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Bogdan Swider
Posts: 2759
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2000 2:04 pm

doohickey

Post by Bogdan Swider » Fri Sep 26, 2003 5:28 pm

> I guess if you can spend $80 to fix the problem, it's less grief than > trying to bully Kawasaki into changing the design. Yes, we're "enabling" > Kawasaki's laziness, but I'd rather spend my energy other places >
Elden - who else - who loves a good fight took Kawasaki to small claims court some 6 ? years ago; mostly - I assume - to establish a precedent. At that time his was a lonely voice. Most of us thought he was exaggerating. Anyway he must have explained this technical matter well because he won - could be wrong - some $ 2/3 thousand. KHI was unfazed. The earlier models had occasional problems but nothing like the 50 % plus that I've witnessed and that has been reported from other sessions. Things got worse not better. Bogdan
> > >

Dennis Angus
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2000 6:12 pm

doohickey

Post by Dennis Angus » Sat Sep 27, 2003 11:52 am

Anyone have actual numbers and/or percentages for the Doohickey problem? Another list used the Doohickey problem, on this list,to convince others that some problems are nothing more than internet induced paranoia. I took issue with this, but I couldn't argue numbers to illustrate the point. I had the problem and thanks to this list, I was able to cure it. [ Belated thanks to Jake, Devon, etc.] In my humble opinion this is the best list on the internet. [Sorry, my previous post should have been nklr.] Thanks DAngus A-11 [sold to brother] 03 V-Strom

Keith Saltzer
Posts: 1071
Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2003 10:03 pm

doohickey

Post by Keith Saltzer » Sat Sep 27, 2003 12:29 pm

I know that I don't have any numbers, and I don't think anyone else does, however I am keeping a record of KLR motors that I have seen inside of. Right now, because of what I have seen, and heard, my educated guess is in the neighborhood of 35-40%. It doesn't really matter to me what the actual figure is because when I see that many failed doohickey's and/or springs, and I know that they have failed at all different milages, I KNOW that it NEEDS to be done, to be 100% sure that I won't have any problems. I understand the internet thing, but believe me, when you open up even just 10 motors, and you see the same thing over and over again, and you've talked to dozens of folks who are seeing the same thing, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is a problem with doohickey failure on the KLR's. When someone says that they think it's just a internet paranioa thing, just ask them how many KLR motor's they have been into. I'll bet that it's less than 2. Your not going to hear many, if any, riders say that they have problems with the doohickey, unless they go into the motor to look for it. Your not going to hear many riders at all say that the bike just broke down, and they opened the motor up to see that the doohickey was broken and it seized the motor. These awesome bikes just keep running anyway. I went into one motor last month, that had 30,000 miles on it, and the spring and top 1/2 of the doohickey were completely gone. The bike still ran, and the owner rode the bike alot. Yes it vibrated like a KTM, and the balancer chain was eating into the sides of the case, and loose parts had scored up some other stuff in there, but the sucker just kept on going. So you won't know for sure, till you look. When you couple that fact with the fact that most riders will only put 2,000 miles a year on their bikes, you can see why your not going to hear of people being broke down because of this problem. But it is there. MrMoose A8 (Barbie and Ken special) M --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Dennis Angus" wrote:
> Anyone have actual numbers and/or percentages for the Doohickey > problem? Another list used the Doohickey problem, on this list,to > convince others that some problems are nothing more than internet > induced paranoia. I took issue with this, but I couldn't argue > numbers to illustrate the point. I had the problem and thanks to > this list, I was able to cure it. [ Belated thanks to Jake, Devon, > etc.] In my humble opinion this is the best list on the internet. > [Sorry, my previous post should have been nklr.] > > Thanks > > DAngus > A-11 [sold to brother] > 03 V-Strom

steve pye
Posts: 568
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2000 5:31 pm

doohickey

Post by steve pye » Sat Sep 27, 2003 5:07 pm

----- Original Message ----- From: "nomorenoless" > The question I have is; If this is such a major > problem, why hasn't Kawasaki Of America employed a recall on the bike > for this defect and offered a replacement to the folks who have had > the problem? > > Thoughts? > > -Mike The jury is still out as to whether or not this Doohickey issue is a "major problem". Some of us around here dare to suggest that it's not worthy of a manufacturers recall. The KLR is a cheap bike, made up of some cheap parts, when they break..... fix 'em ! Cheers, Steve

John Biccum
Posts: 542
Joined: Tue May 20, 2003 4:21 am

doohickey

Post by John Biccum » Sat Sep 27, 2003 7:17 pm

I bought my A16L in April with 2,000 miles on it and did the doohickey in June at 3,710 miles. I suspected that the doohickey and/or spring had broken as the vibration had gradualy increased in the 1,700 miles that I had owned the bike. I also noticed that adjusting the chain tension per the service manual seemed to make no difference in the vibration and chain noise. When I tore into the bike I found the doohickey intact but inoperative since the spring had broken. Once the new doohickey was in place along with the new spring the engine ran smoother. There was noticably less vibration since the balancer chain was properly tensioned. I just had an opportunity to switch bikes on a ride with another KLR owner. Both of us noticed that his A15 vibrated much more than my A16. I'll wager a case of cool ones that his A15 has a broken spring and/or doohickey and I'm all but certain that his bike will smooth out when the doohickey and spring have been replaced. I agree with your suggestion that there are probably many KLRs out there still running with the broken doohickey and spring. Since the vibration increases slightly and gradually as the chain stretches I sure that the bike could go many miles with a broken doohickey and/or spring as long as the broken bits do not end up somewhere where they can do damage. I never found the J-shaped broken end of my factory doohickey spring...I hope it comes out in an oil change sometime!
----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Saltzer" To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Saturday, September 27, 2003 10:29 AM Subject: [DSN_klr650] Re: Doohickey > I know that I don't have any numbers, and I don't think anyone else > does, however I am keeping a record of KLR motors that I have seen > inside of. > > Right now, because of what I have seen, and heard, my educated guess > is in the neighborhood of 35-40%. It doesn't really matter to me > what the actual figure is because when I see that many failed > doohickey's and/or springs, and I know that they have failed at all > different milages, I KNOW that it NEEDS to be done, to be 100% sure > that I won't have any problems. > > I understand the internet thing, but believe me, when you open up > even just 10 motors, and you see the same thing over and over again, > and you've talked to dozens of folks who are seeing the same thing, > it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is a > problem with doohickey failure on the KLR's. > > When someone says that they think it's just a internet paranioa > thing, just ask them how many KLR motor's they have been into. I'll > bet that it's less than 2. > > Your not going to hear many, if any, riders say that they have > problems with the doohickey, unless they go into the motor to look > for it. > Your not going to hear many riders at all say that the bike just > broke down, and they opened the motor up to see that the doohickey > was broken and it seized the motor. These awesome bikes just keep > running anyway. I went into one motor last month, that had 30,000 > miles on it, and the spring and top 1/2 of the doohickey were > completely gone. The bike still ran, and the owner rode the bike > alot. Yes it vibrated like a KTM, and the balancer chain was eating > into the sides of the case, and loose parts had scored up some other > stuff in there, but the sucker just kept on going. So you won't know > for sure, till you look. When you couple that fact with the fact > that most riders will only put 2,000 miles a year on their bikes, you > can see why your not going to hear of people being broke down because > of this problem. But it is there. > > MrMoose > A8 (Barbie and Ken special) > > M > > > > > --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Dennis Angus" > wrote: > > Anyone have actual numbers and/or percentages for the Doohickey > > problem? Another list used the Doohickey problem, on this list,to > > convince others that some problems are nothing more than internet > > induced paranoia. I took issue with this, but I couldn't argue > > numbers to illustrate the point. I had the problem and thanks to > > this list, I was able to cure it. [ Belated thanks to Jake, Devon, > > etc.] In my humble opinion this is the best list on the internet. > > [Sorry, my previous post should have been nklr.] > > > > Thanks > > > > DAngus > > A-11 [sold to brother] > > 03 V-Strom > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > >

kcuf_oohay_666
Posts: 587
Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2001 11:52 pm

doohickey

Post by kcuf_oohay_666 » Sat Sep 27, 2003 7:20 pm

Personally I think the spring is the main problem. There is no reason for it to break unless the doohickey breaks. There seems to be a greater number of springs breaking without a doohickey break. --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Dennis Angus" wrote:
> Anyone have actual numbers and/or percentages for the Doohickey > problem? Another list used the Doohickey problem, on this list,to > convince others that some problems are nothing more than internet > induced paranoia. I took issue with this, but I couldn't argue > numbers to illustrate the point. I had the problem and thanks to > this list, I was able to cure it. [ Belated thanks to Jake, Devon, > etc.] In my humble opinion this is the best list on the internet. > [Sorry, my previous post should have been nklr.] > > Thanks > > DAngus > A-11 [sold to brother] > 03 V-Strom

orc37
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2003 8:12 am

doohickey

Post by orc37 » Sat Sep 27, 2003 8:23 pm

> problem? Another list used the Doohickey problem, on this list,to > convince others that some problems are nothing more than internet > induced paranoia. I took issue with this, but I couldn't argue
Just out of curiosity, what other list was that?

steve pye
Posts: 568
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2000 5:31 pm

doohickey

Post by steve pye » Sun Sep 28, 2003 9:49 am

----- Original Message ----- From: "orc37" > > Another list used the Doohickey problem, on this list,to > > convince others that some problems are nothing more than internet > > induced paranoia. > > Just out of curiosity, what other list was that? VStrom2. A list for Suzuki DL 1000 V-Stroms. I was the individual who dared suggest that these internet lists tend to blow some problems out of proportion. I did not say there was NO problem, just that the problem affects a relatively small number of KLR's. Cheers, Steve

Chris
Posts: 1250
Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:57 am

doohickey

Post by Chris » Sun Sep 28, 2003 10:22 am

I still go along with 'catastrophic problems affect a relatively small number'. Just because the majority are still running with broken springs or borderline/broken levers doesn't make that an acceptable condition. Mine hasn't been done yet, but it will be soon as I don't find seizing up the motor to be an acceptable risk. Others may. FWIW, the V-Strom listers were convinced some sort of factory fault in the front end design was to blame for people lowsiding. If you read it closely it was a bunch of inexperienced riders on a liter sized twin trying to drag pegs with it. I should go find all that mess, make a compilation and pass that around to the manufacturers for laughs. The other one would be the people who consider that bike a dual-sport and can't understand why MT21's aren't all it needs.
On Sun, Sep 28, 2003 at 11:49:37AM -0300, Steve Pye wrote: > I did not say there was NO problem, just that the problem affects a > relatively small number of KLR's. > > Cheers, > Steve -- ___ ______ _____ __ ________ ___ / _ |< < / == / ___/__ / /_ /_ __/ / __ ____ _ ___ /__ \ / __ |/ // / ****/ (_ / _ \/ __/ / / / _ \/ // / ' \/ _ \ /__/ /_/ |_/_//_/ == \___/\___/\__/ /_/ /_//_/\_,_/_/_/_/ .__/ (_) 8100 miles*Russel Lines*Supertrapp Race* /_/ http://www.panix.com/~cesser/mybike/

Keith Saltzer
Posts: 1071
Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2003 10:03 pm

doohickey

Post by Keith Saltzer » Sun Sep 28, 2003 11:28 am

> I did not say there was NO problem, just that the problem affects a > relatively small number of KLR's.
Just for the record, that statement is still wrong. MrMoose A8 (Barbie and Ken special)

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