From: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com (klr650-digest) To: klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: klr650-digest V2 #299 Reply-To: klr650 Sender: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk klr650-digest Tuesday, April 20 1999 Volume 02 : Number 299 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 23:48:05 -0400 From: Tom Simpson Subject: Re: (klr650) NKLR BMW F650 (nklr) I own both a KLR and a '77 R60/7. The older R-bikes that predate the Paralever rear ends are indeed very simple to maintain motorcycles. However, this is not the same as saying that they are low-maintenece motorcycles. To say that the older airheads are low mainitenece is like saying that an airhead VW Beetle is low mainenece: you are always fiddling with it but major, expensive problems are rare. The core engine will reqire a top-end overhaul every 50,000 miles or so, the bottom ends typicaly hang together for about 150,000 miles. All of this assumes appropriate oli changes, frequent valve adjustments, etc. If you put in one of the aftermarket electonic ignition kits, you should be able to go a number of seaons with doing little more that adjusting the valves. If I recall correctly, Gino's biggest bitch was a driveshaft failure on an R100GS. Whelp, this failure does happen occasionany on conventional Paralever-equipped bikes and *frequently* on the R100GS. From what I understand, replacing the driveshaft at the 40,000 mile mark is now considered a prudent preventative maintenece item for paralever GSs. That driveshaft, BTW, would cost considerably less than the parts required to overhaul the counterbalancer mechanisims on out precious, simple, low- mainenece KLRs, an assembly that has a comperable lifespan to the 100GS driveshaft. The older, pre-Paralever street bikes have their drive shafts turing in an oil bath and u-joint failires are quite rare. To me, the best BWM bikes are late-'70s and early-'80s R-bikes with conventional rear ends. - -Tom '96 KLR 650 '77 R60/7 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 23:31:49 -0500 From: "Tom Meagher" Subject: (klr650) Deliverance Rode my new A13 home today. Not bad! Quite a change from the V-max... Overall, I'm very pleased. Met my (always demanding) expectations. I know right now, I'm certainly going to have a list for Fred! Good thing I sold my pickup truck too. Couple of anomalous things I noticed in my 70 mile ride home from Texas City to Katy. 1.) Throttle twist grip action has terrible friction. Throttle will not self-close at any position, and is difficult to adjust properly, it is so sticky. Feels like there is no grease anywhere at all, just raw plastic on metal. Yuck. 2.) Temperature gauge appears to be totally inoperative. I was in grid-lock traffic for a couple of miles in 85+ degree weather, and the engine got noticeably hot, but the temperature needle never budged off the left meter peg, reading dead cold. I didn't hear any fan go on or anything. 3.) Occasional spontaneous direction changes. Maybe this is because I'm so used the V-Max? Felt very "twitchy", probably I've just got to get used to weight and height. Other Impressions: I don't think the motor sounds that bad, it has rather a nice little grunt to it. Pretty comfortable, but I'm gonna need a wider seat. Nice suspension, and cushy ride, but definitely want the progressive fork springs. Brakes aren't THAT BAD. (not compared to the '69 XLCH I used to have, anyway...). My wife doesn't understand it at all. She can not see it as a real motorcycle somehow. This is gonna take some time, to even get her on it. Oh well. Cheers! Tom Meagher A13 at long last (what shall I name it. Is it a he or a she?) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 23:40:11 -0500 From: "Tom Meagher" Subject: Re: (klr650) BMW F650 (nklr) - -----Original Message----- From: Berlin, Brian To: 'klr650@lists.xmission.com' Date: Monday, April 19, 1999 10:35 AM Subject: (klr650) BMW F650 (nklr) >maintennance. Both of our working BMWs are more than 26 years old and run >better than many bikes coming off of the showroom floor today. They're >great enginneering masterpieces. Their German! > Well, got to add my $.02 worth, as a GS refugee. My '76 R90/6 was quite a piece of work, its true. But I ride pretty hard, and by 40,000 miles, the top end was in pretty bad shape, and needed a complete going over. And again at 80,000. I sold it (well traded it for '74 Mach III) at 120,000. But it was truly a reliable ride. Now, my '91 R100GS, which I sold at 24,000 was only ever OK at best. The '94 V-Max I just sold, I would have to say, despite it's handling shortcomings, was built better than the GS, which had a constant string of minor to medium problems and bugs. Tom Meagher, happily perched astride his nearly virginal KLR. The honeymoon has just begun. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 21:45:26 -0700 From: "ripkid" Subject: RE: (klr650) Deliverance Behalf Of Tom Meagher > Sent: Monday, April 19, 1999 9:32 PM > 1.) Throttle twist grip action has terrible friction. Throttle will not > self-close at any position, and is difficult to adjust properly, it is so > sticky. Feels like there is no grease anywhere at all, just raw > plastic on > metal. Yuck. - ---------- Probably just something simple holding things up. Fact is, there shouldn't be any, "grease" in there, the plastic tube around the metal bar should be plenty slick to allow the spring to bring the grip back to full closure. When my bike dropped on the throttle side I experienced very much the same thing. Though I'm sure a bit of the plastic didn't break off and wedge in between, as was my case, I bet there is a simple solution. -rik ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 21:34:28 -0700 From: "Prospexx" Subject: (klr650) F650 , Brian wrote: > > "The F650 has an ITALIAN engine in it. Not German! Italy is also" The F650 engine is a Rotax completely manufactured in Austria. The cylinder head was designed by BMW but is built by Rotax on the same line as the engine. The bike is assembled for BMW by Aprilla, of Italy. In fact very little of the bike is sourced in Italy, and for that we can thank ???? If the bike were to have a Dellorto fuel system with Magnetti Marelli electric's then Dakar would be a place they could only read about. The F650 is a very nice bike. Priced way too high, and cannot fall of it's own sidestand without the need of it's owner taking a second mortgage to handle the purchase of new bits. The F650 has a piston that goes up and down, with chain rear drive. BMW's aren't supposed to have vertical cylinders, and a missing shaft drive, particularly when they make you pay for it. Tom McKenzie, A13 and 9 BMW's since 1965. tomck@prospexx.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 22:36:24 -0700 From: Christopher J Beasley Subject: Re: (klr650) Confused..Valve adjustment > Chris on a 96 or newer the slipper is bolted to the head not the cover. So > I see no reason to remove the tensioner bolt just to check the valves. > > Dave W. I didn't know that. Ok, you can skip the tensioner bolt. I've never seen inside anything newer than an 89. :-| Beez ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 00:02:26 -0700 From: "Arne Larsen" Subject: Re: (klr650) BMW F650 (nklr) You are correct if memory serves me correctly. The engine is Rotax, and the frame etc.. is Aprilla. Arne - the man of a million questions - -----Original Message----- From: Yusseri Yusoff To: KLR650 Mailing List Date: April 19, 1999 11:23 AM Subject: Re: (klr650) BMW F650 (nklr) > >On Mon, 19 Apr 1999, Berlin, Brian wrote: > >> >> The F650 has an ITALIAN engine in it. Not German! Italy is also > >Eh? I thought they were Austrian Rotax engines... > >Yus > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 00:07:30 -0700 From: "Arne Larsen" Subject: Re: (klr650) Looking for a used KLR 650... Jean, there was a '97 for sale here in Abbotsford (BC) a couple days ago. According to the dealer on the phone, it has 14,000 kilometers on it and is in excellent condition. They wanted $4800 CAN for it. I can't find the number right now, but if you check the archives (do a search with my name - that'll narrow it down for you) I believe the number is there as I posted this message a couple days ago. Arne - -----Original Message----- From: Jean Philippe Bagel To: klr650@lists.xmission.com Date: April 19, 1999 12:19 PM Subject: (klr650) Looking for a used KLR 650... >I converted a friend who sold its GS, and wants to buy a used KLR. >Incidentally, he sold the GS to guys that are gonna fix it, and ride from >Vladivostock to Western Europe... > >He's looking to spend ~ $3,000 on it. Please let me know if you know one >around. We probably would travel to OR, BC to get one if available. > >-JP > ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 05:51:53 -0400 From: Tom Simpson Subject: RE: (klr650) Deliverance At 09:45 PM 4/19/99 -0700, ripkid wrote: > > > Behalf Of Tom Meagher >> Sent: Monday, April 19, 1999 9:32 PM >> 1.) Throttle twist grip action has terrible friction. Throttle will not >> self-close at any position, and is difficult to adjust properly, it is so >> sticky. Feels like there is no grease anywhere at all, just raw >> plastic on >> metal. Yuck. >---------- >Probably just something simple holding things up. Fact is, there shouldn't >be any, "grease" in there, the plastic tube around the metal bar should be >plenty slick to allow the spring to bring the grip back to full closure. >When my bike dropped on the throttle side I experienced very much the same >thing. Though I'm sure a bit of the plastic didn't break off and wedge in >between, as was my case, I bet there is a simple solution. -rik My bike has been like this when I had the cables out of adjustment. Try loosening them up and then readjusting them. - -Tom '96 KLR 650 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 05:25:34 -0600 From: "Kurt Simpson" Subject: Re: (klr650) Deliverance...da .da.da .da...dahhhhh >2.) Temperature gauge appears to be totally inoperative. I was in >grid-lock traffic for a couple of miles in 85+ degree weather, and the >engine got noticeably hot, but the temperature needle never budged off the >left meter peg, reading dead cold. I didn't hear any fan go on or anything. I think you're right...might as well jiggle the wires on the fan...but, until you go in for your first service you might just want to turn the bike off when stopped at a traffic light in warm weather to be on the safe side. Otherwise figure you are running at 1/3 to 1/2 at any speed above a crawl... >3.) Occasional spontaneous direction changes. Maybe this is because I'm so >used the V-Max? Felt very "twitchy", probably I've just got to get used to >weight and height. Probably, it is sensitive with the wide handlebars and relative lightness...many of us have noticed a kind of wiggle at highway speeds...my take is to watch the air pressure in the tires and keep them at 28 - 30 rear 28 front...the manual and stickers say something like 22...that is a compromise with on-road off-road...keep them higher on the highway... >Other Impressions: >I don't think the motor sounds that bad, it has rather a nice little grunt >to it. that is just the sound of the carb drake...the exhaust sounds like a John Deere riding mower until you get hinked out (g) >Pretty comfortable, but I'm gonna need a wider seat. if you go to a Corbin call Raul in California and ask for the modified KLR w/o the dip and scalloped by the grab handles. Truth is there are two versions of the modified Corbin....both have the front dip removed...Gino's version is perfectly flat all the way back, others opt to retain the "bucket" towards the rear. Take your pick. But if you get the unmodified Corbin you'll feel like John Wayne... Nice >suspension, and cushy ride, but definitely want the progressive fork >springs. Brakes aren't THAT BAD. (not compared to the '69 XLCH I used to >have, anyway...). de-Nile...de-Nile....de-Nile...the CH sucked (I had the same year, orange right?) at least change to ss brakelines while you are up there >My wife doesn't understand it at all. She can not see it as a real >motorcycle somehow. This is gonna take some time, to even get her on it. >Oh well. my SO is just beginning to like my KLR where as anytime she sees a V-MAX her heart skips a beat.... >Cheers! >Tom Meagher A13 at long last (what shall I name it. Is it a he or a she?) the answer will come like a dream... Kurt ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 05:28:03 -0600 From: "Kurt Simpson" Subject: (klr650) Fw: Plastic cleaners and polishers Wanted to make sure Marick's post made the archives... Best plastic cleaners and polishers... - -----Original Message----- From: Marick Payton +ADw-Marick.Payton+AEA-Forsythe.Stanford.EDU+AD4- To: klx650-moto+AEA-lists.stanford.edu +ADw-klx650-moto+AEA-lists.stanford.edu+AD4- Date: Sunday, April 18, 1999 7:24 PM Subject: Plastic cleaners and polishers +AD4-Roscoe, Motorcycle Consumer News (my Bible for product evaluations) +AD4-recommends Plexus Plastic Cleaner, Protectant +ACY- Polish+ADs- Kleenmaster +AD4-Brillianze Cleaner +ACY- Polish: Can-Do Multi-Purpose Cleaner/Polish +AD4-Protectant+ADs- Novus Plastic Polish +ACM-1+ADs- and Cycle Care Formula 3, the +AD4-first two being best. +AD4- +AD4-Marick +AD4- +AD4APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9- +AD4-This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list +AD4-server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the +AD4-message body of +ACI-unsubscribe klx650-moto+ACI- to majordomo+AEA-lists.stanford.edu +AD4- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 05:53:15 -0600 From: "Kurt Simpson" Subject: (klr650) Borg gossip...you heard it here first... >Kurt, > Since you mentioned the tail luggage rack from Obe Wan, I decided to >take a closer look at it on your sight. It looks really well constructed >and at the price of the side utility racks seems reasonable. I warned the list about what might happen if Obe Wan and Dr. Moreau came together...it is not going to be a pretty marriage! Just when you thought your wallet had recovered from the drop in markies from getting hinked out! I've been waiting to post this until I thought it pretty safe that they would be off-line...Dr. Moreau is feverishly trying to get his highly modified KLR back together with a new sex machine paint job...meanwhile, Mollye has just brought home her new F-650 and is putting great demands on laboratory time as well...Obe Wan is in his own fever and about to leave for a trip to Goblin Valley and Moab, but I've spoken with him on the phone and he is so excited he sounds like the assistant coach in Waterboy... Here it is short and simple...Obe Wan ordered himself a set of Touratechs at my urging. He studied them pretty carefully. About the same time, he began late night chats comparing lab reports with Moreau...then there was a mysterious "long" trip on the part of Obe Wan...he won't give me the details. But now it is all giggles from him...He has his own fabricator for aluminum panniers, larger on the left, smaller on the right. You choose how they open top or side (ala Jake Jakeman's traveling kitchen...come to think of it that might be the ideal setup, get one of each)...and here is the kicker and it wouldn't be fair to pin him down but I kept following his thinking, Ajax: "so Obe...are you telling me that you could market these things for a really good price?" Obe "that is what I'm saying" Ajax: "do you know what that price is?" Obe: "too early...but how much are Touratechs" Ajax: "I think about 2 very full markies" Obe: "..............." (silence) Ajax: "ok, I'm just going to throw a number out there, are you saying you are thinking you can put a set of aluminum panniers with your new heavy duty SU racks for just a little more than one markie" Obe "ajax, what I'm saying is that it looks like that will include air freight to anywhere in the U.S." They will include camlocks....and make their first appearance at Moab this weekend. To make matters worse, he is also going to build and market an aluminum tailbox with the quick detach fittings for about the same price as the double-bag setup "first-looked" on the Idiot's website: www.members.tripod.com/ajaxut You heard it here first...Next scoop....Obe Wan had a very long and fruitful conversation with Mike Walburn of DualStar on Friday....more to come... Kurt ------------------------------ End of klr650-digest V2 #299 ****************************