1st valve adjustment, the saga continues

[Mick]

Well, unless you want the shock of your life I suggest you never bend the subframe on your KLR's. The bike came down on the rear of the seat, and bent the aluminum subframe under the seat. I figured it would be about 250-300 for the part, since a frame shop said it would tear apart if they tried to right it. Well aparently Kawasaki wants 660.00 for this part! I think if you bought the bike piece by piece from Kawasaki it would run you about 15k. Total scammers, my last Kawa

[LawsonCL@aol.com]

I understand your disgust with the price for a replacement subframe at $660.00. Heck, I bought my very first brand new motorcycle, a 1968 Honda CL350, for $695.00. But, don't be TOO hasty to give up on Kawasakis. There are motorcycle salvage shops, connected via the Internet, that might have straight KLR250 subframe. If so, the cost would probably be in the $250-300 range you were expecting. Also, I'd check around for other places to straighten your existing subframe. It's no suprise to me that an automobile frame shop can't help you. Their equipment brings 10s of thousands of pounds of pressure to bear on forcing bent auto frames back into alignment. Again, $660 seems out of line for a few feet of mass-produced, jig-welded tubing. Recently, it looked like I might need a new black box for my KLR650. The hit for that little lump of plastic goo and wiring was going to be $300. Luckily, the problem was not electrical. I was told some of Kaw's black boxes go for $500.00. Chris Lawson dmcgrath@... writes:

> Well, unless you want the shock of your life I suggest you never bend > the subframe on your KLR's. The bike came down on the rear of the > seat, and bent the aluminum subframe under the seat. I figured it > would be about 250-300 for the part, since a frame shop said it would > tear apart if they tried to right it. > > Well aparently Kawasaki wants 660.00 for this part! > > I think if you bought the bike piece by piece from Kawasaki it would > run you about 15k. > > Total scammers, my last Kawa

[Richard Ohnstad]

Before you give up on Kawasaki, you better know that you have a better alternative elsewhere. This is typical spare part pricing/gouging, and it is unfortunately typical of most if not all vehicle manufacturers. If, however, you want to give up on Kawasaki because the sub-frame is a piece of crap, that is another matter. Richard in Tucson 94 KLR650 86 VFR750

> Well aparently Kawasaki wants 660.00 for this part! > > I think if you bought the bike piece by piece from Kawasaki it would > run you about 15k. > > Total scammers, my last Kawa

[Fred Hink]

[b]There is a BIG difference between valve "timing" and valve "clearance" adjustment.  Loose valve clearances will cause a tapping or clicking noise in the head and cause loss of power and more fuel consumption.  Tight valve clearance will not make any noise but could cause major engine damage.  This is why it is important to have your valve clearance checked.  You may or may not hear any signs of the valves being out of adjustment and the only way to know for sure is to check them.[/b] [b][/b]  [b]Fred[/b]

----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] ATO137528@... [b]To:[/b] DSN_klr650@egroups.com [b]Sent:[/b] Wednesday, October 11, 2000 9:55 AM [b]Subject:[/b] Re: [DSN_klr650] 1st Valve Adjustment, the saga continues I have a comment and then a question that I haven't been able to locate in the archive:  It's agreed that the 500 mile valve adjustment is needed...it's a new motor.  Mine was backfiring and rattling in the top end by the time I had mine done by a shop.  Three weeks and a bunch of $ later (argh!), things were ok.  I have seen several comments that valve timing goes "in" and "out" by itself all of the time.  Should I believe this? Here's the question:  Other than just checking/adjusting per the owner's manual, should I be looking for specific symptoms of valves out of time?  Maybe I don't NEED to adjust all of the time? Of the approximately 15 bikes I've owned, this is my first 4 stroke.  Somebody give a 2-stroke guy a hint! Lamar A14 Visit the KLR650 archives at http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... Let's keep this list SPAM free! Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com