Wilsons Sandbox

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "markharf" wrote: > > Once again I approach the assembled multitudes (that'd be you list participants) humbly, head bowed, beggars bowl extended. I'm on my way to South America--at least theoretically--but a couple of thousand easy miles out of my Bellingham home my bike started misfiring and lost power. This was 1500 miles and several mechanics ago. The power loss has finally been dealt with as of today--it turned out to be a detached baffle in my muffler, covered (to my immense surprise) by my extended warranty. The misfire remains. > > It started without warning on a straight, flat section of highway. The sensation is difficult to describe: one second I was cruising along fine, the next the bike was misfiring, like flicking a light switch. the symptoms were worst at about 3/4 throttle, so I could limp along at relatively slow speeds. I thought: bit of dirt in the main jet, air leak, clogged vent.....the usual. I also thought: @#$%Z^&*(! ethanol in the fuel, perhaps combined with altitude (I was at 9k feet at the time). > > Various people have since fixed various stuff: a worn emulsion tube was replaced, jets have been cleaned, hoses checked, petcock bypassed, spark plug replaced, that sort of thing. I've also run through five or ten tanks of gas of various sorts, and I've returned to near sea leval. With the muffler replacement I can now go 75 mph again to avoid being overtaken and squashed like a bug beneath the tractor trailers (which, here in Texas, routinely exceed the sound barrier, even uphill). But the misfire remains, and the mechanics I'm currently working with can suggest nothing better than "maybe it's time we started throwing parts at it...." > > Here are the current symptoms: from a start, the bike now runs fine at all speeds and loads. Between 2 and 25 miles into a highway speed ride it suddenly starts misfiring again--again, worst around 3/4 throttle. It will then continue misfiring for as long as I ride it. > > If I stop briefly, like to open the gas tank to rule out tank venting issues, nothing changes: the problem stays the same when I get back on the highway. But if I stop for four or five minutes, the problem goes away. It doesn't matter whether I stop to idle at a traffic light or actually turn the bike off; after five minutes, no problem....for another 2 or more miles, at which point the problem returns. If I stop for an hour, I get 20 or 25 miles or smooth running. > > It doesn't seem to related to engine temp as read on the guage, but it might be worth mentioning that the weather is absurdly hot here in south Texas: 90's with high humidity and no shade. This might, therefore, be a heat-related issue....but how to find it? > > The mechanics still think it's a fuel-air issue based on symptoms, but they're beginning to entertain electric/electronic speculation as well. A heat-related coil or cap failure? A CDI? And is the muffler issue related, or merely coincidental? > > Any and all ideas welcome. Thanks for your attention and apologies for my standard-issue longwindedness. > > Mark > (from New Braunfels, TX) >

> > Once again I approach the assembled multitudes (that'd be you list participants) humbly, head bowed, beggars bowl extended. I'm on my way to South America--at least theoretically--but a couple of thousand easy miles out of my Bellingham home my bike started misfiring and lost power. This was 1500 miles and several mechanics ago. The power loss has finally been dealt with as of today--it turned out to be a detached baffle in my muffler, covered (to my immense surprise) by my extended warranty. The misfire remains. > > It started without warning on a straight, flat section of highway. The sensation is difficult to describe: one second I was cruising along fine, the next the bike was misfiring, like flicking a light switch. the symptoms were worst at about 3/4 throttle, so I could limp along at relatively slow speeds. I thought: bit of dirt in the main jet, air leak, clogged vent.....the usual. I also thought: @#$%Z^&*(! ethanol in the fuel, perhaps combined with altitude (I was at 9k feet at the time). > > Various people have since fixed various stuff: a worn emulsion tube was replaced, jets have been cleaned, hoses checked, petcock bypassed, spark plug replaced, that sort of thing. I've also run through five or ten tanks of gas of various sorts, and I've returned to near sea leval. With the muffler replacement I can now go 75 mph again to avoid being overtaken and squashed like a bug beneath the tractor trailers (which, here in Texas, routinely exceed the sound barrier, even uphill). But the misfire remains, and the mechanics I'm currently working with can suggest nothing better than "maybe it's time we started throwing parts at it...." > > Here are the current symptoms: from a start, the bike now runs fine at all speeds and loads. Between 2 and 25 miles into a highway speed ride it suddenly starts misfiring again--again, worst around 3/4 throttle. It will then continue misfiring for as long as I ride it. > > If I stop briefly, like to open the gas tank to rule out tank venting issues, nothing changes: the problem stays the same when I get back on the highway. But if I stop for four or five minutes, the problem goes away. It doesn't matter whether I stop to idle at a traffic light or actually turn the bike off; after five minutes, no problem....for another 2 or more miles, at which point the problem returns. If I stop for an hour, I get 20 or 25 miles or smooth running. > > It doesn't seem to related to engine temp as read on the guage, but it might be worth mentioning that the weather is absurdly hot here in south Texas: 90's with high humidity and no shade. This might, therefore, be a heat-related issue....but how to find it? > > The mechanics still think it's a fuel-air issue based on symptoms, but they're beginning to entertain electric/electronic speculation as well. A heat-related coil or cap failure? A CDI? And is the muffler issue related, or merely coincidental? > > Any and all ideas welcome. Thanks for your attention and apologies for my standard-issue longwindedness. > > Mark > (from New Braunfels, TX) >

--- On Tue, 10/27/09, Jeff Saline wrote: From: Jeff Saline Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Shop Class as Soul Craft NKLR To: bigcee@... Cc: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 7:24 PM On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:30:55 -0000 "elkrokko" writes: SNIP > For the rest of the group, the KLR's propensity to lose the clutch > switch adjustment parallels a book I'm reading, called "Shop Class > as Soulcraft" by Matthew Crawford. It's basically an examination of > how the skilled trades came to be viewed as low-end, mindless labor, > when quite the opposite is true. (Crawford earned a Ph.D. in > philosophy, and went to work for a DC policy think tank. He > realized he was doing nothing of real value, so he opened up a > motorcycle repair shop.) SNIP > Krokko <><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><> Krokko, Thanks for the post about Matthew Crawford's book "Shop Class as Soulcraft". I did a quick google search last night and read some very interesting reviews. Found it on amazon and ordered a copy. To get free shipping I added "The Vincent in the Barn: Great Stories of Motorcycle Archaeology" by Tom Cotter. I'm looking forward to some good winter storms in the next few months and a chance to relax with these books in front of my new wood stove. 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 . ____________________________________________________________ Senior Living Locator Free assistance finding the right senior housing anywhere in the US! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=0RLG0zwX7W0gkrBubXBWSAAAJ1DWfJIDP-R0_NC3mMpGFS0kAAQAAAAFAAAAAM0JxT0AAANSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAkCIgAAAAA= ------------------------------------ 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/dsnklr650Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]