Wilsons Sandbox

On Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:41:05 -0800 (PST) David Nichols writes:

> Well I have checked my rebuild list and re-checked it and my engine > still won't idle. I can crank it and get it to fire up by giving it > throttle, but when I let off the throttle it dies. I pulled the new > spark plug and it was black and wet. > > I've cleaned the carb thoroughly, made sure the petcock is working, > the diaphragm on the slide is good, no leaks in either the exhaust > or the carb boots...and the enrichiner is working. Here's what I've > done to the engine so far: I have changed the oil and filer, > replaced the exhaust gasket, cleaned the carb, new "choke" cable, > new petcock, new fuel line, new air filter, new NGK DPR8EA-9 spark > plug, and new Deka AGM battery. > > A little history: The bike was last licensed on the road in 2007, I > bought it in a non running condition. It has just under 13,000 miles > on it. > > The one part I discovered needing replacement is the air cutoff > valve diaphragm. It has tiny holes in it due to the rubber breaking > down, I have one on order. But, would that bad part cause the engine > to run bad at idle? I thought that only had a purpose at higher RPM > and during deceleration. > > And what about valve clearance? I haven't checked that yet...could > that cause these symptoms? > > -David

<><><><><> <><><><><> David, An air leak like from the air cutoff valve diaphragm could cause poor idle issues. Tight valves will cause idle issues and hard start issues too. May I suggest if you adjust the valves you put them to the max spec and not just "in" spec. Just out of curiosity how did you clean the carb and also how did you clean and inspect the jets and carb body orifices where the jets go? The wet sparkplug suggests too much fuel. Is the float and needle working correctly? 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 . . ____________________________________________________________ 60-Year-Old Mom Looks 27 Mom Reveals Free Wrinkle Trick That Has Angered Doctors! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f280e3130c205d0588st04vuc

I cleaned the carb off the bike, used aerosol carb cleaner and liberally sprayed it thru all the passages. I admit, I only pullled the pilot jet and verified it passed light thru the orifice. I guess I need to pull the rest of them... I inspected the floats and needle, they look good but I haven't checked the float level and the float valve needle if it seals. I can see how to check the float level, but how do I check to see if the float valve needle is sealing? I guess I also need to pull the valve cover and check the valve clearances also. I understand to set the clearance on the loose side because they will get tighter as they wear. Anything else? Thanks! -David ________________________________ From: Jeff Saline To: david.r.nichols@... Cc: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 9:51 AM Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Carb advice. On Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:41:05 -0800 (PST) David Nichols writes:

> Well I have checked my rebuild list and re-checked it and my engine > still won't idle. I can crank it and get it to fire up by giving it > throttle, but when I let off the throttle it dies. I pulled the new > spark plug and it was black and wet. > > I've cleaned the carb thoroughly, made sure the petcock is working, > the diaphragm on the slide is good, no leaks in either the exhaust > or the carb boots...and the enrichiner is working. Here's what I've > done to the engine so far: I have changed the oil and filer, > replaced the exhaust gasket, cleaned the carb, new "choke" cable, > new petcock, new fuel line, new air filter, new NGK DPR8EA-9 spark > plug, and new Deka AGM battery. > > A little history: The bike was last licensed on the road in 2007, I > bought it in a non running condition. It has just under 13,000 miles > on it. > > The one part I discovered needing replacement is the air cutoff > valve diaphragm. It has tiny holes in it due to the rubber breaking > down, I have one on order. But, would that bad part cause the engine > to run bad at idle? I thought that only had a purpose at higher RPM > and during deceleration. > > And what about valve clearance? I haven't checked that yet...could > that cause these symptoms? > > -David

<><><><><> <><><><><> David, An air leak like from the air cutoff valve diaphragm could cause poor idle issues. Tight valves will cause idle issues and hard start issues too. May I suggest if you adjust the valves you put them to the max spec and not just "in" spec. Just out of curiosity how did you clean the carb and also how did you clean and inspect the jets and carb body orifices where the jets go? The wet sparkplug suggests too much fuel. Is the float and needle working correctly? 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 . . __________________________________________________________ 60-Year-Old Mom Looks 27 Mom Reveals Free Wrinkle Trick That Has Angered Doctors! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f280e3130c205d0588st04vuc [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:02:01 -0800 (PST) David Nichols writes: I cleaned the carb off the bike, used aerosol carb cleaner and liberally sprayed it thru all the passages. I admit, I only pullled the pilot jet and verified it passed light thru the orifice. I guess I need to pull the rest of them... I inspected the floats and needle, they look good but I haven't checked the float level and the float valve needle if it seals. I can see how to check the float level, but how do I check to see if the float valve needle is sealing? I guess I also need to pull the valve cover and check the valve clearances also. I understand to set the clearance on the loose side because they will get tighter as they wear. Anything else? Thanks! -David <><><><><> <><><><><> David, Might be worth using a magnifier and light when inspecting the jets. Make sure the main hole the length of the jet is clear and round. Then inspect the cross holes. I like to hold the jets to light to make sure they are clear. To check the float needle for sealing I would pour fuel into the carb (fuel line) while the float bowl was off and I would gently raise the float to see when the fuel shut off. Another way you could try is to put a short clear hose on the float bowl drain and curve it upwards. Open the drain screw and the fuel level should be within 1 mm of the junction of the float bowl and carb body. 1 mm is a bit less than 1/16". The bike might need to be running for this check as you have to have fuel available to fill the float bowl. One other issue that comes to mind is the possibility of a leaking petcock diaphragm. If it is allowing fuel into the vacuum port of the carb that will cause poor idle and I suppose could cause a wet plug. Maybe run the engine for a minute or two and then turn it off. Remove the vacuum line from the petcock and see if it's wet inside. It should be dry. The repair is to either replace the petcock diaphragm or some folks like to remove the vacuum feature of the petcock. To remove the vacuum feature of the petcock you could replace the petcock (I think a Raptor petcock is a direct replacement but have no personal experience with it) or remove the diaphragm and valve and seal the back of the petcock. In either case you need to block off the vacuum nipple on the carb. Disclosure: I sell a petcock blockoff setup. It comes with a new back plate for the petcock, a nitrile gasket, four bolts, an allen wrench for the bolts and a cover for the vacuum nipple on the carb. They cost $20 if you want one. Just send me an e-mail with your contact info and I'll drop one in the mail to you. When you get it just stuff a twenty into the included envelope and mail it back. 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 . . ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f281b175f8be8fa5fcst02vuc [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

If there is one camera that's built to take the kind of abuse a KLR is, I'd put my money on the olympus stylus tough. I had one that survived years of abuse and I still would be using today had I not lost it. You can get an older model for cheap as hell and they're still great cameras. Beware if you go this route they used proprietary XD memory cards for a while, not cheap - but they come with adaptors for the more affordable memorystick micro. Not DSLR quality, but you can put it in your pocket and pull it out to hammer in your tent stakes. Here's a shot with it for an idea on photo quality. http://www.flickr.com/photos/elexplorador/5192300576/in/photostream They were only 10 megapixels then, but really the extra four or five they've got on the new ones don't really count for much since the sensor hasn't been updated to compensate. Wide angle of view was quite nice too. -B To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com From: xseleven80@... Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:18:14 +0000 Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Nikon Camera - "Adventure Camera" - NKLR I am not where I can check the info for the camera but go to www.dpreview.com. They likely have done a write up on it. They also have camera specific forums that may shed some light on the issue. These type cameras have been around for a couple years but the GPS deal is cool!!! I trust dpreview a lot. I used them when I got my Canon 60D last year when I was comparing different cameras. Micah [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks Jeff, I will check the float valve. The petcock is almost new so I'm suspecting the valves are the culprit. 13,000 miles and I have no idea if/when they were adjusted so I'm going to have to do them anyways. I may have flooded it myself by applying too much throttle while the enrichener was on. I ran my new AGM battery with 220 CCA down trying to get the thing running! I have had a difficult time with the petcock, the previous owner (DPO!) apparently took it apart and decided he didn't need to put all the springs back into it. He also stripped one of the screws that hold the diaphragm on and snapped off the reserve side tube. I discovered this after I spent $30 on a rebuild kit for it... Then I bought what was described to me a new in the box petcock on Craigslist for $35 and when it arrived it also had the reserve side tube snapped off. I will either put an inline filter on or try to move the plastic screen filter off the first petcock to the reserve on the second (can't say new) petcock. I'm pretty stubborn about getting this vacuum petcock to work, but any more problems and I'm going manual... -David ________________________________ From: Jeff Saline To: david.r.nichols@... Cc: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 10:45 AM Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Carb advice. On Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:02:01 -0800 (PST) David Nichols writes: I cleaned the carb off the bike, used aerosol carb cleaner and liberally sprayed it thru all the passages. I admit, I only pullled the pilot jet and verified it passed light thru the orifice. I guess I need to pull the rest of them... I inspected the floats and needle, they look good but I haven't checked the float level and the float valve needle if it seals. I can see how to check the float level, but how do I check to see if the float valve needle is sealing? I guess I also need to pull the valve cover and check the valve clearances also. I understand to set the clearance on the loose side because they will get tighter as they wear. Anything else? Thanks! -David <><><><><> <><><><><> David, Might be worth using a magnifier and light when inspecting the jets. Make sure the main hole the length of the jet is clear and round. Then inspect the cross holes. I like to hold the jets to light to make sure they are clear. To check the float needle for sealing I would pour fuel into the carb (fuel line) while the float bowl was off and I would gently raise the float to see when the fuel shut off. Another way you could try is to put a short clear hose on the float bowl drain and curve it upwards. Open the drain screw and the fuel level should be within 1 mm of the junction of the float bowl and carb body. 1 mm is a bit less than 1/16". The bike might need to be running for this check as you have to have fuel available to fill the float bowl. One other issue that comes to mind is the possibility of a leaking petcock diaphragm. If it is allowing fuel into the vacuum port of the carb that will cause poor idle and I suppose could cause a wet plug. Maybe run the engine for a minute or two and then turn it off. Remove the vacuum line from the petcock and see if it's wet inside. It should be dry. The repair is to either replace the petcock diaphragm or some folks like to remove the vacuum feature of the petcock. To remove the vacuum feature of the petcock you could replace the petcock (I think a Raptor petcock is a direct replacement but have no personal experience with it) or remove the diaphragm and valve and seal the back of the petcock. In either case you need to block off the vacuum nipple on the carb. Disclosure: I sell a petcock blockoff setup. It comes with a new back plate for the petcock, a nitrile gasket, four bolts, an allen wrench for the bolts and a cover for the vacuum nipple on the carb. They cost $20 if you want one. Just send me an e-mail with your contact info and I'll drop one in the mail to you. When you get it just stuff a twenty into the included envelope and mail it back. 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 . . ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried consumerproducts.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:11:20 -0800 (PST) David Nichols writes: Thanks Jeff, I will check the float valve. The petcock is almost new so I'm suspecting the valves are the culprit. 13,000 miles and I have no idea if/when they were adjusted so I'm going to have to do them anyways. I may have flooded it myself by applying too much throttle while the enrichener was on. I ran my new AGM battery with 220 CCA down trying to get the thing running! I have had a difficult time with the petcock, the previous owner (DPO!) apparently took it apart and decided he didn't need to put all the springs back into it. He also stripped one of the screws that hold the diaphragm on and snapped off the reserve side tube. I discovered this after I spent $30 on a rebuild kit for it... Then I bought what was described to me a new in the box petcock on Craigslist for $35 and when it arrived it also had the reserve side tube snapped off. I will either put an inline filter on or try to move the plastic screen filter off the first petcock to the reserve on the second (can't say new) petcock. I'm pretty stubborn about getting this vacuum petcock to work, but any more problems and I'm going manual... -David <><><><><><> <><><><><><> David, Sounds like you have this under pretty good control. Some guys JB Weld a short piece of brass tube in the petcock to replace a broken main or reserve straw. If you need the measurement of the straw height let me know as I have a "spare" petcock in the shop for my petcock blockoff plate work. I think guys have said they get the brass tube at a hobby store. I don't think I'd want to run a petcock without a straw of some height just so the gunk that gathers on the bottom of the tank couldn't as easily get into the petcock. I don't think it would take a lot of gunk or water to clog a filter. 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 . . ____________________________________________________________ Groupon™ Official Site 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city's best! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f283f768f6e75e1098st04vuc [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks Jeff, good advice. It is a brand new translucent green IMS tank so I'm hoping there's no gunk in it for now. But I had planned to filter the gas, even before it passes thru the petcock since they can also get clogged. -David ________________________________ From: Jeff Saline To: david.r.nichols@... Cc: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 1:20 PM Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Carb advice. On Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:11:20 -0800 (PST) David Nichols writes: Thanks Jeff, I will check the float valve. The petcock is almost new so I'm suspecting the valves are the culprit. 13,000 miles and I have no idea if/when they were adjusted so I'm going to have to do them anyways. I may have flooded it myself by applying too much throttle while the enrichener was on. I ran my new AGM battery with 220 CCA down trying to get the thing running! I have had a difficult time with the petcock, the previous owner (DPO!) apparently took it apart and decided he didn't need to put all the springs back into it. He also stripped one of the screws that hold the diaphragm on and snapped off the reserve side tube. I discovered this after I spent $30 on a rebuild kit for it... Then I bought what was described to me a new in the box petcock on Craigslist for $35 and when it arrived it also had the reserve side tube snapped off. I will either put an inline filter on or try to move the plastic screen filter off the first petcock to the reserve on the second (can't say new) petcock. I'm pretty stubborn about getting this vacuum petcock to work, but any more problems and I'm going manual... -David <><><><><><> <><><><><><> David, Sounds like you have this under pretty good control. Some guys JB Weld a short piece of brass tube in the petcock to replace a broken main or reserve straw. If you need the measurement of the straw height let me know as I have a "spare" petcock in the shop for my petcock blockoff plate work. I think guys have said they get the brass tube at a hobby store. I don't think I'd want to run a petcock without a straw of some height just so the gunk that gathers on the bottom of the tank couldn't as easily get into the petcock. I don't think it would take a lot of gunk or water to clog a filter. 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 . . __________________________________________________________ Groupon™ Official Site 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city's best! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f283f768f6e75e1098st04vuc [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Did you put your cams back in theright place? Thomas J. Komjathy DSK L.L.C. dskllc@... ________________________________ From: David Nichols To: "DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 10:41 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Carb advice. Well I have checked my rebuild list and re-checked it and my engine still won't idle. I can crank it and get it to fire up by giving it throttle, but when I let off the throttle it dies. I pulled the new spark plug and it was black and wet. I've cleaned the carb thoroughly, made sure the petcock is working, the diaphragm on the slide is good, no leaks in either the exhaust or the carb boots...and the enrichiner is working. Here's what I've done to the engine so far: I have changed the oil and filer, replaced the exhaust gasket, cleaned the carb, new "choke" cable, new petcock, new fuel line, new air filter, new NGK DPR8EA-9 spark plug, and new Deka AGM battery. A little history: The bike was last licensed on the road in 2007, I bought it in a non running condition. It has just under 13,000 miles on it. The one part I discovered needing replacement is the air cutoff valve diaphragm. It has tiny holes in it due to the rubber breaking down, I have one on order. But, would that bad part cause the engine to run bad at idle? I thought that only had a purpose at higher RPM and during deceleration. And what about valve clearance? I haven't checked that yet...could that cause these symptoms? -David [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]