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almost got my new klr ('89) all the way home.... (longish)
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 11:50 pm
by brooksd_1
After watching for a while, I picked up an '89 KLR650A with 21k on it
today. Got it most of the way home when I noticed the pegged temp
gage and the fact that the clutch wasn't really working.
Fotunately the last mile home was down hill, and the opptamist in me
is happy it's such a light bike (compared to my VFR anyway...). Not a
bad push at all.
The clutch cable was melted where it routes next to the pipe... It's
still out there cooling down so I haven't dug into the cooling system,
but I do know there is what looks like plenty of "coolant" in the
overflow.
Since I've had the bike less than two hours, I don't have a service
manual yet. But glancing quickly over the bike it looks straight
forward enough. However, are there any gotchas I should watch for in
the system? I'd imagine it's either a dead water pump, stuck
thermostat, or seriously clogged radiator. Not that there is much
more to the system, but is there any thing else common I should be
looking at?
Also, on the clutch cable, any suggestions to protect the replacement.
Hopefully it won't get this hot again, but it seems to be routed
awfuly close to the exhast. Anyone done anything? Maybe a steel
braided cover for it, or some kind of shielding?
Before you ask, it was from a little shop and I'm sure it was an as-is
thing. He'd just gotten the bike so I'm fairly sure he didn't know
about this... I'm inclined to fix it even if he would refund my
money, as it's a pretty clean bike otherwise and at a $1000 and 15
years old I didn't exactly expect factory new.
With anyluck he'll be wiling to cover the parts since I'll be doing
the labor... we'll see tomorrow.
Thanks in advance for any help turning me into a KLR rider rather than
just an owner...
Brooks
almost got my new klr ('89) all the way home.... (longish)
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:12 am
by dumbazz650
--- In
DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "brooksd_1"
wrote:
> After watching for a while, I picked up an '89 KLR650A with 21k on
it
> today. Got it most of the way home when I noticed the pegged temp
> gage and the fact that the clutch wasn't really working.
>
> Fotunately the last mile home was down hill, and the opptamist in me
> is happy it's such a light bike (compared to my VFR anyway...).
Not a
> bad push at all.
>
> The clutch cable was melted where it routes next to the pipe...
Welcome to the club, Brooks!
Most likely due to improper routing of the cable -too close to the
head pipe. If you need a pix or diagram holler and somebody here
will pull one up fer ya.
Overtemp maybe due to any number of things as you suggested.
Start by checking the fan. There's a temp pickup switch located near
the bottom of the radiator that toggles a relay that turns on the
fan. To check the fan, gently pull the wire off of the temp pickup
switch, and ground it to the bare aluminum fins on the cylinder.
The fan should come on when you do this. Post results here.
As a baseline with any used KLR, I'd suggest the following:
1. Clean oil screen.
2. Oil & Filter change, oem filter and good quality 10w40 or 20w50
3. Flush and refill the cooling system, Honda premixed coolant is ok
4. Valve check and adjust
5. Lube cables (clutch, throttle, and speedo)
6. Top off battery w/ distilled H2O
7. Do the doohickey swap
Then just ride the booger... later you can decide how much farkle
crap you need to add-on to make it suit you (I has a bunch on mines)
8^).
Check the FAQ
...
http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.htm
and Mark's How-To site
...
http://klr6500.tripod.com/
and the MSM site
...
http://www.multisurfacemotorcycling.com/klr650_page.htm
Loads of good info on a great bike.
MarkB
almost got my new klr ('89) all the way home.... (longish)
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:56 am
by dooden
--- In
DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "dumbazz650" wrote:
> --- In
DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "brooksd_1"
wrote:
> > After watching for a while, I picked up an '89 KLR650A with 21k on
> it
> > today. Got it most of the way home when I noticed the pegged temp
> > gage and the fact that the clutch wasn't really working.
> >
> > Fotunately the last mile home was down hill, and the opptamist in me
> > is happy it's such a light bike (compared to my VFR anyway...).
> Not a
> > bad push at all.
> > The clutch cable was melted where it routes next to the pipe...
>
> Welcome to the club, Brooks!
>
> Most likely due to improper routing of the cable -too close to the
> head pipe. If you need a pix or diagram holler and somebody here
> will pull one up fer ya.
>
> Overtemp maybe due to any number of things as you suggested.
> Start by checking the fan. There's a temp pickup switch located near
> the bottom of the radiator that toggles a relay that turns on the
> fan. To check the fan, gently pull the wire off of the temp pickup
> switch, and ground it to the bare aluminum fins on the cylinder.
> The fan should come on when you do this. Post results here.
>
> As a baseline with any used KLR, I'd suggest the following:
> 1. Clean oil screen.
> 2. Oil & Filter change, oem filter and good quality 10w40 or 20w50
> 3. Flush and refill the cooling system, Honda premixed coolant is ok
> 4. Valve check and adjust
> 5. Lube cables (clutch, throttle, and speedo)
> 6. Top off battery w/ distilled H2O
> 7. Do the doohickey swap
>
> Then just ride the booger... later you can decide how much farkle
> crap you need to add-on to make it suit you (I has a bunch on mines)
> 8^).
>
> Check the FAQ
> ...
http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.htm
>
> and Mark's How-To site
> ...
http://klr6500.tripod.com/
>
> and the MSM site
> ...
http://www.multisurfacemotorcycling.com/klr650_page.htm
>
> Loads of good info on a great bike.
> MarkB
Nice responce.
Glad you just did'nt coast home, since the engine internals need lube
and if the engine is not running the oil pump ain't turning which in
turn things would be turning without oil
Some have reported that the nipple at the bottom of the coolant tank
being melted shut where the hose connects, easy to find out, pull the
hose and inspect, perhaps the cooling system is low on water, and if
the coolant tank is melted shut none can flow into the system.
http://klr6500.tripod.com/wpump.htm Peek here it shows details about
the cooling system.
Welcome to KLRville
Dooden
A15 Green Ape
Yooperland
tire llife
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 8:32 am
by Doug Herr
On Thu, 8 Jul 2004, Mike Peplinski wrote:
> How much tread depth is considered safe on a front tire ( Dunlop knobby)?
I think it was something like 2mm for the stocker, but it did
have wear indicators, so if you are not to them yet, there there
is some life left. Of course, they do get just a little less
safe as they wear, so some would replace them sooner then the
minimum.
--
Doug Herr
doug@...