Martin, Do you really think that the subframe bolts would break if they were tight? My "theory" is that if they are always tight, they will not break. Bolts are designed to be tight. As soon as they become loose, bending stress breaks them. I like this theory. Robert Wichert P.Eng. LEED AP BD&C +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 ===============================================
On 12/29/2013 9:42 PM, Martin Earl wrote: HI Stu. I have followed your adventure from the first post, and the only way it could be more miserable is if you were doing it outside, 40F under a streetlight. Oh, do I feel your pain. from that extraction. NOTE: Following comments are especially for new readers and new owners, and for those who have delayed doing some upgrades. IRT to the PO shearing the bolt, Kawi-engineers...and other comments from your rant/journey. The best way to avoid much (KLR650) pain is to read the FAQ.s and then read them again, and then DO as the FAQ suggests. (yeah, I see the bolts were sheared when you got the bike...just saying!) It is to bad the previous owner did not follow the FAQ and its suggestions. With the FAQ, there are numerous 'suggestions' to fix dynamically weak points of the KLR; sadly it is not just a Kawi problem. Suzi and BMVu have there share of problems, not to mention HONDA! The engineers did not 'finish' the bike KLR650 to be an adventure bike, rather a Walter Mitty adventure bike. Walter: You got dreams, this motorbike is (only) the entry point. If you want to campaign this bike, certain systems must be hardened or you/me/us will be replacing the parts and THEN hardening the weak parts The do-hickey comes to mind; lever protectors and proper foot pegs (w/ 8.8 bolts) also come to mind. How about a magnetic drain plug; and metal skid pan because I ride where there are ROCKS-A lot. Most people don't need a metal skid plate. shrug. Decide how much you want to risk...I have shark fins to protect the rear brake on two bikes...probably over kill. grin. Brake billet, and rear master cylinder protector...I bought, maybe not necessary. shrug. That said, there is a lot of 'farkle' out there for sale that probably is not necessary...not that I bought any of it. cough. If you want to know what is necessary, look at some USMC scout bike photo's and act accordingly. smile. Most pertinent advice for adding farkle: ride the bike and see what needs to improve. I needed barbacks and a seat upgrade. Others get along just fine without either. shrug. Such as: If you ride when it is cold, and your hands get cold, upgrade to heated grips; that sort of thing. IRT to the sub frame bolts: I replaced the sub frame bolts in all three of my KLR650's almost immediately with the upgrade kit; nary a one was any problem thereafter. Remember, (any) upgrades are NOT a 100% cure-all, but a significant preventative measure. 2006: I did $30K bodily damage to my body while napping in a rut and the deputy-sheriff was disappointed that the bike had no damage. sigh. The upgrades protected everything... ER doc said I was the 'best dressed ER motorcycle customer ever'. = good riding gear is not a guarantee of complete protection, Hardening the KLR, =IMHO: I DO NOT ride my KLR650 as a MX bike but at the limits of my own ability AND the design limits of the improved/hardened KLR. I rarely 'fly' the bike; that said, I have never broken off any sub frame bolts. However, I replace foot peg bolts with some regularity. shrug. That comes from standing on the pegs a lot! My present 'favorite' KLR was bought at 20K smiles, I logged 37K more on it and had the upgraded sub frame bolts out last week while installing the 685 kit. Other than surface corrosion on the lower two bolts, not the slightest indication of thread compression or shearing on any if the four bolts . ymmv. A side note from the FAQ: If any of you new owners have not moved your license plate up, do so; it is not 'if' it will disappear, but when...and that will (most likely) be the first time you fully compress the rear shock. I bend the top 1.5 inch of the plate at about 30degrees to stuff it up under the inner fender and use the lic-plate bottom holes to mount the plate. revmaaatin. 38 miles on Thursday; 70 miles on Friday doing the 685 break-in. big "Black Hills' smiles all around. 118 farkle/maint days till full time riding season. sigh. On Sun, Dec 29, 2013 at 1:35 PM, Stu Mitchell wrote: Hey, Here is where I got my guidance http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205808 and here is where I got the kit http://www.eaglemike.com/main.sc Home of the Doo-Hickey and other handy bits and experience . I ll try to help answer any questions if you run into any issues. But, honestly, if you don t have to go though getting a broken bolt/extractor drilled out, it is not a bad project at all. Be very careful about metal filings from the drill. I used my automotive dropped nut and bolt getter magnet on a stick to help control and collect the filings. But you should still tape , wrap, and surgically cover the bike while drilling. I even flipped duct tape over so I had the sticky side up to help catch filings like fly-paper. The best cutting oil I found was in the plumbing department at Homeless Despots Good luck - good choice for good peace of mind Editorial rant - Rhetorical: So why in the world did Kawasaki use bolts/designs that any freshman engineer in a community college would see are under-specced? That is what most of our upgrades are about - whether it s the Doo-Hickey or the sub-frame bolts, to foot peg bolts or even the available wattage for running accessories - like lights, maybe GPS not even getting to heated accoutrements or radios. Sure, I enjoy wrenching, but I like to be able to pick my battles. But the other side is, I do believe that when all these things are done there aren t any bikes are substantially better on the road or the trail regardless of cost. Some may do one or the other a little better, but not do all of them as well all of the time (borrowed from PT Barnum) as a KLR does. Geez, I sound like an ad . So, if everything (life) comes together then I m hoping to take my ol gal out for some real rides and that s when all of this will have been worth it. Shellon & Stu ~~~~~/)~~~~~ "Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain From: itsdfoot@... [mailto:itsdfoot@...] Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2013 2:52 PM To: cloudnine233@... Subject: RE: [DSN_KLR650] Re: changed to upper subframe bolt rant Being a new KLR owner , I wish you did take some pictures so that we newbies would know we're to look, I wish to do this replacement for piece of mind, while the weather is freezing.but Don,t know where to start. Are there any other upgrades one should know about. Thanks --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! 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There! I think I've both fallen into and illustrated the point. 
