Wilsons Sandbox

On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 4:52 PM, serverman2k wrote:

> Hi I recently purchased a 04 KLR 650 with supposedly 900 miles. The > bike looks new and is clean. I felt as though the valve train was > slightly noisy so I checked the valve clearances. > Both intake valves are 4 thousands (bottom of spec) > Exhaust valves measure 7 and 8 thousands. > > The cam looked to be in good shape with no marks and or burning and > or excessive wear. > > I have changed the oil the bike came with, the oil was very black. > I did not have a new filter so I reused the old filter and put in > some good grade Castrol. > > I still feel the bike has a very very slight ticking at idle, it > seems to be coming from the front right area (exhaust side) > > Is this normal for the bike? > > Is this due to the oil and or filter? > > Do I need to use Kawasaki oil? > > Is their a know issue with the Cam retarded and or cam retarder > spring? > > Thank you! > > Ed >

I believe its fairly normal for the KLR valves to be a bit noisy. I know mine are. Since your bike only has 900 miles, don't be suprised if the valves tighten up further. You could go ahead and adjust your intake now to the loose end of the spec. If you decide not to, I'd recommend that you check again in a thousand or so miles. I don't know about the earlier bikes, but my 08 blackens oil fairly quick, but it doesn't use any. KLRs chew up oil (as in viscousity breakdown) pretty quick, so I change mine at around 1,500 miles. As for oil, that's a religious discussion I use dino Rotella-T 15w40 in my bike, as do a lot of other people. It's around $10/gallon at Wal-Mart, and holds up pretty well. As long as it doesn't have the "Energy Conserving" starburst logo on the back of the bottle and/or is JASO-MA, and has the right viscousity, it is probably fine. If the bike hasn't had its balancer tensioner lever (a.k.a. doohickey) changed to an aftermarket replacement, do it! ----- Nathan

Hey all, I'm waiting on my 08 to jump off the back of the freight truck, but the farkles have already started showing up... One thing I'm missing though is a good tank bag. I've got a couple of Bagsters for my FJR and wouldn't mind being able to toss one on the K. But, the picture on the Bagster site for the K makes it look a little "funky". Does anyone have a pic of a K with a Bagster setup? If not, can someone chime in and at least let me know if the tank has changed in '08? Bagster doesn't list the 08's yet and I'd like to know if on '05-07 would fit. TIA! --Jonathan "smthng" Kalmes Springfield, VA 2005 Yamaha FJR1300ABS - "Blue Bayou" 2006 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon - "Teflon" 2008 Kawasaki KLR 650 - "?" (on the way) http://smthng.info "Look, the truth is, I've been trying to save the world, one person at a time, but, I'm meant for smthng bigger. Smthng important. I know it now."