klr650 engine noise-knock

[Thor Lancelot Simon]

On Fri, Dec 12, 2003 at 08:01:46PM -0000, bkowalca wrote:

> Or you can got to Home Depot and buy a 3/8"x5 1/2" UNC grade 5 > bolt and a self-locking nut for a couple of bucks.

And do a bunch of drilling/tapping, since that's not the same size as the original. Really, if I were going to drill, I'd just go for the Big Cee 10mm kit... The Big Cee "Lite Blue" kit probably costs about the same as those nuts and bolts from Home Depot, requires no drilling, and is a significant strength upgrade over the stock parts. However, I still strongly suspect that most failures are due to the upper bolt being loaded with the lower bolt loose or even absent at some point in the bike's history; you can fix *that* with nothing but LocTite and a wrench. Thor

[bkowalca]

I replaced the upper bolt by drilling through with a 3/8 drill and used the stock lower bolts, no tapping required. I agree that most failures occur because the bolts get loose, things get sloppy and then break. Bryan K A14 --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:

> On Fri, Dec 12, 2003 at 08:01:46PM -0000, bkowalca wrote: > > Or you can got to Home Depot and buy a 3/8"x5 1/2" UNC grade 5 > > bolt and a self-locking nut for a couple of bucks. > > And do a bunch of drilling/tapping, since that's not the same size

as

> the original. Really, if I were going to drill, I'd just go for

the

> Big Cee 10mm kit... > > The Big Cee "Lite Blue" kit probably costs about the same as those > nuts and bolts from Home Depot, requires no drilling, and is a > significant strength upgrade over the stock parts. However, I

still

> strongly suspect that most failures are due to the upper bolt being > loaded with the lower bolt loose or even absent at some point in

the

> bike's history; you can fix *that* with nothing but LocTite and a > wrench. > > Thor

[dooden]

I backed out the KHI versions and torqued in ones supplied by Jake. Nothing changed, no drilling. KHI had excessive amounts of red locktight on mine when removing, I only used blue locktight installing them, since thats all I had. Some day I will back them out one at a time and apply red locktight and retorque them. Kinda like the piece of mind with the Jake supplied doohickey and spring. And oh so cool snap pins in my axle ends, gives the weeds something to hold on to and gives the bike the swamp monster look after playing in the woods. Dooden A15 Green Ape I trust Jakes selction of material way way way more than mine.

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "bkowalca" wrote: > I replaced the upper bolt by drilling through with a 3/8 drill and > used the stock lower bolts, no tapping required. I agree that most > failures occur because the bolts get loose, things get sloppy and > then break. > > Bryan K > A14 > > --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, Thor Lancelot Simon > wrote: > > On Fri, Dec 12, 2003 at 08:01:46PM -0000, bkowalca wrote: > > > Or you can got to Home Depot and buy a 3/8"x5 1/2" UNC grade 5 > > > bolt and a self-locking nut for a couple of bucks. > > > > And do a bunch of drilling/tapping, since that's not the same size > as > > the original. Really, if I were going to drill, I'd just go for > the > > Big Cee 10mm kit... > > > > The Big Cee "Lite Blue" kit probably costs about the same as those > > nuts and bolts from Home Depot, requires no drilling, and is a > > significant strength upgrade over the stock parts. However, I > still > > strongly suspect that most failures are due to the upper bolt being > > loaded with the lower bolt loose or even absent at some point in > the > > bike's history; you can fix *that* with nothing but LocTite and a > > wrench. > > > > Thor

[Thor Lancelot Simon]

On Sat, Dec 13, 2003 at 02:13:11PM -0000, Dooden wrote:

> I backed out the KHI versions and torqued in ones supplied by Jake. > > Nothing changed, no drilling. KHI had excessive amounts of red > locktight on mine when removing, I only used blue locktight installing > them, since thats all I had. Some day I will back them out one at a > time and apply red locktight and retorque them.

Did your lower bolts have any thread locker on them at all? The upper bolts on my bike had red (high-strength), and plenty of it, but the lower bolts had none, which seems pretty dumb. Thor

[Chris Krok]

A few people have been talking about subframe upgrades and increased load capacity thereby. You probably should NOT count on any added load capacity with a subframe upgrade; the purpose of the upgrades is only to replace bolts that are suceptible to breaking. I have also seen frames that are cracked in the area of the upper subframe mount. These are on bikes ridden 2-up offroad, with heavy loads, etc. Even with a fastener upgrade, there's only so much the frame can take; just be aware of that. Krokko -- Dr. J. Christopher Krok John Lucas Adaptive Wind Tunnel Caltech MS 205-45, Pasadena, CA 91125

[Guy B. Young II - COG Tech. Ed.]

WHAT!!! I want my money back!!! )) Guy At 08:23 AM 12/22/03 -0800, Chris Krok wrote:

>A few people have been talking about subframe upgrades and increased >load capacity thereby. You probably should NOT count on any added load >capacity with a subframe upgrade; the purpose of the upgrades is only to >replace bolts that are suceptible to breaking. I have also seen frames >that are cracked in the area of the upper subframe mount. These are on >bikes ridden 2-up offroad, with heavy loads, etc. Even with a fastener >upgrade, there's only so much the frame can take; just be aware of that. > >Krokko

[Mike T]

I ran into this issue being dealt with when I was researching KLR650's many months ago. One site had a link that discussed frame upgrading and another dealt with rear-sub-frame strengthening. Additional gussets and curved-plate material on the backbone, and metal braces across the rear-upper bow (2 of them) if I recall correctly. Maybe the group can provide up-to-date solutions/links? I should have saved the links BTW, the upgrade will help with bolt shear, so rest easy on the minor investment One of the frame repair web articles, if I recall, was regarding an emergency repair of the frame of a KLR650 in Mexico. It was successful using basic acetylene and common metal. Mike T A16 Las Vegas -----Original Message----- From: Guy B. Young II - COG Tech. Ed. [mailto:gbyoung2@...] Sent: Monday, December 22, 2003 1:04 PM To: Chris Krok; KLR650 list Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] subframe upgrade WHAT!!! I want my money back!!! )) Guy At 08:23 AM 12/22/03 -0800, Chris Krok wrote:

>A few people have been talking about subframe upgrades and increased >load capacity thereby. You probably should NOT count on any added load >capacity with a subframe upgrade; the purpose of the upgrades is only to >replace bolts that are suceptible to breaking. I have also seen frames >that are cracked in the area of the upper subframe mount. These are on >bikes ridden 2-up offroad, with heavy loads, etc. Even with a fastener >upgrade, there's only so much the frame can take; just be aware of that. > >Krokko

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[Doug Walker]

Hi all, The subframe upgrade is not too hard. The hardest part is drilling the first hole through the frame. I used a 5/16 long shank drill bit to go all of the way through, drilling out the threads. Then I stepped it up to 3/8 and installed a 5 1/2 in long 3/8 grade 8 bolt. Use a c clamp to keep the subframe and frame holes aligned while drilling. Stack some washers under the head and nut--a thin wall socket will work fine to tighten. I used some rust preventative on the bolt to stop corrosion. I now have 13000 mi since I did this and no problems. Keep it simple, you do not need to spend a fortune on this upgrade. Do not forget the lower bolts, they have the same problems. Good luck, Doug Walker

[Howard Morris]

John wrote: --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "laurence_sams" wrote:

> Hello there, > > I have a KLR650, which until now has performed well with no

problems.

> However, having returned from a biking holiday in Norway I promptly > returned the bike to the garage where it stayed for about five

weeks

> before I mustered up enough energy to change the oil and go out for

a

> spin. > > On starting the engine to warm it prior to changing the oil I

noticed

> a rattle that I'd not heard before. Strange, I bought the bike new > and with just 4100 miles on the clock I was a little surprised. Oil > changes have been regular and the bike only used on the road and > driven carefully (seen too many results of road accidents). > > I wondered how I hadn't had a hint of anything whilst in Norway? > Anyway it's there now and as the bike is four months out of

warranty

> it's a problem that needs sorting. I've taken the rocker cover off

to

> inspect and all looks like new, tappet clearances are within > tolerance. I've had a look at the cam chain tensioner, perfect. I'm > loathed to do anything else, as the bike is as good as new. I've > recorded the noise on camera and uploaded it. It can be found at

the

> following address. > > http://www.avonclub.org.uk/waccers/video/video.html > > I'd surely appreciate some help with this one. Although I have a > reasonable amount of mechanical knowledge on all sorts of engines > over the years I don't have any knowledge (yet) on the KLR's > internals. The problem quietens down when the engine warms up but

is

> really noticeable when cold. I've adjusted the balancer chain but > that makes absolutely no difference. I'm suspecting cam or piston > problems, but at 4100 miles I find it hard to believe. I've read

the

> workshop manual over and over but nothing obvious. It's a KLR650-C8 > 2002. > > Thanks > > Laurence (UK)

--------------------------------------- I had a similar noise in mine that I finally solved. I would have sworn it was engine knock (or at the very least coming from the front or top of the engine), so I switched to high-octane gas. It didn't help. Several folks mentioned the radiator screen... mine was loose but that wasn't it either (a couple zip ties keep it still now). It turned out that the exhaust clamp next to the carb was loose and jingling. The sound must have traveled up the pipe to the front because I was so sure it was coming from up there somewhere. My A-18 has an upper end knock when cold, I was told it was the auto decompression thingy. Beats me. Howard A-18 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 . Yahoo! Groups Links Howard A-18 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]