high miles...maintainace needs table

[pguerra@scu.edu]

So I was riding home after work yesterday and I got off the freeway here in sunny California and stopped at a stoplight. As soon as the engine got to idle, it died. I had not noticed any strange behavior beforehand. When I hit the starter switch, it cranked but no combustion. Switched to reserve but still no start. Pushed it to a nearby gas station and tried again. Nothing. Called a family member with a pickup truck. Some guy waiting for his girlfriend told me that the kill switch must be off. I assured him it wasn't and engaged him in conversation while I waited. Right before my ride came, I got it started by holding the throttle 3/4 of full open. If I let the tach drop below 2000, it began to sputter, below 1500 it died. Any ideas? I have a few theories but I'd like to hear what others think first. -Paul A15 ('bout a thousand miles)

[Devon Jarvis]

I've never had a bike with CA emissions equip, so you could have a problem there and I'd have no idea. You could also have a little bit of crap blocking the pilot jet, try draining the bowl (collect the gas in a clean container and examine it for water or dirt) and blowing through the jest with a can of carb cleaner. This is a half-assed way to check for a problem, not the way to properly clean a carb. Devon A15 pguerra@... wrote:

> > So I was riding home after work yesterday and I got off the freeway > here in sunny California and stopped at a stoplight. As soon as the > engine got to idle, it died. I had not noticed any strange behavior > beforehand. When I hit the starter switch, it cranked but no > combustion. Switched to reserve but still no start. Pushed it to a > nearby gas station and tried again. Nothing. Called a family member > with a pickup truck. > Some guy waiting for his girlfriend told me that the kill switch must > be off. I assured him it wasn't and engaged him in conversation > while I waited. Right before my ride came, I got it started by > holding the throttle 3/4 of full open. If I let the tach drop below > 2000, it began to sputter, below 1500 it died. > Any ideas? > I have a few theories but I'd like to hear what others think first. > -Paul > A15 ('bout a thousand miles) > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > > Post message: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: DSN_klr650-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > Unsubscribe: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > List owner: DSN_klr650-owner@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[KLR650@houston.rr.com]

Problem: Same thing happened to me with about 300 miles on the bike on a ho= t, humid day while riding in traffic. I was coasting to a stop and the bike = died quietly. Fix: I switched it to reserve and tried to start it several times until it= fired. Ran fine. I put some more gas in the tank soon after . Hypothesis: When one runs the KLR out of gas (before switching to reserve)= the carb bowl is drained dry. Due to the KLR's vacuum petcock valve, one m= ust spin the engine for a little while after switching it to reserve to crea= te vacuum to open the petcock valve to fill the carb bowl all the way back u= p before it will start. Comments anyone? Gerret A15 "Mj lnir"

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., pguerra@s... wrote: > So I was riding home after work yesterday and I got off the freeway > here in sunny California and stopped at a stoplight. As soon as the > engine got to idle, it died. I had not noticed any strange behavior > beforehand. When I hit the starter switch, it cranked but no > combustion. Switched to reserve but still no start. Pushed it to a > nearby gas station and tried again. Nothing. Called a family member > with a pickup truck. > Some guy waiting for his girlfriend told me that the kill switch must > be off. I assured him it wasn't and engaged him in conversation > while I waited. Right before my ride came, I got it started by > holding the throttle 3/4 of full open. If I let the tach drop below > 2000, it began to sputter, below 1500 it died. > Any ideas? > I have a few theories but I'd like to hear what others think first. > -Paul > A15 ('bout a thousand miles)

[cactus_reese@yahoo.com]

I agree with Devon that it's dirt in the carb. I think it is most likely something blocking open the float valve needle causing the float bowl to fill and the bike to run rich. You can verify by getting the bike running as best you can and looking to see if gas is dripping out of the float bowl overflow. You'll need to open the throttle pretty good to start it. These things can clear themselves if you ride around a bit or pound on the carb. Otherwise, take off the float bowl and clean the delicate little float valve. -Bryan A12

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Devon Jarvis wrote: > You could also have a little bit of crap blocking the pilot jet. > > Devon > A15 >

[Mark Weaver]

> > MWeaver@... writes: > > oil change: 1,000-1500 miles (when it starts to get a little black) > > That's way too early. For fun find a nearby truck stop or truck service > center. Ask about "oil analysis". Haven't had one done in a long time > but they'll have to send it off. Cost will probably be between $10 and > $20. Helps if you use, say, Mobil Delvac 1300, and they send the oil > out to Mobil's Delvac testing service.

it might be too early in a car, i think it's pretty appropriate in a bike. black oil can't be good for an engine, and after 2500-3000 miles, it's pretty dang black. i have read that oil in motorcycles degrades measurably by 800-1000 miles. i bet it keeps on degrading. anyway, it's fun to change my oil. mw

[pguerra@scu.edu]

Well I think I've got the problem licked. Thanks for all the useful input. I'm glad that I bought a KLR just because of this list. Corrective actions taken: Disconnecting vapor can and checking for blockage (dealer's theory) There was none. Getting some carb cleaner into the squirtin' bits (didn't take carb apart but forced it in using a spray can and the fuel line (better than pouring Chemtool in the tank but lamer than really cleaning it)) Rerouting the vacuum line so it looks like the fiche diagram This involved putting a bigger radius in the vacuum hose coming off the engine intake, and putting the tubes on the combiner canister in the correct order. Keep in mind I have a Cal spec bike so you may not even have some of this emissions BS. Anyway, I found that the vacuum line had a kink in it and I think that is what caused it. The lack of vacuum to the petcock caused lack of fuel to the float bowl etc. I tried starting it after each action and rerouting the vacuum line made the biggest difference. The fact that the tubes were placed incorrectly on the t-connecter and combiner can made me kind of angry at whoever put the bike together. I also plan on putting a fuel filter in to avoid carb gunk up and so many other riders have done it. -Paul

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., pguerra@s... wrote: > So I was riding home after work yesterday and I got off the freeway > here in sunny California and stopped at a stoplight. As soon as the > engine got to idle, it died. I had not noticed any strange behavior > beforehand. When I hit the starter switch, it cranked but no > combustion. Switched to reserve but still no start. Pushed it to a > nearby gas station and tried again. Nothing. Called a family member > with a pickup truck. > Some guy waiting for his girlfriend told me that the kill switch must > be off. I assured him it wasn't and engaged him in conversation > while I waited. Right before my ride came, I got it started by > holding the throttle 3/4 of full open. If I let the tach drop below > 2000, it began to sputter, below 1500 it died. > Any ideas? > I have a few theories but I'd like to hear what others think first. > -Paul > A15 ('bout a thousand miles)