a chain letter

[terranova22]

I went down a kinda hard last weekend (on a gravel-covered downhill section of a fire road), and now the handlebar is bent a little and not aligned with the fork. By this i mean that the gages are tilting toward the right side when i am travelling straight forward. Do i simplply loosen all of the many bolts that holds the triple clamps to the fork and then straighten the bar and re- tighten the bolts? Or is there someting else to it? Does having the "Super-Brace" (fork brace) affect this handlebar misalignment issue either positively or negatively. I'm wondering if the fork brace gives a resistance that the handlebar can torque off of, and then bend and misalign the triple clamp. Also, are there any upgrades to the handlebar that will fit on the KLR and perhaps not bend as readily? Thanks in advance for any advice here! Dan in Pasadena

[Jeff Saline]

On Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:28:21 -0000 "terranova22" writes:

> I went down a kinda hard last weekend (on a gravel-covered downhill > section of a fire road), and now the handlebar is bent a little and > not > aligned with the fork. By this i mean that the gages are tilting > toward > the right side when i am travelling straight forward. Do i simplply > > loosen all of the many bolts that holds > the triple clamps to the fork and then straighten the bar and re- > tighten the bolts? Or is there someting else to it? Does having > the "Super-Brace" (fork brace) affect this handlebar misalignment > issue > either positively or negatively. I'm wondering if the fork brace > gives > a resistance that the handlebar can torque off of, and then bend and > > misalign the triple clamp. > > Also, are there any upgrades to the handlebar that will fit on the > KLR > and perhaps not bend as readily? > Thanks in advance for any advice here! > Dan in Pasadena

<><><><><><> <><><><><><> Dan, You might be able to get away with just holding the wheel between your knees and twisting the handlebars. The better way is to loosen the four bolts holding the tubes to the triple tree and realigning it that way. Then tight the bolts. I think the torque spec is 18 foot pounds but you better check before you believe me on that. I bent my bars on the Great Divide Ride of 2004. Riding with a bent bar, on the left side gave me some shoulder trouble that took about a week to go away after the ride was over. I replaced the stock bars with Renthal 666 high desert bars. They're just about the same as stock. I think this info is in the FAQ. 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

[jokerloco9@aol.com]

Without a doubt rivet the link on! DID has always worked for me. And not abused KLR chains seem to go for 20-25K if not hammered in the dirt too often, as in mostly street riding. There has been some discussion here in the past about rivet versus clip on. And all sorts of "cute" ideas on how to make the clip stay on safely! But go ahead and carry a clip on link with the bike tool kit in case you break chain in the "boonies". Do put on new sprockets at the same time as the chain, or rapidly wear out new chain. By the way, I have a Scottoiler on my KLR. Works great, never have to lube chain, as I am too lazy. Jeff A20 In a message dated 1/19/2008 6:36:30 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, ocpianoman@... writes: Had a first today. The worn-out chain on the KLR broke and left me stranded, Very Luckily only about a mile from home, and at low speed. I knew it was due for replacement but not THAT due! Made for an unexpected workout pushing the big black&green pig up the hills. I had been a little heavy-handed on the throttle during the morning ride, came home for lunch and an oil change, even oiled the chain before going out for an afternoon ride. Mile from home, hit second gear after pulling away from a light, odd crunchy noise, instant neutral in any gear, look in the mirror and see my chain doing a dead snake act in the road. Humph. So far no visible damage or oil running out on the ground. I think the plastic chain guard is designed to take the brunt of the abuse from a broken chain, and I already have a spare. Now I just need a chain. Got the sprockets a while ago but couldn't decide which chain to get. Price doesn't always reflect quality, Any suggestions? I've had DID and Regina in the past. The cheap basic non-o-ring chains are exactly that, and stretch like knicker elastic, as they say in the UK. I had a DID o-ring on an XL175 that lasted forever but it was way under-stressed for a 520 chain. I don't mind spending for a premium chain but don't know which brand is really worth the extra dough. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the original chain and sprockets with 24k miles on them. The bike got very little in the way of maintenance from its previous owners and is loving the TLC it's getting from me. The motor now purrs away like a big happy lawnmower but the chassis basically needs everything; front tire, steering bearings, fork seals, fork oil, new springs or longer spacers for more preload, lube the dogbones and linkage in the back, and now chain and sprockets before everything else. A rear shock $wap wouldn't hurt either. btw, I think I'll go with a rivet link, if anybody cares. The feeling of a chain letting go is not an experience I want to repeat any time soon! Could have been a lot worse if it happened at a higher speed or further from home. ian __________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. _http://www.yahoo.http://w_ (http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs) **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]