Wilsons Sandbox

The same thing happened to me in July- '02 KLR with 2063 miles. I posted my complaint here and didn't get much support from the group. Since then, a bolt has come out of the faring area with no adverse consequence- I just saw that it was missing. Later, a couple of weeks ago, both nuts/bolts that hold on the left side radiator shroud came out at speed so the shroud, held only by the screw at the top/front, was flapping madly. To be honest with you, I'm sick of this & complained to KawiUS and my dealer to no avail. I believe the bike should come from the factory fully lock washered, lock-tited, wired, cotter pinned, whatever, so that it does not fall apart. There was another poster, Mark, from Calif, who also reported that his muffler on a new KLR had fallen off on one of their freeways. He was not able to retrieve it as you & I did- $400, he says. I'm going to PAY a private shop, after riding season is over, to go over the bike from front to back, lock up all fasteners, document everything, and take Kawi & the dealer to small claims court for the expense of putting the bike into the conditon it should have been in from the factory. Unlike a lot of guys on this list, I have no interest in the zen of motorcycle mechanics and did not intend to buy a maintenance project- I just want/demand a bike on which I can turn the key and ride away without things falling off of it. What do you think? ===== Tom Kelsey hts1190@... 860-688-1190 __________________________________________________ Yahoo! - We Remember 9-11: A tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost http://dir.remember.yahoo.com/tribute

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., thomas kelsey wrote:

> The same thing happened to me in July- '02 KLR with > 2063 miles. I posted my complaint here and didn't get > much support from the group. Since then, a bolt has > come out of the faring area with no adverse > consequence- I just saw that it was missing. Later, a > couple of weeks ago, both nuts/bolts that hold on the > left side radiator shroud came out at speed so the > shroud, held only by the screw at the top/front, was > flapping madly. > To be honest with you, I'm sick of this & > complained to KawiUS and my dealer to no avail. I > believe the bike should come from the factory fully > lock washered, lock-tited, wired, cotter pinned, > whatever, so that it does not fall apart. There was > another poster, Mark, from Calif, who also reported > that his muffler on a new KLR had fallen off on one of > their freeways. He was not able to retrieve it as you > & I did- $400, he says. > I'm going to PAY a private shop, after riding > season is over, to go over the bike from front to > back, lock up all fasteners, document everything, and > take Kawi & the dealer to small claims court for the > expense of putting the bike into the conditon it > should have been in from the factory. > Unlike a lot of guys on this list, I have no > interest in the zen of motorcycle mechanics and did > not intend to buy a maintenance project- I just > want/demand a bike on which I can turn the key and > ride away without things falling off of it. > What do you think?

I think if you are going to ride a motorcycle, you have to take responsibility for its condition every time you get on it. That means go over it yourself from time to time, so you are aware of its condition. If you bought it new you should have gone over it yourself, anyway. Go ahead and pay someone else to do repairs, if you want (although you will probably enjoy motorcycling more the more you get involved with the machinery), but bear in mindthat the KLR is a single cylinder mototcycle; to have parts fall off is in its nature. So if you don't want to get involved with it, you should be riding something else, or perhaps not riding at all.

In a message dated 9/9/02 19:18:17, hts1190@... writes:

> To be honest with you, I'm sick of this & >complained to KawiUS and my dealer to no avail.

These bikes are not Harldly Abelsons (low maintenance). You must service the bike. Your dealer is not responsible for everything. About every 1000 miles do a 'Nut, Bolt, and torque Check'. If this is too much work for you, this type of motorcycle is not for you. Viewed best in the text font 'Courier' ___ /___\ (!* *!) __\^-^/__ / ___ \ _/ |___| \_ (__\=/ \=/__) O=|_[ ]_|=O \.---./ | = = | | =.-.= | !_|| ||_! =|| ||= | | | | _____`-'_____ Wish I could go through life like I go through traffic

> Unlike a lot of guys on this list, I have no > interest in the zen of motorcycle mechanics and did > not intend to buy a maintenance project- I just > want/demand a bike on which I can turn the key and > ride away without things falling off of it. > What do you think?

Bolts coming loose, and that type of thing are pretty much to be expected on a thumper. Should the factory loctite everything, or use nylock fasteners? Probably. This KLR650 is my first Kawasaki, and I'll admit to being underwhelmed by a few things. *My* big annoyance is the cheap/soft metal they use for fasteners. You shouldn't have to go out and buy replacement bolt & screw kits because one day you might want to add to your brake fluid, or whatever. Additionally, after all these years EVERYTHING, including the infamous doohickey, should have been addressed and corrected. They only change the paint scheme from year to year, it's not like they'd have to go through a major re-tooling to fix the issues. The KLR's should be absolutely bullet-proof by now, in my humble opinion. I DO like the KLR, and expect to always have one in my garage, but hassles are hassles. Now, for the record - before the flaming starts - I've spent a LOT of time getting my KLR website up and running, and keeping it relatively current. It's a totally free, non-ad website because I pay Tripod $4.95 a month to get rid of the ads, and gain extra bandwidth. THAT's a labor of love! I guess I'm just saying that to keep the out-the-door price low, Kawasaki has made some concessions that I feel are somewhat unfortunate. Mark = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "There's too much talk and not enough walk" - Petra: Beyond Belief = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Mark St.Hilaire, Sr HomePage: http://home.adelphia.net/~msaint/index.html KLR650 Motorcycle Pages: http://klr6500.tripod.com/ My Adelphia Email can be "iffy." If you don't get a response, please try: KLR6500@...

You must be one unlucky KLR rider. I rode my A13 7000 kms in 10 days, 1000 of it on gravel roads and lost one bolt out of the rear rack. I was pissed off because I hadn't checked any bolts on the whole trip. Went to a local hardware store and bought a replacement for 25 cents. Maybe they should offer the KLR in 2 variants, one that addresses all "problems", real and imaginary and cost $10,000 and the crappy regular model with a free tool kit.... Hey, I just checked mine and it has a tool kit! Bonus! Riley "Tweety Killer" A15 judjonzz wrote:

> --- In DSN_klr650@y..., thomas kelsey wrote: > > The same thing happened to me in July- '02 KLR with > > 2063 miles. I posted my complaint here and didn't get > > much support from the group. Since then, a bolt has > > come out of the faring area with no adverse > > consequence- I just saw that it was missing. Later, a > > couple of weeks ago, both nuts/bolts that hold on the > > left side radiator shroud came out at speed so the > > shroud, held only by the screw at the top/front, was > > flapping madly. > > To be honest with you, I'm sick of this & > > complained to KawiUS and my dealer to no avail. I > > believe the bike should come from the factory fully > > lock washered, lock-tited, wired, cotter pinned, > > whatever, so that it does not fall apart. There was > > another poster, Mark, from Calif, who also reported > > that his muffler on a new KLR had fallen off on one of > > their freeways. He was not able to retrieve it as you > > & I did- $400, he says. > > I'm going to PAY a private shop, after riding > > season is over, to go over the bike from front to > > back, lock up all fasteners, document everything, and > > take Kawi & the dealer to small claims court for the > > expense of putting the bike into the conditon it > > should have been in from the factory. > > Unlike a lot of guys on this list, I have no > > interest in the zen of motorcycle mechanics and did > > not intend to buy a maintenance project- I just > > want/demand a bike on which I can turn the key and > > ride away without things falling off of it. > > What do you think? > >

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "kelpo2001" wrote:

> I just > want/demand a bike on which I can turn the key and > ride away without things falling off of it. > What do you think? > > ===== > Tom Kelsey > hts1190@y... > 860-688-1190 > >All vehicles and machinery require > inspection, maintenance and repair. Give it a try...you might be > surprised at how easy it can be and how rewarding it is to do-it- > yourself. Its never too late to learn and learning new things is

what

> makes life worth living. > Richard > A15

Agreed. 10 minutes a week is all it takes to make sure your ride is safe and sound. Crack open a brewski, turn on some tunes, and give 'er the once over. __Arden P.S. I've used chewing gum on fasteners that wouldn't stay put when I couldn't get my hands on Locktite (like in the bottom of Copper Canyon). That was an F650 rattling apart, not a KLR. Vibration isn't brand specific.

thomas kelsey wrote:

> > Unlike a lot of guys on this list, I have no > interest in the zen of motorcycle mechanics and did > not intend to buy a maintenance project- I just > want/demand a bike on which I can turn the key and > ride away without things falling off of it. > What do you think? > > ===== > Tom Kelsey > hts1190@... > 860-688-1190 >

First, I am *not* defending any shoddy workmanship by anybody. Having said that: Things get loose. Especially on a big bore single. My KLR shrouds have loosened so I zip tied the buggers, double zip tied 'em in fact. On the race bike, its a constant battle between the loosening Gremlins and my wrench and safety wire. Both of the Ducatis get loosened stuff, from two different eras. My Modern BMW oilhead has things come loose. So, again, I am not defending Kawasaki, but if you want a bike (or any machine) to be tinker free as regards fasteners, you had better get out the drill and safety wire and get good at wire pliers. The plus is, people will think you ride holy hell out of your bike! Good luck, m. ======================================================= Mark "CrashBoy" Etheridge - Team Ika Vintage M/C Racing Screaming Honda CB 160's which are sponsored in part by: The Village Idiots MC -- World Wide Chapters Darnell's Auto Body -- Tacoma, WA Tina Bafaro Tattooist -- Seattle, WA =======================================================