i'm in denver, looking to buy a used '08 klr650

[David Bell]

I bought a 02 KLR a couple of months ago. I already have a BMW and have had lots of motorcycles that I have learned to work on including Harleys, Norton, Yamaha, Hondas, another BMW. I gathered all the tools and parts to do the doohickey. I went out early this morning to get started and gathered everything up. I had all day to do the job. I have learned to always plan plenty of time. I had studied pictures of all the steps. Removing the alternator cover went fine, as did removing the stator and the starter gears. When I went to remove the rotor, however, it was obvious that it had really been cranked on by someone (previous owner, mechanic?) I had bought a happy trails wrench for the rotor. As you can see from the attached picture (if it attaches) the wrench got all chewed up and bent. The bolts holding the thing together are all twisted and the wrench itself is ruined. The nut did not budge. The wrench is made of aluminum. It is not up to the job. I came in the house and called Eagle Mike. He was most sympathetic and is sending me a steel wrench on loan. He said that he could get it mailed today. I buttoned everything back up and called happy trails and told them about it. Of course they are giving my money back. They seemed baffled that the wrench did not work. Incidentally, I had also gotten a rotor puller from them that was a hollow one. They recalled it and sent me one that Eagle Mike made, that is solid. Also Incidentally, while I had it open I loosened the adjuster bolt to see if the doo moved. It did not. When I pushed it with a screwdriver, it flops back and forth. Obviously the spring is off or broken or the doo is broken. I am not dissing anyone. I put this on the list so that others may benefit from my bad luck. The good news is, I still have plenty of time to fix my doo before my October Mex trip. I'd rather find a broken part now than in the mountains of the Sierra Madre. Also the good news is that there is a guy out there, namely Eagle Mike, whom I don't know personally that will help me out in a time of need. Dave [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Andrus Chesley]

I was lucky to have a torch and extra big wrenches at home where I was able to use heat and a vise to build my wrench. My Rotor bolt was very tight also. Just can't beat STEEL on this job. Hope all else goes well with your KLR. Mine is like an old pet. Andy > Offshore Louisiana

[David Bell]

Did you use heat to loosen the rotor bolt? Or to build your wrench? If on the rotor bolt, where do you apply it? db ----- Original Message ---- From: Andrus Chesley To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, September 5, 2008 2:40:48 PM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Doo frustration I was lucky to have a torch and extra big wrenches at home where I was able to use heat and a vise to build my wrench. My Rotor bolt was very tight also. Just can't beat STEEL on this job. Hope all else goes well with your KLR. Mine is like an old pet. Andy > Offshore Louisiana [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Andrus Chesley]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, David Bell wrote:

> > Did you use heat to loosen the rotor bolt? Or to build your wrench? > > If on the rotor bolt, where do you apply it? > > db

Just used the torch to build the wrench. You may try tapping the bolt with a hammer before applying the wrench. I would imagine that a person could use some heat and then cool water on the bolt to get it to loosen but I would kinda be leary of a fire close to the rotor. Maybe use a very tight and small brazing tip and just warm it a bit then put the water to it to shrink it a bit. I know we used to have to do this in a much larger scale when I was a rig mechanic and used to have to work for a living. . Also used a sledge hammer to warm up the bolts then to but not on my bikes. .. Andy . Offshore Louisiana baby sitting a gas/oil platform till the pipelines get inspected and allowed to flow.

[Jim Douglas]

nakedwaterskier wrote:

> > 08s are junk...get an 07 > >

Oh no the 08 are junk thread has started again....................................