gas tank vent hose

[Jim Tegler]

Howdy Geoff, My bike is a 1991 and when you replace the doohickey you must retorque the rotor holding bolt to the mondo-torque of 130 ft lbs. On my bike that caused binding of the starter gear and subsequently for the starter to be engaged permanently with the motor and therefore turn at all speeds. The solution for me was to torque that bolt to ~ 100 ft lbs and that made the binding disappear. I have since heard that this binding is an issue with the older KLRs. I hope that fixes your problem. Jim A5 _________________________________________________________________ Buy, Load, Play. The new Sympatico / MSN Music Store works seamlessly with Windows Media Player. Just Click PLAY. http://musicstore.sympatico.msn.ca/content/viewer.aspx?cid=SMS_Sept192006

[Bill Watson]

Yeah Mike, my '04, purchased new in Mesa AZ, was californiacated as well. Bill Watson Phoenix --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Norm Keller]

>large gear that is has what most folks call a

Sprag unit (like a one way clutch). The sprags allow the gear to rotate freely in one direction and lock up in the other. >So when the starter

>shaft is rotating faster than the crankshaft >>(through the gears) it is >locked up. When the crankshaft is rotating >faster than the starter it >rotates. That's basically how it's supposed to >work. >Sounds like your sprags are fully locked.

Not trying to be nit picky but the KLR starter doesn't use a Sprag type over-running clutch. Rather, it uses a roller type over-running clutch. Operation is similar but components are a bit different. Sprags are short bars with a curvature ground on each end. The set of sprags is placed between an inner and outer race. The sprags are cylindrical and form a "donut area" into which the Sprags are placed. The series of the length of the sprags is greater than the radius of the donut area so the sprags lie at the diagonal in the donut area. The angle of the curvature on the ends of the Sprags and the length of the Sprags is such that the Sprags will engage and jam between the two races if the races are rotated in reverse direction in relation to one another. If rotated in forward direction (in relation) the Sprags will slide along the surfaces of the races allowing the clutch to over-ride. The KLR, like most starter drive and automatic transmission applications uses a roller type over-running clutch in which spring-loaded rollers are placed between an inner and outer race. Unlike the Sprag clutch, the over running clutch's races are not both cylindrical because one race must incorporate a ramp area to cause the rollers to engage both races. This type of clutch is referred to as "over-running" because it allows the driving member to drive the driven member in one direction but will not allow the driven member to drive the driving member in that direction. When applied to the typical starter (KLR, cage, etc.) the idea is that the electric starting motor, often referred to as "the starter" can drive the crankshaft but cannot be driven by the crankshaft. A typical starting motor (should be called a cranking motor) is sized to be as compact and light as possible and is designed to be operated for a short time in an over load condition. In order to provide sufficient torque to rotate (crank) the engine the starting motor will typically be geared through a reduction of 20 or 30 to one. This requires the starting motor to turn at high speed in order to provide 100 or 200 RPM crankshaft speed for starting. From the reduction-gearing ratio, it can be easily recognized that the consequences of allowing the crankshaft to drive the starting motor's armature during normal engine operation will be disastrous. Consider 30:1 gearing's effect at 7,500 crankshaft RPM! The starter's armature will fly apart far before 225,000 RPM. In order to prevent the crankshaft from driving the starter, the over-running clutch, over-runs, which is to say, it releases (un-clutches) the drive between the starter and crankshaft. You may have noticed that an engine kick-back in which the piston stops just before TDC will make a loud metallic noise. This often happens if you stall the engine. The resulting noise is, in part, the impact of the over-running clutch engaging and driving the starter because the crankshaft has rotated in reverse. This may have been more than you wanted to know but I though it might be useful to someone. Norm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Norm Keller]

>After a few tries she came to life, but that's when I noticed > a > foul noise, it was the starter, it was still engaged! Even as I > reved > the engine, it was trying to turn at the same speed! This caused > the > bike to run like crap, of course! But also the starter sounded like > it > was about to fly to the moon.

There are two common conditions in which the starter may be "still engaged" as you describe. 1) The over-running clutch may be locked or dragging rather than releasing to allow the clutch to over-run. If the over-running clutch is locked, the starter armature will likely explode if you try to operate the engine above idle. I wouldn't give much for its chances of long term survival even at idle. Long term in minutes! Someone mentioned the issue of the over-running clutch being installed dry of oil which may be a cause. It can be amazing to find just how long it can take for oil to find its way into some areas! If an over-running clutch problem is suspected, disassembly and inspection is required. If a small bit of gasket or other material has lodged in the roller clutch (over-running clutch) it can cause the clutch to jam or drag. Never install a roller or Sprag clutch dry! 2) Electrical problems may cause the starter relay (solenoid switch) to engage the starter when the button should be released. This will cause the starter to continue to operate but it will not be driven by the crankshaft and will not increase in RPM much when engine speed is increased. Having the starter remain powered will burn out the starter, damage the battery, etc. Not having the luxury of hearing the bike it is difficult to make a diagnosis but suggest that you consider both possibilities. You may wish to locate the small wire which plugs onto the starting relay and unplug it from the relay. Hold the plug so that it makes contact with the relay, start the bike and immediately remove the wire. If the starter continues to turn, the problem is not likely to be electrical and you will need to revisit your internal work. HIH, please keep us posted. Norm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]