f.y.i. : klr650 idler shaft lever locking bolt torque

[coaltraintripn]

On a recent weekend ride to the desert my buddy and I both expereinced some carb or fuel issues with the KLR's at highway speeds around 60mph. I'm looking for help in isolating the problem as we're leaving for Baja in 10-days! At around 60mph and above, we both noticed our bikes power was pulsing - it felt exactly like the pulsing you might have right before you run out of gas. At higher speeds the pulsing was extremely noticable, if not downright violent. The bikes would go through spells of operating normally for 10-15 miles, then start the pulsing again, then return to normal, or near normal. Pulsing spats would last from 10-30 mile stretches. Below 50mph or so, the effect was not noticeable at all. I suspect the problem could be related to jetting, however neither previous owners mentioned anything to me, or my friend, about either bike being rejetted for alititude (a definite selling point around here). We live at 8,000ft. The bikes run fine here (but it's rare to ride above 60mph here either). The pulsing kicked in after we dropped 2,000 feet or so. Additionally, there was no pulsing when the morning temperatures were cold. The problem only surfaced after the day warmed up... Any help would be greatly appreciated. The last thing I want to be doing is figuring this out in Mexico! Gracias! -Mike

[Jim Ousley]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "coaltraintripn" wrote:

> On a recent weekend ride to the desert my buddy and I both

expereinced some carb

> or fuel issues with the KLR's at highway speeds around 60mph.

If you have added a fuel filter take it off. The filter can cause a kind of vapor lock. The fuel gets hot and causes a vapor bubble to form in the filter, restricting fuel flow. Also , the vacuum line from the carb to the vacuum port on the petcock can become very soft as the temp rises. This will cause the vacuum line to collapse and restrict vacuum from completely opening the petcock. Replace it with a piece of stiff vacuum line from a auto parts store. Jim Lexington, Ky

[rsanders30117]

I had a similar pulsation in my A14 KLR650 until I installed a DynoJet stage 1 kit & moved the needle up one notch from the center start point. The pulsation is "lean surging" & at 60 m/h the mixture is primarily regulated by needle position. The factory needle is non- adjustable but I think some minor adjustment is available by shimming it. By design, the OEM cab doesn't permit much adjustment. This is why I installed the DynoJet kit, so I could tweak the mixture for better operation. Assuming you don't have an air leak some where, tinkering with carburetor will be required to correct your problem. --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "coaltraintripn" wrote:

> On a recent weekend ride to the desert my buddy and I both

expereinced some carb

> or fuel issues with the KLR's at highway speeds around 60mph. I'm

looking for help in

> isolating the problem as we're leaving for Baja in 10-days! > > At around 60mph and above, we both noticed our bikes power was

pulsing - it felt

> exactly like the pulsing you might have right before you run out of

gas. At higher

> speeds the pulsing was extremely noticable, if not downright

violent. The bikes would

> go through spells of operating normally for 10-15 miles, then start

the pulsing again,

> then return to normal, or near normal. Pulsing spats would last

from 10-30 mile

> stretches. Below 50mph or so, the effect was not noticeable at all. > > I suspect the problem could be related to jetting, however neither

previous owners

> mentioned anything to me, or my friend, about either bike being

rejetted for alititude

> (a definite selling point around here). We live at 8,000ft. The

bikes run fine here (but

> it's rare to ride above 60mph here either). The pulsing kicked in

after we dropped

> 2,000 feet or so. Additionally, there was no pulsing when the

morning temperatures

> were cold. The problem only surfaced after the day warmed up... > > Any help would be greatly appreciated. The last thing I want to be

doing is figuring

> this out in Mexico! > > Gracias! > > -Mike

[rsanders30117]

I had a similar pulsation in my A14 KLR650 until I installed a DynoJet stage 1 kit & moved the needle up one notch from the center start point. The pulsation is "lean surging" & at 60 m/h the mixture is primarily regulated by needle position. The factory needle is non- adjustable but I think some minor adjustment is available by shimming it. By design, the OEM cab doesn't permit much adjustment. This is why I installed the DynoJet kit, so I could tweak the mixture for better operation. Assuming you don't have an air leak some where, tinkering with carburetor will be required to correct your problem. --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "coaltraintripn" wrote:

> On a recent weekend ride to the desert my buddy and I both

expereinced some carb

> or fuel issues with the KLR's at highway speeds around 60mph. I'm

looking for help in

> isolating the problem as we're leaving for Baja in 10-days! > > At around 60mph and above, we both noticed our bikes power was

pulsing - it felt

> exactly like the pulsing you might have right before you run out of

gas. At higher

> speeds the pulsing was extremely noticable, if not downright

violent. The bikes would

> go through spells of operating normally for 10-15 miles, then start

the pulsing again,

> then return to normal, or near normal. Pulsing spats would last

from 10-30 mile

> stretches. Below 50mph or so, the effect was not noticeable at all. > > I suspect the problem could be related to jetting, however neither

previous owners

> mentioned anything to me, or my friend, about either bike being

rejetted for alititude

> (a definite selling point around here). We live at 8,000ft. The

bikes run fine here (but

> it's rare to ride above 60mph here either). The pulsing kicked in

after we dropped

> 2,000 feet or so. Additionally, there was no pulsing when the

morning temperatures

> were cold. The problem only surfaced after the day warmed up... > > Any help would be greatly appreciated. The last thing I want to be

doing is figuring

> this out in Mexico! > > Gracias! > > -Mike

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

At 6:08 PM +0000 3/30/04, Jim Ousley wrote:

>--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "coaltraintripn" > wrote: >> On a recent weekend ride to the desert my buddy and I both >expereinced some carb >> or fuel issues with the KLR's at highway speeds around 60mph. > >If you have added a fuel filter take it off. >The filter can cause a kind of vapor lock. >The fuel gets hot and causes a vapor bubble to >form in the filter, restricting fuel flow. > >Also , the vacuum line from the carb to the >vacuum port on the petcock can become very soft as the temp rises. >This will cause the vacuum line to collapse and restrict >vacuum from completely opening the petcock. >Replace it with a piece of stiff vacuum line from a auto parts store. > >

Could also be a fuel petcock vacuum leak. You can either: -rebuild it (not my choice) -pull the spring out of it (did it on my Tengai on my way home from Florida, fine ever since) -get a vacuum bypass kit from www.bigcee.com (the better choice, got one for my '89 KLR) Mark http://www.reelrider.com

[Don Kime]

At 03:56 PM 3/30/2004 +0000, coaltraintripn wrote:

>At around 60mph and above, we both noticed our bikes power was pulsing - >it felt >exactly like the pulsing you might have right before you run out of gas. >At higher >speeds the pulsing was extremely noticable, if not downright violent. The >bikes would >go through spells of operating normally for 10-15 miles, then start the >pulsing again, >then return to normal, or near normal. Pulsing spats would last from 10-30 >mile >stretches. Below 50mph or so, the effect was not noticeable at all.

I recently experienced the same thing on a trip to Florida and again after I got home (to Ohio). There was no altitude involved at all with mine. It just acted like fuel starvation. I'm fortunate to have a parts bike, and changing carbs completely solved it. I haven't taken the time to diagnose the carb, but I'm guessing that fuel just couldn't flow into the bowl fast enough to meet the need - perhaps related to float level. At this point, I'm just guessing. When I have time, I'm going to go completely through the carb and adjust the float levels. Some day I'll get gutsy enough to put it back in. Another lister emailed me of an identical problem. Something w/ the carb and the KLR must be right at the edge(?). Good luck & Ride safe, Don Kime - VFR750F, GL1500SE, GL1100, KLR 650 OH - M/C Safety Instructor/RiderCoach dkime@... http://forums.delphiforums.com/MCTourer/

[Devon]

I had problems like this, and also problems with the bike running onto reserve really early (but the fuel level in the tank was higher than the reserve tap). Switching to the Mikuni carb completely solved this, but I've gone back to the Keihin because it's a better street carb. I think the vacuum tap on the Keihin is pretty marginal at certain throttle openings overcoming the spring in the fuel tap. Either a weaker spring in the fuel tap, or perhaps just cutting out a coil or two might help. Devon

>At 03:56 PM 3/30/2004 +0000, coaltraintripn wrote: > > >>At around 60mph and above, we both noticed our bikes power was pulsing - >>it felt >>exactly like the pulsing you might have right before you run out of gas. >>At higher >> > >

[Paul]

I've noticed the exact same thing on mine. A slight surge on the highway ~60-70 mph in 5th gear, reminiscent of that "need to switch to reserve" sputter. Mine's an A10 with 4,800 miles on it, in my possession for all of four days and 200 miles, btw. That equals a bike that has spent a good bit of time sitting around and perhaps slightly gummy carbs. Maybe I'll run a tankful with Techron additive through it and see if that helps, although I've not noticed any problems with driveability elsewhere. And it idles just fine; in my experience that's there dirty carbs are most noticeable when the idle jet get plugged. Oops, I almost wrote "idle jets." It's hard for me to refer to engine parts in the singular. This is my first thumper. BTW: any tips on using the Yahoo archives? When I search, I only get hits from a very narrow range of messages, only one hundred or so. No doubt these topics have been flogged to death, but I can't seem to dredge 'em up from the archives. Frustrating, but perhaps it's pilot error. Any help appreciated. Paul in DC 96 KLR - 95 VFR -----Original Message----- From: rsanders30117 I had a similar pulsation in my A14 KLR650 until I installed a DynoJet stage 1 kit & moved the needle up one notch from the center start point. The pulsation is "lean surging" & at 60 m/h the mixture is primarily regulated by needle position. The factory needle is non- adjustable but I think some minor adjustment is available by shimming it. By design, the OEM cab doesn't permit much adjustment. This is why I installed the DynoJet kit, so I could tweak the mixture for better operation. Assuming you don't have an air leak some where, tinkering with carburetor will be required to correct your problem. .....

[rsanders30117]

At a steady 60 m/h, you're just sipping fuel. Maximum fuel flow occurs at full throttle, not cruising along. So keep this in mind when working through this problem. I doubt fuel starvation is the problem unless you're getting low on gas and/or your tank is not being vented enough. Fuel to the carb is a gravity flow system & as the fuel gets low in the tank, there's less fuel pressure force the fuel through filters (if present).

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, Don Kime wrote: > At 03:56 PM 3/30/2004 +0000, coaltraintripn wrote: > >At around 60mph and above, we both noticed our bikes power was pulsing - > >it felt > >exactly like the pulsing you might have right before you run out of gas. > >At higher > >speeds the pulsing was extremely noticable, if not downright violent. The > >bikes would > >go through spells of operating normally for 10-15 miles, then start the > >pulsing again, > >then return to normal, or near normal. Pulsing spats would last from 10-30 > >mile > >stretches. Below 50mph or so, the effect was not noticeable at all. > > I recently experienced the same thing on a trip to Florida and again after > I got home (to Ohio). There was no altitude involved at all with mine. It > just acted like fuel starvation. I'm fortunate to have a parts bike, and > changing carbs completely solved it. I haven't taken the time to diagnose > the carb, but I'm guessing that fuel just couldn't flow into the bowl fast > enough to meet the need - perhaps related to float level. At this point, > I'm just guessing. When I have time, I'm going to go completely through > the carb and adjust the float levels. Some day I'll get gutsy enough to > put it back in. Another lister emailed me of an identical > problem. Something w/ the carb and the KLR must be right at the edge(?). > > Good luck & > Ride safe, > Don Kime - VFR750F, GL1500SE, GL1100, KLR 650 > OH - M/C Safety Instructor/RiderCoach dkime@c... > http://forums.delphiforums.com/MCTourer/

[swampyankee45]

the search function is slightly counter intuitive you just have to click previous or next i forget which and yahoo steps you down through the archive searching along the way. still sucks but better than nothing keep smiling ! Andy

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, Paul wrote: > I've noticed the exact same thing on mine. A slight surge on the highway ~60-70 mph in 5th gear, reminiscent of that "need to switch to reserve" sputter. > > Mine's an A10 with 4,800 miles on it, in my possession for all of four days and 200 miles, btw. That equals a bike that has spent a good bit of time sitting around and perhaps slightly gummy carbs. Maybe I'll run a tankful with Techron additive through it and see if that helps, although I've not noticed any problems with driveability elsewhere. And it idles just fine; in my experience that's there dirty carbs are most noticeable when the idle jet get plugged. Oops, I almost wrote "idle jets." It's hard for me to refer to engine parts in the singular. This is my first thumper. > > BTW: any tips on using the Yahoo archives? When I search, I only get hits from a very narrow range of messages, only one hundred or so. No doubt these topics have been flogged to death, but I can't seem to dredge 'em up from the archives. Frustrating, but perhaps it's pilot error. Any help appreciated. > > Paul in DC > 96 KLR - 95 VFR > > -----Original Message----- > From: rsanders30117 > > > I had a similar pulsation in my A14 KLR650 until I installed a > DynoJet stage 1 kit & moved the needle up one notch from the center > start point. The pulsation is "lean surging" & at 60 m/h the mixture > is primarily regulated by needle position. The factory needle is non- > adjustable but I think some minor adjustment is available by shimming > it. By design, the OEM cab doesn't permit much adjustment. This is > why I installed the DynoJet kit, so I could tweak the mixture for > better operation. > > Assuming you don't have an air leak some where, tinkering with > carburetor will be required to correct your problem. > > .....