sweet 2up offroad street tire ride

[Bill Self]

I have a stock 97 KLR 650 with only 10,000 miles on it, that's been running great until I let it sit for two months without draining the carb. ... So after charging battery, I could start my KLR with the "choke on", BUT the engine would NOT rev up. It consistently died when I opened the throttle. I found that after the engine was warmed up and I put choke "off", I could THEN get engine to idle AND the engine would rev up in response to opening the throttle. ... Then on test drive, I found my bike was NOT so dependable as it cut out now and then / and died when I put the choke on. Anyone else out there ever had this particular problem? I'm pretty sure I've always been able to rev my KLR 650 engine with the choke "off" or "on" (open or closed) before. And it I forgot about it, I could drive it with the choke "on"! Isn't that the norm with your stock KLR? Well I did a spark plug change, valve adjustment check, changed two valve shims, changed oil & filter as it was time for a full maintenance too. Then BACK to carb: I took it off and kind of quick cleaned it with Berrryman's B-12 carb cleaner. It looked spotless in the float bowl, but a little dirty on that small coaster enricher chamber on side of carb. I took carb apart and blew compressed air through all jets and little holes I could find (except I did not remove plug to idle mixture screw). Diaphram looked good and whole. I put it back together and IT RAN GREAT again for a day of driving in the hills. NOW a few days later, the problem has returned (dam), and seems worse. In looking at the slider with mirror via removing air air cleaner, I see it moving up slowly when I can get the engine to rev, and it sometimes vibrates a bit at idle. I'm jazzed at finding this group and KLR 650 info. on the web, which I've been studying. Do you think I'm on right track going back to carb and getting at that idle mixture screw (which has a plug over it)? or - Does anyone out their have any other ideas for me to check out and pursue? Has anyone out there ever had this particular problem happen to your KLR? Thanks in advance, Bill

[Sam Teel]

Yesterday the wife and I went to Chickasaw State park about 60 miles east of Memphis. I had been past it a few times and we wanted to go somewhere we had never been, so we went. The ride out there was nice 4 lane through the countryside with lots of interesting side roads to explore later. Once we were in the park, we stopped at the office to see what they had to offer. It was the usual camping stuff with the added items like horseback rides, archery, tennis and boat rentals, which was nice. But the best part came when I asked if there were any dirt roads through the forest that were legal to use with my motorcycle. The lady said, "Well, we only have about 30 miles of trails through 15 thousand acres of forest. Most of it is either dirt or C33" I asked what C33 was and she said, "You know, white gravel rock." She gave us a map and we were off. The first road we got on was a dirt road covered with pea gravel to a depth that varied between 0 and 2 inches. 0 was fine, two inches was dicey with 400 pounds of bone, butt and bowel rolling on the Kenda 657 street tires. Although, on gravel I don't think even aggressive knobbies would have made much difference. Fortunately, the roads were dry and in good condition. I have very little offroad experience but the desire to get out in the woods made us try it. We only had a half dozen "Whew! That was scary!" moments in several hours of dirt/gravel roads. It was so cool to be rolling through the woods. In places it was like a green tunnel. In others we were up on a hilltop with 360 degree views. We stopped on Fire Tower Road at the tower to climb the old structure and take a few pictures from the top. It had a "climb at your on risk" sign so we did. I've often wondered who else's risk it could be. I mean, is someone going to come take my place during a fall? The old tower seemed a bit rickety with some of the wooden steps either loose or rotten and at the top, we noticed that the wind was making it sway a bit. Just added to the fun I think. We had the usual run ins with the dumbassed cagers. One car I was following at cruising speed suddenly dropped from 65 to 50 mph. I moved to the left lane to pass and noticed that she now had a cell phone stuck to the side of her face. Later, she passed me. Damn things are like guns. People should have to attend a safety course and pay a $150 license to use them in their cars. Another jackass nearly ran me over as I tuned off onto a side road, in spite of the fact that I had my turn signal on and had been slowing for a hundred yards. That one got the finger I'm afraid, something I usually try to avoid. On a separate note, I know that most stock bikes run lean and have a lean surge. Is there such a thing as "rich" surge? I have jets for the suppertrapp exhaust but am running the stocker on my bike. Yesterday I noticed what I called the "Ya Ya's" At the top of each gear, the bike would have a slight surge and make a sound like yayayayayaya. Once I shifted and the rpm's dropped, it seemed to stop. Also, if the motor was loaded, it seemed less. Like going up a hill. It's another pretty, sunny day today. I've got to be at work at noon so I think I'll go for a quick ride before I have to get ready. Regards, Sam ps, Jim W. You might want to come up and try these roads, very nice and fairly close.