tensioner chain adjustment question

[Joseph Labate]

Had a great ride yesterday save for a breakdown on the way home and am looking for some hints at what the cause might be. The bike's an '01 KLR650 and the problem was electrical. Towards the end of a long day of riding, it started to rain reasonably hard. Five minutes of this and the bike began to sputter. Within a half minute or so, it died completely. The neutral light would not come on though headlight, brake light, and signal lights all worked. After a half hour on the side of the road poking around at things with no results, a couple of guys came by in a pickup and we loaded the bike into the back. They gave me a ride about 30 miles toward home and we stopped at a gas station to let me off, I tried the bike again and all was fine - the neutral light came on and the bike started and ran another 45 minutes to get me home. (A huge bright rainbow appeared as I neared my house. Really). I had previously bypassed the sidestand cutout switch and was running an electric vest at the time. Any ideas of what the problem is? Thanks. jlabate

[Joseph Labate]

Had a great ride yesterday save for a breakdown on the way home and am looking for some hints at what the cause might be. The bike's an '01 KLR650 and the problem was electrical. Towards the end of a long day of riding, it started to rain reasonably hard. Five minutes of this and the bike began to sputter. Within a half minute or so, it died completely. The neutral light would not come on though headlight, brake light, and signal lights all worked. After a half hour on the side of the road poking around at things with no results, a couple of guys came by in a pickup and we loaded the bike into the back. They gave me a ride about 30 miles toward home and we stopped at a gas station to let me off, I tried the bike again and all was fine - the neutral light came on and the bike started and ran another 45 minutes to get me home. (A huge bright rainbow appeared as I neared my house. Really). I had previously bypassed the sidestand cutout switch and was running an electric vest at the time. Any ideas of what the problem is? Thanks. jlabate

[Kurt Simpson]

> Had a great ride yesterday save for a breakdown on the way home and > am looking for some hints at what the cause might be. The bike's an > '01 KLR650 and the problem was electrical. Towards the end of a long > day of riding, it started to rain reasonably hard. Five minutes of > this and the bike began to sputter. Within a half minute or so, it > died completely. The neutral light would not come on though > headlight, brake light, and signal lights all worked. After a half > hour on the side of the road poking around at things with no results, > a couple of guys came by in a pickup and we loaded the bike into the > back. They gave me a ride about 30 miles toward home and we stopped > at a gas station to let me off, I tried the bike again and all was > fine - the neutral light came on and the bike started and ran another > 45 minutes to get me home. (A huge bright rainbow appeared as I > neared my house. Really).

my guess is that it is not electrical...and that it is fuel...the infamous T-Vent is needed ...this problem vexed all of us for years until Steve Anderson or who was it that finally figured it out? The neutral light is the usual trick the bike put together to throw you off... Kurt

[Joseph Labate]

I did the T-vent though the added tube does run under the seat and I see reason to change that. I should also mention that occasionally the bike is dead when I go to start it, I'll pull the clutch in a few times, flip the kill switch on and off, etc. and the bike starts up. This is when it is completely dry. I don't recall what the neutral light was doing at those times.

>my guess is that it is not electrical...and that it is fuel...the infamous >T-Vent is needed ...this problem vexed all of us for years until Steve >Anderson or who was it that finally figured it out? The neutral light is the >usual trick the bike put together to throw you off... > >Kurt

jlabate

[Swede]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Joseph Labate wrote:

> I had previously bypassed the sidestand cutout switch and was

running

> an electric vest at the time. Any ideas of what the problem is? > Thanks. > > > jlabate

The rain could have been by chance, the contacts in the clutch switch could be dirty or loose. Have you defeated the clutch switch? When my switch failed, it posed the: won't start, neutral acting funny symptoms. "Swede"

[Kurt Simpson]

> I should also mention that occasionally the bike is dead when I go to > start it, I'll pull the clutch in a few times, flip the kill switch > on and off, etc. and the bike starts up. This is when it is > completely dry. I don't recall what the neutral light was doing at > those times. > > >my guess is that it is not electrical...and that it is > fuel...the infamous > >T-Vent is needed ...this problem vexed all of us for years until Steve > >Anderson or who was it that finally figured it out? The neutral > light is the > >usual trick the bike put together to throw you off... > > > >Kurt

ok, then I would say you're right and it is the clutch/neutral safety switch...many of us disconnect this along with the sidestand switch...instructions are on the website... Kurt

[Bogdan Swider]

> I had previously bypassed the sidestand cutout switch and was running > an electric vest at the time. Any ideas of what the problem is? > Thanks. > > > jlabate >

I'm no electricity genius but I think Swede's right. Do the clutch cutout bypass. (Isn't that what was performed on Dick Cheney?) At first I thought that water was getting to the neutral wire which, I believe, is in front of the sprocket but that would have blown a fuse. Bogdan

[jenJBphun@cs.com]

Check the ground circuit, start at battery and tighten your post. Finish up by shooting dilectric (izzat how to spell it?) grease in the electrical harness connections. Maybe that might help. -Jennifer

[Rich Kickbush]

Dielectric grease can be a double edged sword. It is non-conductive, so while it does seal connections from water and corrosion it can minimise the contact area of the conductor that the current flows through. With low-current applications, its fine as long as one conductor cuts through the grease to mate with the other (down, Bogdan!). It may come back to haunt you as a erratic fault, and then its a bitch to get the grease out of there. Rich

----- Original Message ----- From: To: Cc: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 3:25 PM Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] breakdown diagnosis > Check the ground circuit, start at battery and tighten your post. Finish up > by shooting dilectric (izzat how to spell it?) grease in the electrical > harness connections. Maybe that might help. -Jennifer > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > Support Dual Sport News... dsneditor@... > Let's keep this list SPAM free! > > Visit our site at http://www.egroups.com/group/DSN_klr650 > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@egroups.com > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > >

[jenJBphun@cs.com]

You are right and that is why I never let moisture build up in my connections before using dielectric grease. The same principal applies to priming steel - do it as fast as you can after sandblasting. It helps to do this work inside your bedroom with the furnace or air conditioner running, instead of outside. Less humidity. -Jennifer