gleaned from the old archives, dakar 2005

[Lujo Bauer]

Changing the doohickey is about the same as changing tires. Trivial and quick if you know how and have a couple of useful tools, difficult if you've never tried it and don't have the tools. As with changing tires, many people choose to learn how to change the doohickey in the comfort and convenience of their own or someone else's garage, rather than risk the chance having to do the same, or more, in a rainstorm at 2am by the side of a road. FWIW, people began making doohickeys and selling the tools to change them in response to demand from the list, rather than vice versa. -Lujo klr250not wrote:

> > Well earlier some posters, I dont know if it was you, were > maintaining that the changeout of doos was "trivial" and took one > hour flat. Maybe not so trivial if the necessary tools are hard to > pack or find somewhere in Egypt. Wish you guys would at least get > your stories straight. > > You missed one silly thing there too Sherlock: you cant drive to > Eygpt, not literally anyway. > > -------------------------------------------- > >>The tools you would have to pack for your trip would be silly. > > You > >>would want to replace it before you left, or take your chances, >>unless you wanted to try to find a local mecahnic in Timbuktu with >>the necessary tools, which is REALLY taking chances. >> >>Go to a tech session. Learn for yourself what the deal is. Then >>you'll be able to make a more informed decision. Or not. Most of > > us > >>do not care what you decide to do with YOUR bike. That's the > > beauty > >>of it all. >> >>Randy

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[klr250not]

I said I'd take a doohickey and the necessary tools along if I was riding to Egypt (because i deem credible some of the other posters claiming is a relatively weak link in a generally reliable bike). You helpfully pointed out that the tools required would be too heavy to take along on the bike and that attempting to do so would in fact be silly. I was wondering why you didnt point out it was silly to attempt to ride to Egypt too, since you seem to be a fairly literal type. While you probably know more about the replacement procedure than I (not saying much), Im not so sure your logic about why its a good idea to replace it is as good as you deem it to be. If I take your comments and those of some of the others eager to change out unbroken doohickies I get the following seemingly contradictory points: Changing the doohickey is easy and costs only about $50, but it requires special tools and they are numerous and heavy enough so you wouldnt want to pack them along on a long trip; the special tools are cheap though, in fact they cost nothing, because the repair cost consists of $50 for the parts; if you don't have the tools/expertise, you can get them from strangers holding a doohickey party and you can intrust them to tear apart your engine; yet its silly to buy the extended warranty and try to hold Kawa responsible for any doohickey failures although their dealerships employ trained mechanics and they have enough qualified engineers to fill many an MIT classroom; doohickey defects are common and can, in one scenario, cause engine seizures which would lock the rear wheel and likely result in injury or death to the rider, yet Kawa has continued to manufacturer the doohickey assembly unchanged for 19 years and there are no reports of doohickey related injuries, deaths, or liability suits that anyone knows of.> >

> > -------------------------------------------- > > Who said you could drive to Egypt? > > Again, you demonstrate that you don't know what your talking about

in

> regards to this subject. Having the tools to do the job doesn't

mean

> that the job takes longer or isn't relatively straightforward. It > just means you have to have the tools. Get it? Everybody who

knows

> what they're talking about is telling you the same story. You

don't

> understand that because, frankly, you don't know how to perform

the

> service. > > You keep saying silly things like: I'll just take a spare

doohickey

> with me in case it breaks. > > Nobody cares whether you replace your lever or not. Some are just > pointing out that you seem to be very ill-informed for having such

a

> strong opinion. > > You can be WELL informed and still not choose to replace the

lever.

> It's just funny to hear someone who is ill-informed state reasons

for

> their opinion which are not based on a good understanding of the > issue. > > Randy

[Erik]

Man, you're sure protesting a helluva lot here. Why not just say you don't like working on your bike, don't feel like paying for it, and are willing to accept the risk of it breaking? You can throw in a "and I think the risk is less than you believe" as well. That's really all there is to it. That or you could actually go read one of the very detailed replacement procedure websites that members have created, find prices for the tools and parts, and educate yourself a bit. It'd make a lot more sense than obsessing over the fact that one "can't ride to egypt", and finding small inconsistencies in different people's reactions. (People can and do ride all around the world. Parts of those trips are, I imagine, in planes or boats. It's not that hard of a concept.) erik

> > > I said I'd take a doohickey and the necessary tools along if I was > riding to Egypt (because i deem credible some of the other posters > claiming is a relatively weak link in a generally reliable bike). > You helpfully pointed out that the tools required would be too heavy > to take along on the bike and that attempting to do so would in fact > be silly. I was wondering why you didnt point out it was silly to > attempt to ride to Egypt too, since you seem to be a fairly literal > type. > > While you probably know more about the replacement procedure than I > (not saying much), Im not so sure your logic about why its a good > idea to replace it is as good as you deem it to be. If I take your > comments and those of some of the others eager to change out > unbroken doohickies I get the following seemingly contradictory > points: > > > Changing the doohickey is easy and costs only about $50, > > but it requires special tools and they are numerous and heavy enough > so you wouldnt want to pack them along on a long trip; > > the special tools are cheap though, in fact they cost nothing, > because the repair cost consists of $50 for the parts; > > if you don't have the tools/expertise, you can get them from > strangers holding a doohickey party and you can intrust them to tear > apart your engine; > > yet its silly to buy the extended warranty and try to hold Kawa > responsible for any doohickey failures although their dealerships > employ trained mechanics and they have enough qualified engineers to > fill many an MIT classroom; > > doohickey defects are common and can, in one scenario, cause engine > seizures which would lock the rear wheel and likely result in injury > or death to the rider, > > yet Kawa has continued to manufacturer the doohickey assembly > unchanged for 19 years and there are no reports of doohickey related > injuries, deaths, or liability suits that anyone knows of.> > >>> -------------------------------------------- >> >> Who said you could drive to Egypt? >> >> Again, you demonstrate that you don't know what your talking about > in >> regards to this subject. Having the tools to do the job doesn't > mean >> that the job takes longer or isn't relatively straightforward. It >> just means you have to have the tools. Get it? Everybody who > knows >> what they're talking about is telling you the same story. You > don't >> understand that because, frankly, you don't know how to perform > the >> service. >> >> You keep saying silly things like: I'll just take a spare > doohickey >> with me in case it breaks. >> >> Nobody cares whether you replace your lever or not. Some are just >> pointing out that you seem to be very ill-informed for having such > a >> strong opinion. >> >> You can be WELL informed and still not choose to replace the > lever. >> It's just funny to hear someone who is ill-informed state reasons > for >> their opinion which are not based on a good understanding of the >> issue. >> >> Randy > > > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > >

[CA Stu]

I've already bookmarked the Dakar website but don't let that stop you from seniding any info or inspiring words my way (always willing to accept info and inspiration). My race experience to date is nil but I plan on changing that quickly (or should I say "fast"?). Hence my questions about new forks, etc. I was thinking KTM also or maybe a KLX for sentiment but probably KTM. I don't have the legs or the money - yet - but I do have an unhealthy dose of ambition and an even unhealthier dose of balls. I doubt I'll be able to cut down to part time work but I'm trying to accomplish that this summer (without sacrificing too much paycheck). As far as the motorcycle gods go, well I can only pray for a smile at the right time. Maybe that's why they've been so mean to me lately, so they can feel ok about giving me the thumb's up in 2005. Don't know if you have what it takes til you give it all you've got. dat brooklyn bum ------------------------------------------------------------------ Well????? Thanks CA Stu