free panniers and a riding suit for list members

[April Neave & Norm Keller]

This one has been ridden long and hard a while ago. (VBG) The consensus I got was to go by the book but many of the long time owners advised setting to the wide end of the clearance specification. The experience is that, after the 6,000 mile (10,000 km) the intervals can be increased. The KLR is typical of OHC engines in that valve face and valve seat wear (erosion) cause the valve to move into the seat which results in a gradual decrease in valve clearance. A common issue with insufficient valve clearance is that the exhaust valve depends primarily on valve seat contact in order to deliver heat from the valve through seat contact to the cooling system. If the valve is not contacting the seat firmly there will be no heat transfer and the valve will run hot. A hot running valve will usually result in burning away of the valve face (contact surface area) which decreases the contact with the seat/increases the gap between the face and seat and this continues until sufficient compression loss occurs and performance degrades. This condition is virtually the same as if the valve clearance were set to less then zero. In other words, the valve stays open all the time. Typical symptoms of a burned exhaust valve or exhaust valve which is not closing are hard starting, low idle speed, decrease in power and mileage. IMO a single cylinder engine must show symptoms of a leaking exhaust valve to a greater degree than a multi-cylinder engine because the other cylinders of a multi' will carry part of the load. The KLR has only one cylinder to be affected so would show symptoms to a greater degree than a twin or other multi'. All that having been said, in the last year no one seems to have mentioned a KLR with a burned valve. It seems that this must be because of one or a combination of the following (in not particular order): 1) List members tend to keep valve adjustments in hand. 2) Performance degrades quickly with a tight valve so other issues degrade operation before an exhaust valve burns. 3) The KLR is so mildly tuned and the valves are small enough not to be very susceptible to burning (unlikely IMO). When I had my Wing, I was starved for wrenching conversation so hung out on a couple of BMW lists where the discussion of what make of valves and other valve issues were on-going. That really made me think about going BM and so never have. I remember well the Wing post in which a guy said he had dropped a rod (broken a connecting rod) on an old 1000 cc Wing. The result was a crashing silence (LOL)! No one had heard of such a thing! There were guys with 300,000 miles on some of those old engines. The KLR isn't that long lived but certainly lasts a long, long time if looked after. FWIW Norm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[West Hovland]

Sell the Sherpa yourself. A lot of people are looking for them. List it for sale here, www.KLR.nethttp://www.klr.net/> , www.advrider.comhttp://www.advrider.com/> and a few others as well. My guess is that it will sell quickly if your price is sharp. As others will say, check the valves before 1000 miles. Chances are good they will need adjusting. Then at 6000-8000 check them again... probably won't need adjusting much after that. West

----- Original Message ----- From: kawasherpa To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.comDSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 6:31 PM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Valve adjustment Hi members. I just joined and will get my 2005 klr 650 next week. we are dealing as to trading in my super sherpa or selling it myself. I have a question about the valve adj. intervals. The dealer is telling me it is 4,000 miles. He also said no one does it at 4,000 and to check them at 6 to 8 thousand. This sounds more reasonable since my zx-1100 ninja requires checking at 6,000 miles. So I thought this might be a good POLLS question. Ask how often valves are checked and see if there is a connection with the number of shimms changed. If this has already been done please tell me where I can find this information. How would not following the maintenance schedule affect warranty? Thanks Rick [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Michael Koch]

I adjusted my valves and ended up with an oil leak at the valve cover. I had not used any type of sealant on the gasket and thought that that was the reason. I took the valve cover off and applied a very light coat of Permatex Ultra Black silicone. As I replaced the cover I realized that one of the metal/rubber washers was missing. I checked and found that the next bolt to be installed had a washer on it and a washer on the cover. I am pretty sure that I had put two washers on one bolt and none on the other. Another list member emailed me and said that he had done the same thing. Anyway, no more leaks and now I will proceed to the oil strainer cleaning. I ordered new gaskets from Fred (lowest prices by the way) and plan on doing it this weekend. I plan to reuse the old gaskets if possible, but I would hate to ruin one of the gaskets without having a spare available. My local Kawasaki dealer takes anywhere from a week to never to get parts in, and so far has never had a needed part in stock.

[Bogdan Swider]

As I replaced the cover I realized that one of the metal/rubber washers was missing. After almost dropping one of these washers into the engine I now remove them before taking the cover off. A magnet would be no help in retrieving the rubber part. Bogdan, again old and conservative.

[kdxkawboy@aol.com]

In a message dated 2/25/2005 8:13:02 AM Pacific Standard Time, bSwider@... writes: As I replaced the cover I realized that one of the metal/rubber washers was missing. After almost dropping one of these washers into the engine I now remove them before taking the cover off. A magnet would be no help in retrieving the rubber part. I've always pulled the washer out as I take the bolt out and wiped them down to check their condition. Pat G'ville, NV [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Tom Zangla]

When I ordered my lowering links I also picked up a DVD that shows how to take everything off to get to the valve cover, taking the valve cover off and checking the valves etc. Looks like stuffing lint free rags down in around your work area is the most critical thing. Once you find out if any of your valves need adjustment then you have to figure out what shims and how many you need to take care of the problem. Now if you know what shims you need do you just run down to your local dealer and buy these shims? I see the make a kit but I have not checked out the cost yet. Also when you pull the valve cover you can reuse the gasket if your careful but would it be better to have one on standby just incase? Someday I may get enought courage to attempt this. The main problem is I use my bike to get to work so down time is a pain since I have to find a ride or walk to work. Tom

[scott quillen]

Tom, I believe Fred (Arrowhead Motorsports) sells a shim kit...not sure, but if he doesn't, I'm sure someone here can point us in the right direction. Scott Tom Zangla wrote: When I ordered my lowering links I also picked up a DVD that shows how to take everything off to get to the valve cover, taking the valve cover off and checking the valves etc. Looks like stuffing lint free rags down in around your work area is the most critical thing. Once you find out if any of your valves need adjustment then you have to figure out what shims and how many you need to take care of the problem. Now if you know what shims you need do you just run down to your local dealer and buy these shims? I see the make a kit but I have not checked out the cost yet. Also when you pull the valve cover you can reuse the gasket if your careful but would it be better to have one on standby just incase? Someday I may get enought courage to attempt this. The main problem is I use my bike to get to work so down time is a pain since I have to find a ride or walk to work. Tom Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Yahoo! Groups Links __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Randy Shultz]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Tom Zangla" wrote:

> Now if you know what shims you need do you just run down to your > local dealer and buy these shims? > Also when you pull the valve cover you can reuse the gasket if your > careful but would it be better to have one on standby just incase? >

--- I have yet to find a dealer in my area that carries shims in stock. I've even asked them to check their service department and see if they can sell me one from their stock. They don't have them either I am told. Well, How can you be doing valve adjustments for your customers then?, I ask. Blank stare. See if your experience is any different. Anyways, I order mine from Fred or from ronayers.com if I happen to be ordering some other OEM parts. I buy them as needed and have never bought a kit. The key is to record the sizes of the existing shims on all the valves the first time you have to go in there. They tend to get tighter in my experience as the valve seats wear, so I make sure I have the next sizes donw on hand for the next adjustment. You can often swap sims amongst your valves also. In terms of the valve cover gasket, I bought a spare one just in case, and have never had to use it. Just my thoughts.

[scott quillen]

Great Advice Randy! This group is GREAT!!! Regards, Scott Randy Shultz wrote: --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Tom Zangla" wrote:

> Now if you know what shims you need do you just run down to your > local dealer and buy these shims? > Also when you pull the valve cover you can reuse the gasket if your > careful but would it be better to have one on standby just incase? >

--- I have yet to find a dealer in my area that carries shims in stock. I've even asked them to check their service department and see if they can sell me one from their stock. They don't have them either I am told. Well, How can you be doing valve adjustments for your customers then?, I ask. Blank stare. See if your experience is any different. Anyways, I order mine from Fred or from ronayers.com if I happen to be ordering some other OEM parts. I buy them as needed and have never bought a kit. The key is to record the sizes of the existing shims on all the valves the first time you have to go in there. They tend to get tighter in my experience as the valve seats wear, so I make sure I have the next sizes donw on hand for the next adjustment. You can often swap sims amongst your valves also. In terms of the valve cover gasket, I bought a spare one just in case, and have never had to use it. Just my thoughts. Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Yahoo! Groups Links __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

Fred sells a shim kit, but it's more cost-effective to see what shims you already have in your bike and then by shims a la carte. There's no per shim savings in kit form (IIRC) and the kit may have shims you'll never need. Mark At 12:57 PM -0700 8/2/05, scott quillen wrote:

>Tom, > >I believe Fred (Arrowhead Motorsports) sells a shim kit...not sure, >but if he doesn't, I'm sure someone here can point us in the right >direction. > >Scott