starting...kickstart switch?

[private]

That "grating sound" turned out to be my license plate rubbing on the back tire! In fact, my license plate was bent in half. I had set my rear shock to #3, due to my size (6'5" & 250 lbs)...but it seems the back tire still bottoms out even on regular highway driving. My KLR is a new 2007 model with just 400 miles. If I adjust the rear shock all the way to #5 will this help? Any suggestions would be appreciated. pj

[Blake Sobiloff]

On Nov 25, 2006, at 7:29 AM, private wrote:

> That "grating sound" turned out to be my license plate rubbing on the > back tire! In fact, my license plate was bent in half.

That'll happen with almost any tire, given large enough bumps/enough rider weight. I just bent mine outta the way a bit and it's been fine.

> I had set my > rear shock to #3, due to my size (6'5" & 250 lbs)...but it seems the > back tire still bottoms out even on regular highway driving. My KLR is > a new 2007 model with just 400 miles. If I adjust the rear shock all > the way to #5 will this help?

It will certainly help with the quality of your ride, but ultimately I expect that it won't be enough. Kawasaki set up the suspension to handle a 130-pound Japanese man, so you're effectively riding two-up according to Kawasaki's weight estimates. Most folks anywhere near 200 pounds (or beyond) find that they need to install a heavier spring. Recent posts have discussed all the options. Try setting the rear shock at 5 and then measure the bike's rear sag. http://www.race-tech.com/articles/SuspensionAndSprings.htm> I'm guessing that it won't be near the 3" it should be at (it'll be more). Only you can decide if you can live with a saggy ass or not. -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/blakeblog/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[John Biccum]

Been there, done that, and have the mangled plate to prove it. My plate ended up on top of the swing arm, making a plinking sound like a playing card in the spokes. At your size you should probably budget to replace the shock with something more suitable. I have the Progressive 420 and love it. There are other alternatives but none are inexpensive. The OEM shock is perfectly fine if you are built like a jockey and you only ride an unladen bike on the smoothest of roads You might also want to relocate your plate. One option is to pass the two factory license plate mounting bolts thru the lower two holes in the plate. This moves the plate up and out of harms way for most riding. But this is exactly where my plate was when a D606 tore it and a chunk of the inner fender off hurling both on top of the swing arm. A better mod IMHO is to relocate the plate to the outside of the fender, below the taillight. This means removal of the license plate light and an alternate means of lighting the plate is required to make the bike street legal. An elegant solution would be to mill a window in the bottom of the tail light /brake light lens and glue in a clear acrylic piece to keep the water out. I resorted to a field expedient method and used one (out of a package of two) "Light-n-Boltz". There are stainless license plate bolts combined with an LED for illumination. Ugly but effective, and therefore most appropriate for a KLR. If I had the package of two Boltz at my disposal I would probably have used two, one in each of the top license plate mounting holes. Photos are here: http://johnbiccum.smugmug.com/gallery/497409/1/112728473 _____ From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of private Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2006 07:29 To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] What is that grating sound? That "grating sound" turned out to be my license plate rubbing on the back tire! In fact, my license plate was bent in half. I had set my rear shock to #3, due to my size (6'5" & 250 lbs)...but it seems the back tire still bottoms out even on regular highway driving. My KLR is a new 2007 model with just 400 miles. If I adjust the rear shock all the way to #5 will this help? Any suggestions would be appreciated. pj [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Rocky]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "private" wrote:

> > That "grating sound" turned out to be my license plate rubbing on

the

> back tire! In fact, my license plate was bent in half. I had set my > rear shock to #3, due to my size (6'5" & 250 lbs)...but it seems the > back tire still bottoms out even on regular highway driving. My KLR

is

> a new 2007 model with just 400 miles. If I adjust the rear shock all > the way to #5 will this help? Any suggestions would be appreciated. > > pj >

Hmm, apparently I am the lucky one. I owned my '07 for about 600 miles before I adjusted the spring and dampener. I had no problems bottoming out, although I haven't had it seriously off road yet. Did I mention I weigh in at 375 pounds and I had a passenger pushing 140 ride with me (after maxing the spring and dampener)? A little soggy, but still impressed with the ride.

[Mike Peplinski]

It will help but you will still be able to bottom out on big dips. It is the nature of the KLR. The only solution is to get a stronger spring or stay off the trails.

>From: "private" >To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com >Subject: [DSN_KLR650] What is that grating sound? >Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2006 15:29:29 -0000 > >That "grating sound" turned out to be my license plate rubbing on the >back tire! In fact, my license plate was bent in half. I had set my >rear shock to #3, due to my size (6'5" & 250 lbs)...but it seems the >back tire still bottoms out even on regular highway driving. My KLR is >a new 2007 model with just 400 miles. If I adjust the rear shock all >the way to #5 will this help? Any suggestions would be appreciated. > >pj > > > >Archive Quicksearch at: >http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html >List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com >List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html >Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650 >Yahoo! Groups Links > > >

_________________________________________________________________ Stay up-to-date with your friends through the Windows Live Spaces friends list. http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwsp0070000001msn/direct/01/?href=http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mk

[Lucas Reber]

On 11/26/06, STuart Phillips wrote:

> When I press the starter button and hold in the clutch all the way, > there is no starter sound at all (not even a click). When I let out > the clutch to about half way, the engine fires and starts easily. > What is causing this? Is it normal?

Sounds like it's the clutch safety switch.. Same thing happened to my KLR at about the 3k point. Check out this howto on MarkNet for disabling it: http://www.klr650.marknet.us/safetyswitch.html Lucas