Wilsons Sandbox

From: "sopwithv" Subject: Re: A few questions please I grew up with bikes that had no switch on the sidestand and I guess the switch can be a asset but if it becomes defective away from home one should be able to disable it till a replacment can be instaled. I had that happen on my Yamaha SRX6 and it took 3 weeks to get a replacment. I was glad to still be riding while I waited. Also it's nicer to drive home than to be trailered. Sopwith ------------ Hi Folks, I'll put my oar in in favor of disabling both the clutch cutout and the kickstand cutout "safety" switches. Not only can a fault in either leave you scratching your head at the side of the road, but they can leave you unable to start your own bike and I, for one, cannot bump start a KLR without a hill. Anything that keeps you from pulling the clutch in while starting the bike becomes an issue, be it a broken clutch cable, broken clutch lever, or munched left hand. BTW -- the side-of-the-road-quick-fix is to by-pass all that and short the terminals on the starter relay with a 14 or 17mm wrench while the ignition is on. (Just don't weld your wrench onto the terminals, ok?) Similarly, anything that doesn't allow you to start the bike while in gear is at least frustrating -- consider you coming to a stop on a hill (up to left, down to right). You stop in gear and for whatever reason, the engine dies. Your left foot's on the ground, you're right is hanging over thin air. For some of us that doesn't even take much of a hill. How do you shift to neutral to start the bike? I disabled my switches so long ago I can't remember if that was a KLR trait or not. I know some of the Suzuki's required the engine in neutral to start. Perhaps the KLR can't be started in gear with the sidestand down? Can't remember. In any case, I'd rather be my own safety switch. I do generally start the KLR with the clutch in -- false neutrals made that a habit on earlier bikes. But I class such safety nazi add-ons as part of the liability tax on modern motorcycles. Sheesh, next I'll be saying that any trouble I get in to is my own fault. BTW -- I'm a late add to this list so wonder if with a 1993 KLR650 do I need to be concerned with Doohickeys? 38k miles. J (A7)

My first guess would be that it's a cheap fix and only affects 3,000 units. That's a far cry from an internal engine part replacement for every registered KLR from 1985 on. Strictly economics I'd bet. Matt

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, Douglas Dick wrote: > > The following is a recall order taken from the Kawasaki website. > > With only three reported malfuncions and one minor injury, Kawasaki has recalled a Quad. One has to wonder why they would not do > such a thing for the doohickey. > > > /30/03 > Name of product: Kawasaki KFX700 "V-Force" ATVs > Units: 3,000 > Distributed by: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. > Hazard: The throttle cable adjuster on the carburetor can loosen during operation, causing it to stick, which can cause the rider to > lose control and possibly crash. snip > > Douglas Dick > Winnipeg, MB CA > mailto:ddick2@s... > > KLR650 A16 > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]