wanted: ims 7 gl tank for klr

[Jeff Saline]

Listers, The short story is my speedo was sluggish and I fixed and calibrated it. Here's the longer version. The weatherguessers were suggesting today would be the last nice day for quite a while. The forecast was for temps in the 60s through much of the hills with mostly sunny skies and light winds. That called for a ride to the local BMW rider's club meeting and then another ride in the hills afterwards. First I had to head into town for a quick project and I figured I'd take the KLR for the entire day. I haven't been on the KLR for about two weeks so I was looking forward to the riding today. I left as normal and noticed there was a Model A sedan parked at the end of my neighbor's driveway. I know it's not his so I rode over for a quick peak. No for sale sign or evidence it was doing anything other than taking up space. It looked like it was in nice shape and I bet it'd be fun to drive. I left the Model A and within 50 yards I knew something was wrong with my speedometer. I was going about 45 mph and it was registering maybe 25 mph. It would slowly creep up to close to the correct reading after a bit of steady riding. I wasn't too concerned as you don't need a speedo to ride a motorcycle and it wasn't making any serious noises. I've ridden lots of times with out a tach too. As I rode to my first stop I thought about what might cause the speedo to read low and sluggishly. I was guessing since the bike has been stored in my heated shop it wasn't moisture or corrosion but possibly a bug might have got into the speedo for a nice nesting area. I was hoping it wasn't a Black Widow spider since they're kind of nasty. I haven't seen one in the shop for about 45 days. I did my errand and then enjoyed the company of about 20 other riders at the coffee shop. We had some interesting talks and visiting. After coffee I didn't want to head to Wyoming or the northern hills which is where it sounded like most folks were heading. So I hung around until everyone else was gone and then left. I figured on taking backroads south towards Custer State Park and the Needles Highway. I rode the Needles a few weeks ago and it was still in good shape and almost void of traffic. As I rode south on Neck Yoke and South Rockerville roads the speedo began to work a bit better. It's always read about 5 mph faster than the actual speed but I could tell compared to my GPS it was off more than normal. I connected with Playhouse road and then after a short stint on Iron Mountain road (this is a fabulous road going to Keystone and Mount Rushmore) I turned right onto the real Playhouse road. This was a dirt and gravel road until sometime last summer when it was top coated with something like a chip seal. It passes the Custer Playhouse which is open in the summer. I had one truck looking at the scenes so I quickly passed it and enjoyed the beautiful area, road and my KLR. I turned right on the Needles Highway and saw plenty of areas on the road that might have been ice a few hours earlier. The temperature was about 58 degrees or so and in the shady areas where the sun hadn't touched, and might not touch again for another 4 months or so, it was still wet. I took it easy as this is mostly a small, very twisty two lane road and some of it has no lane markings. I caught one car before the first tunnel and passed it in a nice safe spot. One truck was parked near Cathedral Spires, I'm guessing it was rock climbers although I didn't see them. I enjoyed the switchbacks and active elevation changes and noticed I was over 6,000 feet above sea level. It was a little cooler over 6,000 feet but not enough to cause any issues. I rode through the long tunnel at the Eye of the Needle and had one car in front of me. The driver quickly noticed me and signaled me to pass in a safe area. I waved thank you as I shot on down the road. Soon I passed Sylvan Lake and the lake lodge and then exited the park. I took 89 north and enjoyed the steep, switch backed, with one tunnel descent. There were a few stretches covered with pea gravel and I'm sure it had snowed there in the last week or so. As I got back to level twisty road I took the super secret dirt/gravel short cut (Palmer Gulch road, but don't tell anyone) towards 244. I enjoyed a quick break at the park service turnout and talked with a couple who were going hiking. Both were wearing bright orange vests and said that was to help keep them from being shot by deer or elk hunters. I asked if they were going up to Harney Peak Lookout which you could see in the distance. Harney Peak is the highest point east of the rockies until you get to the French Alps. They said that was way far off for walking and they were just going to a nice rock outcropping a mile or a bit more away. I got back on the bike and continued on to 244 and after maybe 1/2 mile cut into the Palmer Gulch KOA campground. This was the next super secret short cut of the day. Cutting to the back of the campground and through the parking area for the staff dormitories I connected with a Forest Service road that connects with the Old Hill City Road. This is the road connecting Hill City with Keystone and the 1880's train tracks cross it about 16 times I think. It's a really nice small twisty road and a very fun ride for visitors and locals alike. I only stayed on this road for about 2 miles and then turned left on Pink Cabin road taking a short cut to 16. On 16 I turned left and about 2 miles later turned right on 385 north. As I approached Sheridan Lake I could see a youngster running along the rocks in shorts and a few people fishing from the bank too. What a nice November day in South Dakota. I turned right on Sheridan Lake road and enjoyed the ride into town and home. The speedo was working pretty well by now but I was guessing it still just wasn't quite right. I went into the house to change clothes and get a snack and then headed to the shop to take a quick look at the speedo. I figured if there was something wrong with it I should fix it and if nothing was wrong at least I could lube and calibrate it. Now it doesn't take long to pull the instrument cluster but having a dash in place makes for just a bit less room to work in than the stock set up. I was thinking about how the extended warranty expired yesterday and had to smile. Not that I'm much for taking my stuff to others to work on but if I needed a new speedo I was now going to foot the bill. Now the bike came with the extended warranty when I bought it used. I don't think the seller even knew of the warranty. I'm sure glad I didn't pay for it as I like I've read, you usually don't get your money back from it. A quick down and dirty on removing and calibrating the speedo: - remove the two screws holding the black plastic connector cover - remove the cover from the left side - disconnect the black quick disconnect - disconnect the speedo cable from the speedo - remove the two nuts (8mm wrench) and washers holding the instruments to the upper triple tree - lift the instrument cluster and take it to the bench laying it face down - remove the trip meter knob (very small phillips) holding the knob to reduce stress on internal parts - remove three phillips screws holding the white plastic to the black cover - loosen the two phillips screws on either side of the speedo stub - remove the white plastic instruments from the black cover being careful to not touch the face of the instruments - using three hands hold the white plastic, the edges of the speedo face and remove the two screws from the back of the speedo (it's easier than it sounds) - place the white plastic case where it won't get damaged or fall onto the temp gauge needle or tach needle - hold the speedo in a Jorgenson clamp (woodworkers clamp) face up (don't overtighten) - hold the needle at where 50 mph should be and mark (I used a carbide scribe) the metal disc under the odometer numbers (I lined my mark with the space between two numbers for easy reference) (make sure you mark the disc that's connected to the needle pivot and not the disc that's connected to the speedo drive) - gently take two small flat tip screwdrivers and pry the needle (held at about the 50 mph mark) off the pivot (I put the screwdrivers over the two screws on the face and get the tips as far into the middle under the needle as I can get them) - hold a finger over the needle so when it pops off it doesn't go flying - clean the speedo assemble with light blasts of air (be very careful of the spring as you won't be able to repair it if you damage it) - lube the pivot with 3 in 1 oil or sewing machine oil. Just enough to dampen the pivot - hold the pivot disc so the mark you placed lines up at the 50 mph mark - gently press the needle on the pivot and check for accuracy - if it's good then use two fingers to put even pressure on both sides of the needle and push firmly - check again for accuracy of the mark you made and the needle position - reverse the earlier steps to put it all back together I think Bill Watson has a write up he did on calibrating his speedo. Maybe he can post that link for folks that are interested. I'm pretty sure instead of popping the needle off he rotates the needle on the pivot with good results. Either way will work and his may be the more gentle method. I did look for anything causing my speedo to act sluggishly and couldn't find a reason for that action. I blew out the area around the magnet and that seemed to help just a bit. On Airhead speedos you can easily take the assembly apart and clean and lube the lower pivot. The airhead speedo is held together with screws. The KLR speedo is pressed metal and although I think I could take one apart and put it back together I didn't think this one needed that risky operation. I then took the bike for a quick spin to check and see how well I did. It was off at 50 mph indicated with actual speed being 47.6 mph. So I did it again. This time I was still off with 50 mph indicated being 52 mph actual. That's for sure the wrong way. The third time's a charm and I got it close enough with 50 mph actual being 51 indicated. That'll change depending on how much wear is on the front tire and also what tire and pressure I use. But I'm now confident my speedo is telling me the truth at 50 mph. I know it'll be off just a tad more at slower and faster speeds but I'll get used to that on my next ride. Now the last time I calibrated a speedo for one of my bikes I got a ticket a week later in Hastings, Nebraska. I got nailed doing 70 in what I thought was a 65 zone. In actuality it was a 65 zone in the previous county. When I got to Hastings I guess they dropped the speed 5 mph so I was doing 70 in a 60 zone. The road was straight and flat and I could see into next week. The state trooper didn't have much sympathy for me. At least I knew the entire time I was really doing 70. So, with winter supposedly showing up tonight or tomorrow I may soon get some more shop time instead of riding. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Let's hear about your riding experience. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT

[John Drake]

Am looking for an earlier style IMS military tank, without the vents which the current IMS tank has. Thanks!