jeff s. & carb's?

[tmollrocek]

Hey everyone, it's my first post so thought I'd introduce myself.  Im living up in Humboldt County, northern California, and I have an 06 KLR650 which I bought used a few months ago.  Ive been working on it with another member of this group who lives a few houses down.  He pointed me to the group which Im grateful for because I definitely need some sound advice. A week and a half ago I rode the bike 250 miles south to San Francisco and 20 miles before my destination the throttle suddenly stopped responding.  At this point I was going about 70 on the freeway.  The revs just went down over about 15 seconds until the engine died completely.  I got off onto the shoulder and tried starting up again, which worked with a bit of choke.  Accelerating worked as well, but about 30 seconds later the same thing happened and I had to pull over again. The bike wouldn't start straight up again but after a short wait it did.  I took it in 3rd gear to the next exit and a gas station, which was at most half a mile.  I turned it off and made some phone calls trying to get advice.  I then took it for a test ride of another half mile in 3rd gear, and it didn't die.  So I tried heading on to my destination on slower roads, but after no more than 30 seconds the throttle stopped responding and the engine died, this time in 3rd gear going about 35 mph.  From my limited understanding this is significant because it suggests the problem might not be related to a blocked jet in the carb which fires only at high speeds? Now the bike is at my friends house for the winter.  Im visiting family for the holidays and hope to be able to at least partially diagnose the problem remotely with the help of this group.  Somebody else I talked to suggested a damaged head gasket.  Also, I accidentally put in about 200mls of 10w fork oil before my trip, although the rest of the oil was 10w-40 synthetic.  I thought I saw a little clear bubble in the sight glass.  Not sure if this could have caused some damage.  Ill try to add any other relevant information as I can think of it. Thanks so much in advance for any advice or thoughts. -Thomas

[Jeff Saline]

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[DSN_KLR650]" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> writes: Hey everyone, it's my first post so thought I'd introduce myself.  Im living up in Humboldt County, northern California, and I have an 06 KLR650 which I bought used a few months ago.  Ive been working on it with another member of this group who lives a few houses down.  He pointed me to the group which Im grateful for because I definitely need some sound advice.   A week and a half ago I rode the bike 250 miles south to San Francisco and 20 miles before my destination the throttle suddenly stopped responding.  At this point I was going about 70 on the freeway.  The revs just went down over about 15 seconds until the engine died completely.  I got off onto the shoulder and tried starting up again, which worked with a bit of choke.  Accelerating worked as well, but about 30 seconds later the same thing happened and I had to pull over again.   The bike wouldn't start straight up again but after a short wait it did.  I took it in 3rd gear to the next exit and a gas station, which was at most half a mile.  I turned it off and made some phone calls trying to get advice.  I then took it for a test ride of another half mile in 3rd gear, and it didn't die.  So I tried heading on to my destination on slower roads, but after no more than 30 seconds the throttle stopped responding and the engine died, this time in 3rd gear going about 35 mph.  From my limited understanding this is significant because it suggests the problem might not be related to a blocked jet in the carb which fires only at high speeds?   Now the bike is at my friends house for the winter.  Im visiting family for the holidays and hope to be able to at least partially diagnose the problem remotely with the help of this group.  Somebody else I talked to suggested a damaged head gasket.  Also, I accidentally put in about 200mls of 10w fork oil before my trip, although the rest of the oil was 10w-40 synthetic.  I thought I saw a little clear bubble in the sight glass.  Not sure if this could have caused some damage.  Ill try to add any other relevant information as I can think of it.   Thanks so much in advance for any advice or thoughts.   -Thomas <><><><><><><> <><><><><><><>   Thomas,   Welcome!  Nice post for a first post.   My first thought was the petcock vacuum shutoff feature might be cutting your fuel off.  Maybe caused by a loose vacuum line from the back of the petcock to the vacuum port on the front, top of the carb.  Maybe a loose connection or split hose allowing low or no vacuum which results in fuel shutoff even with the petcock in the on position.   Since you aren't talking about bucking or stumbling I doubt it is the carb diaphragm but that controls the slide movement in all off idle throttle positions.  If you get that far into the carb and decide to replace it you can get one from Harley for a carbed Sportster for about $50 or from mother Kawasaki for about $140.   I also doubt it is the vent in the fuel cap but to check that ride with the fuel cap cracked open.  No more issues suggests there is a problem in the vent system or vent tube might be plugged at the rear of the tank.   I suppose it could also be a clogged/pinched carb vent tube from the left side of the carb heading down and open near the bottom of the bike.  If it gets clogged (even a single drop of rain can clog it) the engine can starve for fuel even though the carb float bowl is full.  Ask about the tee mod for how to eliminate this issue.   Maybe next time you can mess with it if it happens again you can immediately open the drain for the carb float bowl (lower right side of the carb) and see if fuel drains out.  No fuel suggests either a stuck float/needle or lack of fuel delivery from the petcock.   I have no idea about what will happen from having fork oil in the engine.  I can't imagine it will be anything good but as long as it is less than 10% maybe it had nothing to do with this issue.  I will suggest you make sure to check the oil level before every ride and also ever single time you add fuel to the bike.  Oil level is checked with the bike on a level surface and the bike vertical.  I consider the oil level low if I can see a bubble in the sight glass when checking it.  If the bubble is in the middle of the sight glass it will be about 1/2 quart/liter low.  (For those reading this, yes I understand a quart and a liter are not the same amount.)  The engine is not running when you check the oil.   If you did run the engine low on oil it may have been seizing.  Better to figure this out now than while on the road.   Best, Jeff Saline The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650 . . . . .     . ____________________________________________________________ [b]Odd Trick Fights Diabetes[/b] "Unique" Proven Method To Control Blood Sugar In 3 Weeks. Watch Video. DiabetesProtocol.com

[SniperOne]

Plus 1 on the vacuum petcock being the issue.  I chased a similar issue for months.   Someone on the list (Jeff?) had some conversion plates to make the petcock gravity feed (gotta remember to turn off gas every time you stop), or Fred sells rebuild kits for the vacuum petcock. And welcome to the list.Randy Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message --------From: "Jeff Saline salinej1@... [DSN_KLR650]" Date:12/01/2014 4:06 PM (GMT-07:00) To: tmollrocek@... Cc: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Engine died while going 70   On 01 Dec 2014 14:28:14 -0800 "tmollrocek@... [DSN_KLR650]" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> writes: Hey everyone, it's my first post so thought I'd introduce myself.  Im living up in Humboldt County, northern California, and I have an 06 KLR650 which I bought used a few months ago.  Ive been working on it with another member of this group who lives a few houses down.  He pointed me to the group which Im grateful for because I definitely need some sound advice.   A week and a half ago I rode the bike 250 miles south to San Francisco and 20 miles before my destination the throttle suddenly stopped responding.  At this point I was going about 70 on the freeway.  The revs just went down over about 15 seconds until the engine died completely.  I got off onto the shoulder and tried starting up again, which worked with a bit of choke.  Accelerating worked as well, but about 30 seconds later the same thing happened and I had to pull over again.   The bike wouldn't start straight up again but after a short wait it did.  I took it in 3rd gear to the next exit and a gas station, which was at most half a mile.  I turned it off and made some phone calls trying to get advice.  I then took it for a test ride of another half mile in 3rd gear, and it didn't die.  So I tried heading on to my destination on slower roads, but after no more than 30 seconds the throttle stopped responding and the engine died, this time in 3rd gear going about 35 mph.  From my limited understanding this is significant because it suggests the problem might not be related to a blocked jet in the carb which fires only at high speeds?   Now the bike is at my friends house for the winter.  Im visiting family for the holidays and hope to be able to at least partially diagnose the problem remotely with the help of this group.  Somebody else I talked to suggested a damaged head gasket.  Also, I accidentally put in about 200mls of 10w fork oil before my trip, although the rest of the oil was 10w-40 synthetic.  I thought I saw a little clear bubble in the sight glass.  Not sure if this could have caused some damage.  Ill try to add any other relevant information as I can think of it.   Thanks so much in advance for any advice or thoughts.   -Thomas <><><><><><><> <><><><><><><>   Thomas,   Welcome!  Nice post for a first post.   My first thought was the petcock vacuum shutoff feature might be cutting your fuel off.  Maybe caused by a loose vacuum line from the back of the petcock to the vacuum port on the front, top of the carb.  Maybe a loose connection or split hose allowing low or no vacuum which results in fuel shutoff even with the petcock in the on position.   Since you aren't talking about bucking or stumbling I doubt it is the carb diaphragm but that controls the slide movement in all off idle throttle positions.  If you get that far into the carb and decide to replace it you can get one from Harley for a carbed Sportster for about $50 or from mother Kawasaki for about $140.   I also doubt it is the vent in the fuel cap but to check that ride with the fuel cap cracked open.  No more issues suggests there is a problem in the vent system or vent tube might be plugged at the rear of the tank.   I suppose it could also be a clogged/pinched carb vent tube from the left side of the carb heading down and open near the bottom of the bike.  If it gets clogged (even a single drop of rain can clog it) the engine can starve for fuel even though the carb float bowl is full.  Ask about the tee mod for how to eliminate this issue.   Maybe next time you can mess with it if it happens again you can immediately open the drain for the carb float bowl (lower right side of the carb) and see if fuel drains out.  No fuel suggests either a stuck float/needle or lack of fuel delivery from the petcock.   I have no idea about what will happen from having fork oil in the engine.  I can't imagine it will be anything good but as long as it is less than 10% maybe it had nothing to do with this issue.  I will suggest you make sure to check the oil level before every ride and also ever single time you add fuel to the bike.  Oil level is checked with the bike on a level surface and the bike vertical.  I consider the oil level low if I can see a bubble in the sight glass when checking it.  If the bubble is in the middle of the sight glass it will be about 1/2 quart/liter low.  (For those reading this, yes I understand a quart and a liter are not the same amount.)  The engine is not running when you check the oil.   If you did run the engine low on oil it may have been seizing.  Better to figure this out now than while on the road.   Best, Jeff Saline The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650 . . . . .     . ____________________________________________________________ [b]Odd Trick Fights Diabetes[/b] "Unique" Proven Method To Control Blood Sugar In 3 Weeks. Watch Video. DiabetesProtocol.com

[Jeff Saline]

#ygrps-yiv-1881655172 .ygrps-yiv-1881655172ygrp-photo-title { TEXT-ALIGN:center;WIDTH:75px;HEIGHT:15px;CLEAR:both;FONT-SIZE:smaller;OVERFLOW:hidden;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172ygrp-photo { BORDER-BOTTOM:black 1px solid;BORDER-LEFT:black 1px solid;BACKGROUND-COLOR:white;WIDTH:62px;BACKGROUND-REPEAT:no-repeat;BACKGROUND-POSITION:center 50%;HEIGHT:62px;BORDER-TOP:black 1px solid;BORDER-RIGHT:black 1px solid;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172photo-title A { TEXT-DECORATION:none;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172photo-title A:active { TEXT-DECORATION:none;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172photo-title A:hover { TEXT-DECORATION:none;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172photo-title A:visited { TEXT-DECORATION:none;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172attach-table DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172attach-row { CLEAR:both;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172attach-table DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172attach-row DIV { FLOAT:left;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 P { PADDING-BOTTOM:3px;PADDING-LEFT:0px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;CLEAR:both;OVERFLOW:hidden;PADDING-TOP:15px;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172ygrp-file { WIDTH:30px;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172attach-table DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172attach-row DIV DIV A { TEXT-DECORATION:none;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172attach-table DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172attach-row DIV DIV SPAN { FONT-WEIGHT:normal;} #ygrps-yiv-1881655172 DIV.ygrps-yiv-1881655172ygrp-file-title { FONT-WEIGHT:bold;} On Mon, 01 Dec 2014 16:49:31 -0700 "SniperOne sniperone308@... [DSN_KLR650]" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> writes:   Plus 1 on the vacuum petcock being the issue.  I chased a similar issue for months.  Someone on the list (Jeff?) had some conversion plates to make the petcock gravity feed (gotta remember to turn off gas every time you stop), or Fred sells rebuild kits for the vacuum petcock. And welcome to the list. Randy <><><><><><> <><><><><><>   Randy,   You are correct I do still sell a blockoff plate setup to convert a stock KLR petcock from vacuum shutoff to manual.  I'll try to remember to post a thread with more info on Vendor Friday.  I don't think I've posted anything about it in quite a while.   Best, Jeff Saline The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650 . . . . .   . . .. ____________________________________________________________ [b]What's your flood risk?[/b] Find flood maps, interactive tools, FAQs, and agents in your area. floodsmart.gov

[Martin Earl]

Thomas,Most of the replies here suggest that it is a fuel delivery problem.I am in heated agreement.All suggestions have merit. which is a good thing.Unfortunately, you may have to look at all of them, and oddly enough, there may be more than one problem.It works out that way sometimes. I have also experienced almost identical symptoms; this is what I check first.The easy stuff: = before removing the fuel tank1. Does the bike have fuel?One of my KLR's stutters before it dies on MAIN, the other just dies.Oddly enough, enough fuel can slosh around that it will restart sometimes. shrug. 2. Should the bike be in reserve for the amount of fuel you have left?=will the bike run properly on RESERVE Forgive me if you have checked these things. One must ask. grin. 3. At the petcock, is the vacuum hose (small one) snuggly attached (without cracks).Pull the hose off and examine it (as suggested by Jeff and others) Then, I would locate the carb bowl drain on the right side, 4mm hex and 4. drain the bowl.AS you loosen this bolt, initially, the fuel will run out he back of the carb bowl on to the engine deck.If you place a brown paper towel where the fuel comes out, WATER will appear as bubbles before absorbed into the paper towel.If there is water, that is a problem. (I get THAT 2-3 times a summer, and then I am on my way again.) Completely remove the drain bolt, put the bike petcock on MAIN and crank the bike.No fuel?Put it on RESERVETry again.Fuel should gush out the drain. NOTE: do not stare at the hole, it will spit gas in your eye! Replace the fuel bowl drain and test ride the bike again. 5. If the bike will run, but not properly, immediately after you turn off the bike, pull the vacuum line and see if it is wet on the inside.If it is wet, then fuel is leaking past the diaphragm and that is your culprit. If that does not work, then proceed to checking the petcock etc. with the tank still on the bike. 6. You can check the petcock's operation by manually filling the carb bowl, through the fuel line, using a small funnel and about 3/4 cup of gas;then,placing a short length of fuel hose on the output side of the petcock, start the bike and let it idle.Fuel should start to flow as soon as the start to crank the bike. Catch the fuel in a graduated container or clean qt jar so you can measure the fuel volume in one minuteThere should be a pencil size stream of fuel coming out of the petcock, immediately.I think Jeff S and I measured a petcock giving 1 gal/3 min; it flows that fast. Just as likely as any other thing--7. I once sucked a bug through the carb vent and it parked on the main jet.I went for 70mph, to 30 mph max because the main jet was partially covered. You can access the main jet by (YOU MUST DO THIS) REMOVING THE CHOKE ASSEMBLY AT THE HANDLE BAR,loosen the two carb boots/screw,I remove the throttle cables from the carb,remove the fuel line and vacuum line from the petcockAnd gently twist the carb counter clockwise to access the fuel bowl screws. YOU MUST give the choke/enricher cable plenty of slack as you rotate the carb or it will BREAK THE ENRICHER.Yes, I am raising my voice. wink. the main jet is in the middle of the carb, (4mm wrench) unscrew that and have look/clean as necessary.Gently stroke the float and look to see the float needle moves in the needle-seat. 8. Now is a good time to replace those OEM 'oatmeal' float bowl screws with socket head screw, available at ACE or FASTENAL.put it all back together. 9.Should you decide to do petcock maintenance,It is best done with LESS fuel in the tank and the tank removed from the bike.You can syphon most of the gas into a gas can, remove the tank,and stand it on its nose while you remove the petcock. consulting your Clymers manual will be helpful as well. 10. Pay attention to the rubber pucks that isolate the tank from the frame.Gluing them on with 3M weather striping material is a good idea at this time as well. Let us know how it goes. revmaaatin.

On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 3:28 PM, tmollrocek@... [DSN_KLR650] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Hey everyone, it's my first post so thought I'd introduce myself. Im living up in Humboldt County, northern California, and I have an 06 KLR650 which I bought used a few months ago. Ive been working on it with another member of this group who lives a few houses down. He pointed me to the group which Im grateful for because I definitely need some sound advice. A week and a half ago I rode the bike 250 miles south to San Francisco and 20 miles before my destination the throttle suddenly stopped responding. At this point I was going about 70 on the freeway. The revs just went down over about 15 seconds until the engine died completely. I got off onto the shoulder and tried starting up again, which worked with a bit of choke. Accelerating worked as well, but about 30 seconds later the same thing happened and I had to pull over again. The bike wouldn't start straight up again but after a short wait it did. I took it in 3rd gear to the next exit and a gas station, which was at most half a mile. I turned it off and made some phone calls trying to get advice. I then took it for a test ride of another half mile in 3rd gear, and it didn't die. So I tried heading on to my destination on slower roads, but after no more than 30 seconds the throttle stopped responding and the engine died, this time in 3rd gear going about 35 mph. From my limited understanding this is significant because it suggests the problem might not be related to a blocked jet in the carb which fires only at high speeds? Now the bike is at my friends house for the winter. Im visiting family for the holidays and hope to be able to at least partially diagnose the problem remotely with the help of this group. Somebody else I talked to suggested a damaged head gasket. Also, I accidentally put in about 200mls of 10w fork oil before my trip, although the rest of the oil was 10w-40 synthetic. I thought I saw a little clear bubble in the sight glass. Not sure if this could have caused some damage. Ill try to add any other relevant information as I can think of it. Thanks so much in advance for any advice or thoughts. -Thomas

[Fred Hink]

The Keihin CVK carburetor for the Harley uses an accelerator pump that hangs below the float bowl. This is fine on the HD since there isn t much below this carburetor. If you look below the KLR CVK carburetor you will find the starter motor very close to the float bowl. I doubt the HD carburetor is going to clear the starter on the KLR. This is one reason why the Mikuni VM38 carburetor was picked for the kit I put together. There is no accelerator pump on the Mikuni and there is room to fit over the starter on the KLR. I don t feel an accelerator pump is necessary on the KLR and the gains in ( snappier ) performance with this Mikuni VM is amazing. The reason some change jets in a carburetor when changing to a freer flowing exhaust is because the carburetor jetting is adjustable where most exhausts are not. Changing flow of air through your engine will effect the jetting. Think of your engine as a big air pump. If you allow more air in by way of less restrictive air filter, change the flow through the engine with big bore kit or hi-lift cams or change the exhaust, you are going to need to change the jets in the carburetor to keep your Stoichiometric mixture balanced. Changing to the Mikuni VM carburetor makes a big difference in low end performance where the stock Keihin CVK needs vacuum to open it s slide. I see this all the time where a KLR will fall on it s face dumping it s rider. Maybe it is because of where I live and ride but when a KLR comes to a steep climbing sharp turn, the KLR will have to slow enough to make the turn but won t have enough power to pull up a hill. This will put the KLR in a horizontal position pretty quickly. The reason the KLR powers-out at slow speeds is because the engine is not turning enough RPMS to create the vacuum needed to lift the slide to make the power to pull up a steep hill. The Mikuni VM doesn t require vacuum to lift the slide and at low RPMs the KLR will have much more power to pull up the hill. If you keep your RPMs up this isn t a big issue unless the sharp turn happens to be next to a cliff. (like this never happens in Moab) The Harley and aftermarket slides are slightly different from the stock KLR slide in that the vacuum hole in the HD and aftermarket are both slightly smaller. This is because of the displacement and vacuum differences between the HD and KLR. That is easily fixed with a 1/8 drill bit as this is not that critical but it is different. Fred http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com From: mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, December 1, 2014 10:28 PM To: nomad59@... Cc: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Jeff S. & Carb's? On Mon, 1 Dec 2014 16:42:48 -0800 "mark ward nomad59@... [DSN_KLR650]" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> writes: Hey Jeff Asking this threw the group, figure others may also want your answer. You mentioned a Harley (YA I said it. LOL) Carb fitting the KLR. Some change out the carb for a "snappier" response. 1. Will the HARLEY (HA! Said it again) carb do the same? 2. When changing out the carb for a "snappier" carb, does the exhaust need modifying. (as when LOUD pipes installed, the carb needs work etc.) <><><><><><><> <><><><><><><> Mark, Only the slide and diaphragm from the Sportster fit. The entire carb could be made to fit with a little work. As far as I remember the Harley carb has a flange with two bolt holes to fasten to the head. I think the Harley carb also has an accelerator pump. I suppose the accelerator pump might help with snap but it might be easier to contact Fred and get a Mukuni kit from him. As far as I know that has the slide connected directly to the throttle so if you twist the throttle the slide will move. Last winter RevMaaatin and I did some shopping at the local Harley dealer where I used to work as a test rider. The parts guys spent some time with us comparing rebuild type parts. I think the only thing we found that interchanged between the KLR carb and the Harley carb was the slide and diaphragm, the float bowl gasket and maybe a few random fasteners. The techs in the service department went into their stashes and couldn't find any jets as small as the KLR jets. The parts guy for the service techs pulled up a jet chart and I think the smallest they showed for a main jet was maybe a 155. No idea on exhaust mods needed. I like the stock carb and exhaust on the KLR. Seems to me if a guy really wants snap they might consider a different machine. Best, Jeff Saline The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650 . . . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[mark ward]

YO Rev. I think you missed step 1. in the simple freebies area. When the bike starts having the issue/s, Open the gas cap, Then see if the issues "disappears", THEN returns again later. Cap Vent issue. (Can even Do it, in 10+- seconds, on the side of a freeway.) On Tuesday, December 2, 2014 11:47 AM, "Martin Earl mjearl4@... [DSN_KLR650]" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

  Thomas,Most of the replies here suggest that it is a fuel delivery problem.I am in heated agreement.All suggestions have merit. which is a good thing.Unfortunately, you may have to look at all of them, and oddly enough, there may be more than one problem.It works out that way sometimes. I have also experienced almost identical symptoms; this is what I check first.The easy stuff: = before removing the fuel tank1.  Does the bike have fuel?One of my KLR's stutters before it dies on MAIN, the other just dies.Oddly enough, enough fuel can slosh around that it will restart sometimes. shrug. 2.  Should the bike be in reserve for the amount of fuel you have left?=will the bike run properly on RESERVE Forgive me if you have checked these things.  One must ask. grin. 3. At the petcock, is the vacuum hose (small one) snuggly attached (without cracks).Pull the hose off and examine it (as suggested by Jeff and others) Then, I would locate the carb bowl drain on the right side, 4mm hex and 4.  drain the bowl.AS you loosen this bolt, initially, the fuel will run out he back of the carb bowl on to the engine deck.If you place a brown paper towel where the fuel comes out, WATER will appear as bubbles before absorbed into the paper towel.If there is water, that is a problem. (I get THAT 2-3 times a summer, and then I am on my way again.) Completely remove the drain bolt, put the bike petcock on MAIN and crank the bike.No fuel?Put it on RESERVETry again.Fuel should gush out the drain.  NOTE: do not stare at the hole, it will spit gas in your eye! Replace the fuel bowl drain and test ride the bike again. 5.  If the bike will run, but not properly, immediately after you turn off the bike, pull the vacuum line and see if it is wet on the inside.If it is wet, then fuel is leaking past the diaphragm and that is your culprit.   If that does not work, then proceed to checking the petcock etc. with the tank still on the bike. 6.  You can check the petcock's operation by manually filling the carb bowl, through the fuel line, using a small funnel and about 3/4 cup of gas;then,placing a short length of fuel hose on the output side of the petcock, start the bike and let it idle.Fuel should start to flow as soon as the start to crank the bike. Catch the fuel in a graduated container or clean qt jar so you can measure the fuel volume in one minuteThere should be a pencil size stream of fuel coming out of the petcock, immediately.I think Jeff S and I measured a petcock giving 1 gal/3 min; it flows that fast. Just as likely as any other thing--7.  I once sucked a bug through the carb vent and it parked on the main jet.I went for 70mph, to 30 mph max because the main jet was partially covered. You can access the main jet by (YOU MUST DO THIS)  REMOVING THE CHOKE ASSEMBLY AT THE HANDLE BAR,loosen the two carb boots/screw,I remove the throttle cables from the carb,remove the fuel line and vacuum line from the petcockAnd gently twist the carb counter clockwise to access the fuel bowl screws. YOU MUST give the choke/enricher cable plenty of slack as you rotate the carb or it will BREAK THE ENRICHER.Yes, I am raising my voice. wink. the main jet is in the middle of the carb, (4mm wrench) unscrew that and have  look/clean as necessary.Gently stroke the float and look to see the float needle moves in the needle-seat. 8. Now is a good time to replace those OEM 'oatmeal' float bowl screws with socket head screw, available at ACE or FASTENAL.put it all back together. 9.Should you decide to do petcock maintenance,It is best done with LESS fuel in the tank and the tank removed from the bike.You can syphon most of the gas into a gas can, remove the tank,and stand it on its nose while you remove the petcock. consulting your Clymers manual will be helpful as well. 10. Pay attention to the rubber pucks that isolate the tank from the frame.Gluing them on with 3M weather striping material is a good idea at this time as well. Let us know how it goes. revmaaatin. On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 3:28 PM, tmollrocek@... [DSN_KLR650] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Hey everyone, it's my first post so thought I'd introduce myself.  Im living up in Humboldt County, northern California, and I have an 06 KLR650 which I bought used a few months ago.  Ive been working on it with another member of this group who lives a few houses down.  He pointed me to the group which Im grateful for because I definitely need some sound advice. A week and a half ago I rode the bike 250 miles south to San Francisco and 20 miles before my destination the throttle suddenly stopped responding.  At this point I was going about 70 on the freeway.  The revs just went down over about 15 seconds until the engine died completely.  I got off onto the shoulder and tried starting up again, which worked with a bit of choke.  Accelerating worked as well, but about 30 seconds later the same thing happened and I had to pull over again. The bike wouldn't start straight up again but after a short wait it did.  I took it in 3rd gear to the next exit and a gas station, which was at most half a mile.  I turned it off and made some phone calls trying to get advice.  I then took it for a test ride of another half mile in 3rd gear, and it didn't die.  So I tried heading on to my destination on slower roads, but after no more than 30 seconds the throttle stopped responding and the engine died, this time in 3rd gear going about 35 mph.  From my limited understanding this is significant because it suggests the problem might not be related to a blocked jet in the carb which fires only at high speeds? Now the bike is at my friends house for the winter.  Im visiting family for the holidays and hope to be able to at least partially diagnose the problem remotely with the help of this group.  Somebody else I talked to suggested a damaged head gasket.  Also, I accidentally put in about 200mls of 10w fork oil before my trip, although the rest of the oil was 10w-40 synthetic.  I thought I saw a little clear bubble in the sight glass.  Not sure if this could have caused some damage.  Ill try to add any other relevant information as I can think of it. Thanks so much in advance for any advice or thoughts. -Thomas

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[tmollrocek]

Thanks for the great replies guys, James was certainly right that this is a fantastic group.  When I was on the phone with him I did try running it in Reserve, and I'm actually not 100% sure what happened, whether the engine died in Reserve or not.  The main tank definitely had pretty low fuel though, probably around a gallon left in it.  I definitely opened the cap and looked inside and closed it again, after which the engine died again. I wish I could try these things out right now but they will have to wait until I get back to the west coast in February.  Might it be worth buying one of those vacuum hoses in advance just in case?  Is it one of these parts: http://i61.tinypic.com/167k101.png [img]https://ec.yimg.com/ec?url=http%3A%2F%2Fi61.tinypic.com%2F167k101.png&t=1571809978&sig=plTairJpNrG2_0d4WulI9A--~E[/img] http://i61.tinypic.com/167k101.png View on i61.tinypic.com Preview by Yahoo   ? Also I guess it's high time I get a manual, I don't have one, which would you recommend? Thanks again for the wealth of knowledge guys.

[Norm Keller]

#ygrps-yiv-228466307 blockquote.ygrps-yiv-228466307cite {margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px;padding-left:10px;padding-right:0px;border-left:1px solid #cccccc;} #ygrps-yiv-228466307 blockquote.ygrps-yiv-228466307cite2 {margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px;padding-left:10px;padding-right:0px;border-left:1px solid #cccccc;margin-top:3px;padding-top:0px;} #ygrps-yiv-228466307 .ygrps-yiv-228466307plain pre, #ygrps-yiv-228466307 .ygrps-yiv-228466307plain tt {font-family:monospace;font-size:100%;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;} #ygrps-yiv-228466307 a img {border:0px;}#ygrps-yiv-228466307 {font-family:Tahoma;font-size:12pt;} #ygrps-yiv-228466307 .ygrps-yiv-228466307plain pre, #ygrps-yiv-228466307 .ygrps-yiv-228466307plain tt {font-family:Tahoma;font-size:12pt;} Jeff, from time to time, how about leaving something out of a response to someone else can feel they're making a contribution?   Back handed compliment, as usual my friend. Excellent response!   Makes me think a bit more about my younger son's suggestion to save and repost answers rather and typing each from scratch. Yours makes me wonder if that's what you have done. Certainly, that would allow me to tune my own for better quality.....would require change though and hate change unless it's someone else changing to accommodate me.

[Norm Keller]

#ygrps-yiv-358334149 blockquote.ygrps-yiv-358334149cite {margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px;padding-left:10px;padding-right:0px;border-left:1px solid #cccccc;} #ygrps-yiv-358334149 blockquote.ygrps-yiv-358334149cite2 {margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px;padding-left:10px;padding-right:0px;border-left:1px solid #cccccc;margin-top:3px;padding-top:0px;} #ygrps-yiv-358334149 .ygrps-yiv-358334149plain pre, #ygrps-yiv-358334149 .ygrps-yiv-358334149plain tt {font-family:monospace;font-size:100%;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;} #ygrps-yiv-358334149 a img {border:0px;}#ygrps-yiv-358334149 {font-family:Tahoma;font-size:12pt;} #ygrps-yiv-358334149 .ygrps-yiv-358334149plain pre, #ygrps-yiv-358334149 .ygrps-yiv-358334149plain tt {font-family:Tahoma;font-size:12pt;} Regarding the block off plate, you can make one from a piece of gasket material rather than a metal plate, at least to try.   FWIW, I prefer the vacuum valve as it reduces the chance of flooding the engine, or worse the garage in the event of a leaking petcock and needle seat. While it may seem improbable that both will fault at the same time, when one reflects it becomes clear that one only knows that the petcock is not shutting off by observing dribbling when the fuel hose is off or because the engine floods when shut off. Just some thoughts. Since Fred offers the kits.....   I'm not going to tell those who replace with a manual petcock that they are wrong. They are wrong, I'm just not going to tell them.    Running for cover!