Wilsons Sandbox

This was sent to me by EJ VanTassell, who had his KLR blow up at 85mph on the highway due to a doohickey failure, and bits of the spring lodging in the oil pump. He was fortunate to get the clutch pulled in quick enough to avoid falling. BIG files sizes, if you're on dialup please be patient. http://www.microwavehazard.com/ I will add excerpts from his email and his website to my doohickey page when time allows. Devon

OilPumpClose1.jpg says it all. glad EJ is OK, that must of been one hairy ride. Kawasaki, NOW do we have a problem!? Karl J A14

> This was sent to me by EJ VanTassell, who had his KLR blow up at 85mph > on the highway due to a doohickey failure, and bits of the spring > lodging in the oil pump. He was fortunate to get the clutch pulled in > quick enough to avoid falling. > > BIG files sizes, if you're on dialup please be patient. > http://www.microwavehazard.com/ > > I will add excerpts from his email and his website to my doohickey page > when time allows. > > Devon > > Checkout Dual Sport News at > http://www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

Ouch. What has been the experience of people with warranty help from Kawi when this sort of thing happens? I had a `catastrophic engine failure' with a Nighthawk S years ago. There was about a week to go on the warranty. The engine was completely wrecked, so Honda and I just agreed to a price on the bike and they paid me out. gord

----- Original Message ----- From: "KJ" To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 11:41 AM Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] doohickey worst case scenario! > OilPumpClose1.jpg says it all. glad EJ is OK, that must of been one hairy > ride. > > Kawasaki, NOW do we have a problem!? > >

"doohickey" = lever, idler shaft http://www.devonjarvisphoto.com/posted/KLR650/doohickey/doohickey.html Remember that the failure rate is somewhere around 0.6%, so don't get alarmed. Inspecting the assembly does not require rotor removal or special tools. You would need a manual, patience, and reasonable DIY mechanical skill. Moab is in Utah, I've never been there. Top Speed, and what your speedo shows, are usually not the same. When new, my '01 got 110 on the speedo with stock gearing and tires. An honest 100 or 102 probably. I geared it down for offroading, now it hits redline at 95 (indicated). If top speed really concerns you, sell the KLR and get something else. They'll run 80mph all day if necessary, which is fast enough for me. Devon A15 murfalert wrote:

> > Ok, I give, what is this infamous "doohickey"? And where is Moab? > Lastly, what is common top end speed of a KLR with standard gearing? > Murf

In a message dated 8/26/02 10:55:49 AM Pacific Daylight Time, jarvisd@... writes:

> Remember that the failure rate is somewhere around 0.6%, so don't get > alarmed.

I'm a little skeptical about this failure rate, very unofficial dealer feedback I got was about 3% failure rate during the warranty period which wasn't enough to make it urgent for Kawasaki. Post warranty, who knows. I have seen five in my small local area and both my '91 and '97 had failures so as far as I'm concerned the failure rate is 100%. My first experience 4 years ago was scary because my engine locked up when the balancer chain broke. Fortunately I was putting along at 35mph and was able to grab the clutch quickly but earlier in the day I had been riding briskly on a twisty road with lots of trees alongside. If my engine had locked up then the results would have been pretty nasty. Devon, I agree with you that it is a good idea to pull the outer left side case periodically and take a look at the lever. Doesn't take long and its good insurance that everything is as it should be. Kurt Grife

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the failure rate decreased, increased or stayed the same as a result of the '96 balancer system modification made by KHI? I have an A9 with just over 10,000 miles and mine is OK so far. I check it about every 1000 miles or so. I have ordered a replacement doohickey from Jake at Sagebrush and will be replacing mine as soon as it arrives - should be soon; they went to the hardener about 10 days ago I figured for the $30 it was cheap insurance.

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Devon Jarvis wrote: > This was sent to me by EJ VanTassell, who had his KLR blow up at 85mph > on the highway due to a doohickey failure, and bits of the spring > lodging in the oil pump. He was fortunate to get the clutch pulled in > quick enough to avoid falling. > > BIG files sizes, if you're on dialup please be patient. > http://www.microwavehazard.com/ > > I will add excerpts from his email and his website to my doohickey page > when time allows. > > Devon

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Krgrife@a... wrote:

> I'm a little skeptical about this failure rate, very unofficial

dealer

> feedback I got was about 3% failure rate during the warranty period

which

> wasn't enough to make it urgent for Kawasaki. Post warranty, who

knows. I

> have seen five in my small local area and both my '91 and '97 had

failures so

> as far as I'm concerned the failure rate is 100%.

I recently sold my trusty KLR and replaced it with a GS/PD. I don't think the GS will stay around that long. I can deal with the maintenance issues it brings with it but it's just too much motorcycle for my liking - too heavy. Great on the road, but I already have enough pavement-only motorcycles. The balancer issue was in my mind when I elected to sell the KLR after 26,000 miles of adventures and backroad tours. I never liked its weak front end very much either. I am thinking about the MZs with the Yammie 660 motor. If I sell my Paris Dakar this fall, I may look for an MZ Black Panther, maybe mount a larger diameter front wheel to it, and some racks. I think it may do nicely in that form. I am not sure, but I believe Acerbis makes a larger tank for it, which it would need. Who has any accumulated mileage on an MZ? I would be interested in hearing about any doohickeys it may have up its sleeve.

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "monahanwb" wrote:

> --- In DSN_klr650@y..., Krgrife@a... wrote: > > I'm a little skeptical about this failure rate, very unofficial > dealer > > feedback I got was about 3% failure rate during the warranty

period

> which > > wasn't enough to make it urgent for Kawasaki. Post warranty, who > knows. I > > have seen five in my small local area and both my '91 and '97 had > failures so > > as far as I'm concerned the failure rate is 100%. > > I recently sold my trusty KLR and replaced it with a GS/PD. I

don't

> think the GS will stay around that long. I can deal with the > maintenance issues it brings with it but it's just too much > motorcycle for my liking - too heavy. Great on the road, but I > already have enough pavement-only motorcycles. > > The balancer issue was in my mind when I elected to sell the KLR > after 26,000 miles of adventures and backroad tours. I never liked > its weak front end very much either. > > I am thinking about the MZs with the Yammie 660 motor. If I sell

my

> Paris Dakar this fall, I may look for an MZ Black Panther, maybe > mount a larger diameter front wheel to it, and some racks. I think > it may do nicely in that form. I am not sure, but I believe

Acerbis

> makes a larger tank for it, which it would need. > > Who has any accumulated mileage on an MZ? I would be interested in > hearing about any doohickeys it may have up its sleeve.

I have the tools on order (Kawi backordered the rotor holder) from Fred, and the dooohickey in hand. As soon as they all arrive, I take a little time and replace the potential risk. Then I can keep the tools, or move them on and have little invested. That issue is really easily solved, and so that would NOT keep me from buying a KLR, or keeping one for that matter. Now if there was some known problem that was very hard/expensive to fix, that would be another matter. I wonder how many "experts" there are on the Yammie 660 engine, considering that there aren't many around? (unless that's the same engine in the ATV??) Anyway, I'm on my second KLR, and glad to be back as there are few bikes that can do as many things as this one... Many do what they are focused on much better, but are not nearly as flexible... Just my $.01 worth today. Ron Crandell St. Cloud, MN

In a message dated 8/26/02 12:59:10 PM Pacific Daylight Time, daveb@... writes:

> Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the failure rate decreased, > increased or stayed the same as a result of the '96 balancer system > modification made by KHI?

I don't know about a change in the failure rate but the failures seem to be of a different nature. The pre '96 had a very weak adjuster spring that would fail and also the lock bolt tended to distort the lever arm (dohickey) so that even though the adjustment procedure was done properly by the owner, internally nothing was moving. Eventually the chain just got looser and would break or jump off a sprocket. OTOH, many of these older bikes have run for many, many miles with no problems. After '96 the system was upgraded with a new and heavier spring, a lock bolt with a washer to spread the force out a bit on the dohickey and the cush drive was removed form the balancer sprockets. It looks to me as though with the removal of the cush drive more force was transferred to the dohickey which then started to have failures. I hadn't seen reports of it failing until that point. Doesn't mean it didn't happen, of course. The KLR motor is pretty dependable except for this one area and it seems to me can be made much better with the relatively inexpensive upgrade now available. I think the key to KLR dependability is keeping that balancer chain tightened which is why I agree with Devon that pulling the left side cover periodically and peering in there is a good idea. Kurt Grife

List subscribers: For sale: 2 GIVI E36 Monokey Hardcases. $110 each plus shipping. Estimation on shipping is around $18 each for priority USPS. For pictures visit: http://home.flash.net/~oaf4242/givi.html I have had these bag for sale on the list before, but had a harddisk crash and have lost all record of those who responded. Thanx, Michael Schenck Albuquerque, NM STOC# 3351 2001 ST1100 "STay froSTy"