'm looking for some advice on what my next move should be to resolve this issue. Ken Colorado

[RobertWichert]

It occurs to me that burning oil will put out more smog forming chemicals (reactive organic gases).  Does your state or federal air quality department care about this?  Would it fail a smog test? Other than that, I would most likely be content to just add the oil at that rate, although one quart for every 1000 miles does seem pretty high. Robert P. Wichert P.Eng +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 ========================================================

On 10/1/2010 4:12 PM, Mike Hilton wrote:   Ken, I had my 08 in for warranty on the oil consumption issue, mine was using about that much and maybe slightly more than yours.  My dealers service rep. convinced Kaw to allow them to tear it down and see if there was a problem.  They found that the cylinder was out of round.  This is with the bike at 11K on the odometer.  I had a choice of having Kaw replace the cylinder and piston with new ones or allow the dealer to bore the cylinder to the first over size and install  a new piston and rings.  I chose to go with the first over size.  Now 7K later, odometer at 18K, my bike is starting to  us oil at the same rate or more.  I reported it to my service rep  and advised him I was starting a consumption test.  To start it off, I  had  them change oil (Kaw 10W40) and filter and note the mileage.  I'm only at 250 miles and have had to add 250cc's.  Plan on making a 500  mile run this weekend at highway speeds,  55 to 65 and finish up the test.  I'll try and post to the list when I find and what Kaw is willing to do. Mike Hilton Louisiana   PS: on the 08's they increased the oil change interval to 7.5K, but I faithfully change oil and filter at 5K.  Your dealer can make the difference with Kaw!   ----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] kjedick@... [b]To:[/b] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [b]Sent:[/b] Wednesday, September 29, 2010 11:09 PM [b]Subject:[/b] [DSN_KLR650] Oil Consumption   My KLR 09 likes to drink oil and according to Kawi, a quart every 1000 miles is OK. My drinks (burns out) about a 1 Quart and 5 oz. every 1000 miles. Kawi also said this was acceptable . Bike runs great. I commute 70+ miles round trip on a combination of rural roads (34 miles @ 65/70 mph), City streets (24 miles of stop and go @ 35 mph) and dirt roads (12 miles of dirt roads @ 45 mph). Bikes has had this problem from day one. (Current mileage10785 miles ) No Mods just farkle. HT Crash guards and Panniers. I guess I'm looking for some advice on what my next move should be to resolve this issue. Ken Colorado

[Kelly Norman]

Because I work on a military installation - I have to wear my yellow ICON (though other vendors are making them now) all the time.  When I am on my Nomad ... no wind problems at all - I often leave it unzipped.  When I am on the KLR I do have to keep it zipped ... but generally have no problems with ballooning at all.

[Mike Hilton]

At that rate Robert all I'll have to do is remember to change filter every 7.5K, my oil will always be fresh. Mike H.

----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] robert@... [b]To:[/b] fmhilton@... [b]Cc:[/b] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com ; kjedick@... [b]Sent:[/b] Friday, October 01, 2010 6:28 PM [b]Subject:[/b] Re: [DSN_KLR650] Oil Consumption   It occurs to me that burning oil will put out more smog forming chemicals (reactive organic gases).  Does your state or federal air quality department care about this?  Would it fail a smog test? Other than that, I would most likely be content to just add the oil at that rate, although one quart for every 1000 miles does seem pretty high. Robert P. Wichert P.Eng +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 ======================================================== On 10/1/2010 4:12 PM, Mike Hilton wrote:  

Ken, I had my 08 in for warranty on the oil consumption issue, mine was using about that much and maybe slightly more than yours.  My dealers service rep. convinced Kaw to allow them to tear it down and see if there was a problem.  They found that the cylinder was out of round.  This is with the bike at 11K on the odometer.  I had a choice of having Kaw replace the cylinder and piston with new ones or allow the dealer to bore the cylinder to the first over size and install  a new piston and rings.  I chose to go with the first over size.  Now 7K later, odometer at 18K, my bike is starting to  us oil at the same rate or more.  I reported it to my service rep  and advised him I was starting a consumption test.  To start it off, I  had  them change oil (Kaw 10W40) and filter and note the mileage.  I'm only at 250 miles and have had to add 250cc's.  Plan on making a 500  mile run this weekend at highway speeds,  55 to 65 and finish up the test.  I'll try and post to the list when I find and what Kaw is willing to do. Mike Hilton Louisiana   PS: on the 08's they increased the oil change interval to 7.5K, but I faithfully change oil and filter at 5K.  Your dealer can make the difference with Kaw!   ----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] kjedick@... [b]To:[/b] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [b]Sent:[/b] Wednesday, September 29, 2010 11:09 PM [b]Subject:[/b] [DSN_KLR650] Oil Consumption   My KLR 09 likes to drink oil and according to Kawi, a quart every 1000 miles is OK. My drinks (burns out) about a 1 Quart and 5 oz. every 1000 miles. Kawi also said this was acceptable . Bike runs great. I commute 70+ miles round trip on a combination of rural roads (34 miles @ 65/70 mph), City streets (24 miles of stop and go @ 35 mph) and dirt roads (12 miles of dirt roads @ 45 mph). Bikes has had this problem from day one. (Current mileage10785 miles ) No Mods just farkle. HT Crash guards and Panniers. I guess I'm looking for some advice on what my next move should be to resolve this issue. Ken Colorado