klr650 ..end of valves saga ,,
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Bogdan Swider
- Posts: 2759
- Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2000 2:04 pm
many miles on man and motorcycle
The death of a mutual friend caused a number of his friends and acquaintances to exchange emails. Some of us had not been in each others presence for many years. These people had been in my professional/social circle during the decade I spent in the Southeast. We exchanged invitations to visit. We were no longer of the age where we sleep on floors but many people now had extra bedrooms.
I had a period of time when I could get away; I decided to act on the impulse. How else to travel but on a motorcycle ? I set out from Colorado Springs in early June; my first destination would be Mississippi across from New Orleans, then Mobile Bay in Alabama and finally Jacksonville, Florida which would be the farthest point from home. I would return by way of St. Louis where I would see my sons and grandkids. My route would take me near Dallas/Fort Worth. Many of you know Ron Criswell; if he was available, perhaps we could meet for lunch.
I had some trepidation as to how my 95 KLR would handle the trip. It was running very well but there was no hiding that it was getting long in tooth; over 82k miles for a one lunger is no joke. It was using a quart of oil every 1,200 miles but that had't increased at least since 50k. Harbor Freight and I threw on a new set of tires; I went over the fasteners and set off. Somehow, I didn't get around to washing the bike.
I had only two serious equipment/mechanical mishaps neither the fault of the bike. The second was a flat tire caused by a huge nail; the first was when the bike backfired and wouldn't start one morning. Before turning in the previous night I looked up at the sky, pronounced it clear and didn't bother to shelter the motorcycle. Murphy's law being what it is, it rained like crazy and drowned the ignition. Lucky for me, I was in Texas, 70 miles from Fort Worth. Ron C. and spouse drove down in his pickup. The moving air cured the ignition. After rolling off the truck in Ron's driveway she started right up.
What the trip underlined is the variety and beauty of the American landscape. I love the mountains of Colorado, the verdant trees of the Southeast and well as the hills and plains of Kansas. There is no better way to experience it than by motorcycle.
I mentioned that the old KLR rarely missed a beat; it finished the trip at 87k miles on the odometer. I say rarely not never, for this reason: 60 miles from home the engine cut out and soon started up again similar to what happens when you're told to switch to reserve. This happened twice more; the last time I had to glide to the side of the road. I finished the trip with no further trouble. I do wonder if the bike was trying to tell me something. Maybe she's telling me that she has served me well, but now is the time to go to pasture. She will soon be due for a new chain and sprockets; at that time, I check and lube the Uni Trac the petcock also needs rebuilding, I could go on. Could she be telling me that she doesn't want me or her to go through that again ? William Blake writes, "You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough." I'm a fan of Blake but I wonder if it's time to move on.
Bogdan
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Norm Keller
- Posts: 712
- Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2004 7:48 am
many miles on man and motorcycle
#ygrps-yiv-357154853 BLOCKQUOTE.ygrps-yiv-357154853cite { PADDING-LEFT:10px;MARGIN-LEFT:5px;BORDER-LEFT:#cccccc 1px solid;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;MARGIN-RIGHT:0px;} #ygrps-yiv-357154853 BLOCKQUOTE.ygrps-yiv-357154853cite2 { PADDING-TOP:0px;PADDING-LEFT:10px;MARGIN-LEFT:5px;BORDER-LEFT:#cccccc 1px solid;MARGIN-TOP:3px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;MARGIN-RIGHT:0px;} #ygrps-yiv-357154853 .ygrps-yiv-357154853plain PRE { FONT-SIZE:100%;FONT-FAMILY:monospace;FONT-WEIGHT:normal;FONT-STYLE:normal;} #ygrps-yiv-357154853 .ygrps-yiv-357154853plain TT { FONT-SIZE:100%;FONT-FAMILY:monospace;FONT-WEIGHT:normal;FONT-STYLE:normal;} #ygrps-yiv-357154853 .ygrps-yiv-357154853plain PRE { FONT-SIZE:12pt;FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma;} #ygrps-yiv-357154853 .ygrps-yiv-357154853plain TT { FONT-SIZE:12pt;FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma;} #ygrps-yiv-357154853 { FONT-SIZE:12pt;FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma;} Bogdan posted, "William Blake writes, "You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough." I'm a fan of Blake but I wonder if it's time to move on." I hope that you won't completely give up on Blake. I'm facing more and more limitations in my own abilities which are beginning to show that the end is out there. A two day marathon of doing bike servicing and modifications leaves me hobbling for two or three days following. No way I can ride off road the way I like to as body won't take even a short stint of that. The KLR is too heavy to lift in many orientations and tried some 250's but don't care for them. A young friend is preparing his KLR for another trip north, last time to Inuvik but this time up the Dalton Highway. He's planning on the bottom of South America in the next couple of years. We've spent 4 marathon days in servicing and modifications in two installments, with at least one more to do. The last one installed a pickup load of boxes including racks, guards, etc. Talking with a friend who owns a local shop while we were picking up parts, I asked, " How much would you be willing to pay to get out of having to ride a KLR to the bottom of South America?" . He agreed that it would be worth some bucks to get out of...things certainly change when one ages.... I think I'll follow Michael Caine in Zulu. "No trouble old chap! I wasn't offering to do it myself!" 
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mark ward
- Posts: 1027
- Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 11:18 am
many miles on man and motorcycle
OR She's just telling you, I need a little TLC.
On Monday, July 7, 2014 2:24 PM, "'Norm Keller' normkel32@... [DSN_KLR650]" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Bogdan posted, "William Blake writes, "You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough." I'm a fan of Blake but I wonder if it's time to move on." I hope that you won't completely give up on Blake. I'm facing more and more limitations in my own abilities which are beginning to show that the end is out there. A two day marathon of doing bike servicing and modifications leaves me hobbling for two or three days following. No way I can ride off road the way I like to as body won't take even a short stint of that. The KLR is too heavy to lift in many orientations and tried some 250's but don't care for them. A young friend is preparing his KLR for another trip north, last time to Inuvik but this time up the Dalton Highway. He's planning on the bottom of South America in the next couple of years. We've spent 4 marathon days in servicing and modifications in two installments, with at least one more to do. The last one installed a pickup load of boxes including racks, guards, etc. Talking with a friend who owns a local shop while we were picking up parts, I asked, " How much would you be willing to pay to get out of having to ride a KLR to the bottom of South America?" . He agreed that it would be worth some bucks to get out of...things certainly change when one ages.... I think I'll follow Michael Caine in Zulu. "No trouble old chap! I wasn't offering to do it myself!"
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Martin Earl
- Posts: 231
- Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2003 10:00 pm
many miles on man and motorcycle
SNIP
[img]https://ec.yimg.com/ec?url=http%3A%2F%2 ... 3WC_Uw--~E[/img]SNIPI mentioned that the old KLR rarely missed a beat; it finished the trip at 87k miles on the odometer. I say rarely not never, for this reason: 60 miles from home the engine cut out and soon started up again similar to what happens when you're told to switch to reserve. This happened twice more; the last time I had to glide to the side of the road. I finished the trip with no further trouble. I do wonder if the bike was trying to tell me something. Maybe she's telling me that she has served me well, but now is the time to go to pasture. She will soon be due for a new chain and sprockets; at that time, I check and lube the Uni Trac the petcock also needs rebuilding, I could go on. Could she be telling me that she doesn't want me or her to go through that again ? William Blake writes, "You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough." I'm a fan of Blake but I wonder if it's time to move on. SNIP
Your motorcycle is only giving you an invitation to do maintenance; not an invitation to a death dance. shrug.
Chains and sprockets are consumables; would you sell the bike because it needed an oil change or ran out of gas?
However,Oil consumption is a 'serious' invitation to do maintenance.How does one evaluate the cost.... Would I pay $600 for this bike (yours) knowing it had a fresh topend in it. $600 = do the work yourself; including the carb kit rebuild, etc.
I made that same evaluation last winter on my 57K, 1998 bike and love my $6-700 bike!
IRT to the bike quitting 60 miles from home...every trip I make I experience (that same thing) and I have to drain a carb bowl; I suggest you try that as well. Was that the cure? shrug.It may just be part of the KLR ritual that the bike has trained to perform.
revmaaatin.
On Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 7:54 AM, Bogdan Swider bSwider@... [DSN_KLR650] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> wrote: The death of a mutual friend caused a number of his friends and acquaintances to exchange emails. Some of us had not been in each others presence for many years. These people had been in my professional/social circle during the decade I spent in the Southeast. We exchanged invitations to visit. We were no longer of the age where we sleep on floors but many people now had extra bedrooms. I had a period of time when I could get away; I decided to act on the impulse. How else to travel but on a motorcycle ? I set out from Colorado Springs in early June; my first destination would be Mississippi across from New Orleans, then Mobile Bay in Alabama and finally Jacksonville, Florida which would be the farthest point from home. I would return by way of St. Louis where I would see my sons and grandkids. My route would take me near Dallas/Fort Worth. Many of you know Ron Criswell; if he was available, perhaps we could meet for lunch. I had some trepidation as to how my 95 KLR would handle the trip. It was running very well but there was no hiding that it was getting long in tooth; over 82k miles for a one lunger is no joke. It was using a quart of oil every 1,200 miles but that had't increased at least since 50k. Harbor Freight and I threw on a new set of tires; I went over the fasteners and set off. Somehow, I didn't get around to washing the bike. I had only two serious equipment/mechanical mishaps neither the fault of the bike. The second was a flat tire caused by a huge nail; the first was when the bike backfired and wouldn't start one morning. Before turning in the previous night I looked up at the sky, pronounced it clear and didn't bother to shelter the motorcycle. Murphy's law being what it is, it rained like crazy and drowned the ignition. Lucky for me, I was in Texas, 70 miles from Fort Worth. Ron C. and spouse drove down in his pickup. The moving air cured the ignition. After rolling off the truck in Ron's driveway she started right up. What the trip underlined is the variety and beauty of the American landscape. I love the mountains of Colorado, the verdant trees of the Southeast and well as the hills and plains of Kansas. There is no better way to experience it than by motorcycle. I mentioned that the old KLR rarely missed a beat; it finished the trip at 87k miles on the odometer. I say rarely not never, for this reason: 60 miles from home the engine cut out and soon started up again similar to what happens when you're told to switch to reserve. This happened twice more; the last time I had to glide to the side of the road. I finished the trip with no further trouble. I do wonder if the bike was trying to tell me something. Maybe she's telling me that she has served me well, but now is the time to go to pasture. She will soon be due for a new chain and sprockets; at that time, I check and lube the Uni Trac the petcock also needs rebuilding, I could go on. Could she be telling me that she doesn't want me or her to go through that again ? William Blake writes, "You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough." I'm a fan of Blake but I wonder if it's time to move on. Bogdan . [img]http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/gr ... 1400016062[/img] [img]http://y.analytics.yahoo.com/fpc.pl?ywa ... mg&cf10=PA[/img]
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Luc Legrain
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 7:17 am
klr650 ..end of valves saga ,,
All,
pretty proud of myself here .After using the wrong gauge for clearance ,taking everything back off ,putting back the original shims, using the correct gauge ,taking everything off again ,replacing shims that needed to be . Clearances are perfect (top) . Last hickup was that I found out that the cam chain cover is supposed to be bolted back on BEFORE the left side caps are installed !! the oil tube wont let you place the single bolt ... Live and learn ..
Thank you all for the help.
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