(nklr nxr nxrl) proud observations of a dad.

[Jeff Khoury]

#ygrps-yiv-157434146 p {margin:0;}Rev, I got 5,800 miles on the OEM rear tire.  I now have 14,200 miles on my OEM chain.  I use WD-40 on the chain every 500 miles or after each trail ride.  Every 4th (or so) spray-down with the WD, I'll squirt some gear oil or used motor oil on the o-rings. Chains as I understand them, from changing a lot of em and using a chain breaker: O-ring and X-ring chains are internally lubricated.  All of the wear points are within this sealed area.  The o-ring is there to keep the grease in and the dirt out. The only thing that lubing the chain does is keep the o-rings from drying out and keep the sides of the links from rusting. For that, damn near any oil will do.  WD-40, Gear Oil, Used Motor Oil, CLP, etc. etc. etc. The bad thing to use on a DS bike is the goopy, sticky chain lube.  It collects dust and sand and creates a grinding rouge that grinds away.... the o-rings.  A quick rinse with WD, Diesel, Kerosene, etc. will clean it off. -Jeff Khoury

----- Original Message ----- From: "revmaaatin" To: "DSN KLR650" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 3:45:13 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Why NOT to use WD40 for cleaning.....   --- In DSN_KLR650%40yahoogroups.com, "n9udl" wrote: > > > > After reading all the WD-40 testimonials it is hard not to be persuaded. > > As far as killing a chain quick... I haven't killed mine yet (just under 5000mi), but I wouldn't be surprised if the same forces wearing my tires out quickly are not also wearing the chain. I am heavy and accelerate pretty hard on pavement. I really need to adjust my riding style. N9udl- Are you still on the original tire? Your OEM tire is notorious for poor wear. (soft compounds; thats good, =sticky) If you have 5K on the original tire, you are 2-3X what others have done. Most are toast at 3K. One thing you should do: make sure your tire pressure is more than the operators handbook. When I first got my KLR in Oct 2003, I 'religiously' set my tire pressure to spec and it scared the crap out of me when it would slide the tires. I wrote 'Ann Landers' right here at DSN and all said the same--the tire pressure is to low for aggressive street riding. Moved the pressure to 32/36 for street riding and now it takes a lot more before the tires will slide. Lower pressures for softer surfaces. A second thing you might find useful: a 14T front sprocket will give your 'loaded' bike a big pep in its step. revmaaatin.

[revmaaatin]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "n9udl" wrote: SNIP > > I have been running high pressures on pavement since putting the Mefo on, usually 40psi rear, 30psi front. > > Tom > Tom, Is that 40psi working well for you? Will this MEFO give you the expected tire life while using that pressure? my thoughts-- If the center is gone long before the sides, you might have to much air pressure, decreasing the footprint through over inflation(acknowledging that we mostly run on a curved center section). IF the tire is giving you better performance at 40psi and the decreased tire life is acceptable--you have found a good combination. smile. I was with Jeff Saline in 2004 when we were doing data points on 5 bikes with 4 different types of tires, traveling the same roads. Jeff measured tire wear every night at the end of the day. What was surprising was how FAST the first 2 and 3/32 disappeared in the first 500-1000 miles. We wondered if the tires would last 3K miles! Turns out, the tire wear is sort of reverse-exponential. Lost of wear per mile in the first 500-1000, then it slowed down every 1000 miles after that. We got the expected 5K+ on the k270's. What also helped was the reduced tire temps of lower speeds, and softer surfaces. Maybe Jeff will reference his data here again. Speaking of wearing out the center-- K270's wear out the center long before the sides as well...and if you run them low on pressure, you really are riding a squirrel. For many riders posting here, K270's are unacceptable at any speed. shrug. Live a little. Life is to short not to ride a squirrel occasionally. or was it--that life is to short not to ride a horse that bucks? twitch. revmaaatin.

[n9udl]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "revmaaatin" wrote:

> Tom, > Is that 40psi working well for you? > Will this MEFO give you the expected tire life while using that

The Mefos came with a piece of paper printed in huge letters, warning that extended road use at lower pressures with lead to heat-related stress cracks, and their recommendation was 40 rear, 30 front. I think I bought them from KLR650.com. I guess I figured that since I am a heavy rider (300lbs) running higher pressure (within the limits of the tire) isn't a bad idea. Of course, a little experimentation is good too. Since the price on the Mefos has gone up beyond "reasonable" now, I'll probably go with a D606 next time. And then the experiment will start all over again.

[Jud]

It has not been my experience that high pressures will wear out the center of a motorcycle tread prematurely. To the contrary, if you want to wear them out in a hurry, run them soft (as in factory recommended pressures for the KLR) for a while, particularly at highway speed. 40/30 sounds quite reasonable for the Mefos, but I doubt even that will get 25,000 miles out of them, in order to justify their price.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "n9udl" wrote: > > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "revmaaatin" wrote: > > Tom, > > Is that 40psi working well for you? > > Will this MEFO give you the expected tire life while using that > > The Mefos came with a piece of paper printed in huge letters, warning that extended road use at lower pressures with lead to heat-related stress cracks, and their recommendation was 40 rear, 30 front. I think I bought them from KLR650.com. > > I guess I figured that since I am a heavy rider (300lbs) running higher pressure (within the limits of the tire) isn't a bad idea. > > Of course, a little experimentation is good too. > > Since the price on the Mefos has gone up beyond "reasonable" now, I'll probably go with a D606 next time. And then the experiment will start all over again. >

[skypilot110]

I think we should vote Austin in as the President of all motorcycles for that one!

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Eric J Foster wrote: > I'm so proud of Austin. He has to be the only three year old around who can fart loud enough to make his diaper flap in the breeze, and state "I didn't fart daddy, it's a dirt bike poop!" >