julain tech session

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After my last ride to Julian and Mt.Laguna I bought some heated grips, on the positive side not to many other bikes on the road when the snow is coming down sideways with 40-mile winds! I think CHP had some special enforcement going on for motorcycles this weekend, I got on I15 for 10 miles and counted 6 bikes pulled over along the 10 mile stretch, first time I had ever seen that. --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, Randall Marbach wrote:

> Hi All > > I wanted to take my new A17 down to Julian to do a > little work on her including checking the valves so I > decided to leave on Friday and spend the weekend at > the Julian Lodge Hotel. This would allow the bike to > be cold in the early AM Saturday and by staying > Saturday nite, I could relax after the tech session > and take up a little of the local culture and return > home in the daylight hours Sunday rather than Saturday > night, just in case problems with my wrenching cropped > up. > > Although the Web reported that rain was leaving the > Julian area that Friday afternoon, and that > temperatures were to be in the 60s hi/40s low,I > decided to take my rain suit with me just in case. I > filled the tank to the brim in Burbank and hit the > road about 1:30. Other than being blown around a bit > by some strong cross winds in the Elsinore area, the > first 150 miles were relatively uneventful. The bike > seems quite comfortable at 5200 rpms which is about 78 > mph indicated. As I started up RTE 76, it seems like > it was starting to get a little chilly, so I stopped > to don the rain jacket over my leather jacket and > continued up the hill. Just outside of Santa Ynez, the > clouds got dark and the rain came. By the time I was > able to seek shelter under the canopy of the old gas > station at the intersection at the heart of Santa > Ynez, the front of my jeans were pretty damp and it > seemed really cold, I was beginning to shiver. > > With only 7 miles to left to Julian, I decided to pull > on the bottoms of my rain suit and to continue on up > the hill. My face shield began to fog up, but it was > too cold to leave up and it seemed like the the road > was getting slippery and foggy. The last mile or so > into town, the rain seemed to get so thick that the > only way I could clear it from my face shield was to > wipe it away. Not until I reached town did I realize > this was not rain, but SNOW!. The whole town was white > by the time I got to the hotel, and the thermometer on > the front door indicated 33 degrees at 6PM, no wonder > it seemed cold. A couple of cups of hot coffee and the > room heater on high proved an effective cure. > > The tech session began at 8 the next morning, Buddy > was there with hot coffee and compressed air to dry > off the bike and instructions on what to do to replace > the doohickey. The doohickey transplant went very > smoothly, however, since my bike only had 700 miles on > it, it was still in good shape and functioning > properly. I do feel much better having Eagle Mike's > superior part installed. > > Next was the scary part, the 500 mile valve > inspection/adjustment. By this time Mark B showed up > and walked me though this procedure. He showed me > exactly what to do and double checked each step as I > performed them, showed me how to properly use the > feeler gages( for some reason, I could not seem to get > consistent readings) and did the "shim math" for me. > Turns out only the right hand exhaust valve was a bit > too tight. Since I brought Fred's shim kit with me, > we popped the exhaust cam and replace this shim, > everything came out perfectly. > > During the session, I also managed to change the oil > and filter, adjust the rear shock, install a new > magnetic drain plug and the dual star shift lever. I > also installed Eagle Mike's sub frame bolt kit, and > Eldin Carl gave me pointers about proper chain > adjustment. We wrapped up about 5PM and several of us > went out to Romano's for a much deserved dinner. And > after dinner I went to the hotel and crashed for the > evening. Thank God I didn't have to go home that > night. > > Sunday morning I packed up and headed out of town > about 10 AM. The bike seemed to handle better > probably because of the shock adjustment. I thought > the KLR was running really good, unfortunately, so did > the CHP officer who saw me pass a slow moving motor > home (crossing double yellow lines) on SR 76, my first > ticket in 24 years, how much are they anyhow? > > At 218 miles, I hit reserve, and by the time I stopped > for gas I was at 240 and it took 5.06 gallons, about > 46-48 mpg I guess. > > In spite of the ticket, I had a great time and I want > to thank Buddy, Mike and Mark B for all their help and > guidance. This was one of the most entertaining and > educational weekends I've spent in quite a while. > > Rumor has it that the plans for the next tech session > are going to be very "interesting". I can hardly wait. > > Randy from Burbank > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Get better spam protection with Yahoo! Mail. > http://antispam.yahoo.com/tools