1st gear klunk

[Jim & Shannon Morehead]

I'm relieved to hear that my KLR isn't the only one to klunk into first on the initial shift of the day. In fact, it will sometimes kill the engine on the first shift. It is annoying, but I can live with it. I'm going to dump the Honda 20W-50 I put in last night and try some Kawasaki 10W-40 oil tomorrow. I noticed that the old oil was black as the ace of spades. The new oil became black in the sight window shortly after starting the engine. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm considering an engine flush with cheap oil and a quick run. Any comments? Jim