alright, now this klr/klx/xr doohickey & balancer deal really has m

[n2260v]

Just got done today with the install and things went well. Thanks to Fred for a great kit. And Mark for his instructions from his web page I used to do the job. Mine was a little worn but, thank the Big Guy, not broken. Flame has 4600 miles on her. I have a little question I cannot find an answer too, although it may be too late...what are the two springs for? Which one is to go on when doing the swap? One's long and ones's short. Nothing in the instructions except that the original on was 40mm and the 2 in the pack were 35 and 38. Wondering which way I was to go with that one. And also after completing the mixture screw adjustment, was it 2 turns from all the way in? I found these the other day, but cannot for the life of me find them now or this afternoon. Thanks, Walt

[thad_carey]

Dan Bittner just brought to my attention the fact that the KLX650 had a gear driven balancer system along with some other goodies that the KLR doesn't have. OK...I know the two engines and bikes have definite differences, but why didn't the KLR just make the logical morph into a more modern KLR using the updated KLX engine? We always talk about big K not wanting to make a new 650 DP bike because of new tooling, cost, etc., etc. But if you have a nice new engine like the KLX, you don't have to put the higher dollar suspension parts on the KLR to continue the DP line, therefore you can keep cost down. I know the KLX650 engine was used in a street model also. So...told me this...why didn't Kawasaki put the KLX engine in the KLR and just keep cranking out KLRs--even after dropping the KLX? Even from a tight budgeted bike and company, it seems like all the elements were there to do this without major manufacturing issues or expense. In fact it seems so logical that it seems absurd not to have happened. Is there something obvious that I'm missing in the history or lineage of these 2 models that would have made this impossible? Little things like motor mount locations and such could easily be addressed. Or from another angle, why didn't the more expensive KLX just morph into a cheaper KLR? Those of you knowledgeable in the nuances of the KLR/KLX please enlighten me. Thad Carey A15 (kinda wishin' it was more KLX)