From: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com (klr650-digest) To: klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: klr650-digest V2 #141 Reply-To: klr650 Sender: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk klr650-digest Wednesday, March 17 1999 Volume 02 : Number 141 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 07:30:34 -0800 From: Mike Magier Subject: Re: (klr650)Tank Bags Bill - I have had the Kawi tank and tail bags on my bike since I bought it a year (and 8500 miles) ago. I have heard the complaints about zipper, seams and plastic degradation on the tank bag, but I have had no problems whatsoever. I live in a semi-desert area, with 300+ days a year of sun, and summer temps often in excess of 100. I don't use any bike cover, and I don't have a garage, so the bike and the bags have been continuously exposed to the elements since I bought them. I couldn't be happier with their ability to withstand this kind of abuse - neither bag shows any meaningful signs of wear, and they both continue to fit and function like the day I bought them. I use the Aerostitch panniers on longer trips, and they are just fine with the tank bag. My .02. Mike Magier 98 A12 GroundHog - ---------- >some of the most popular. I would like to hear from those of you who >are using a tank bag that you are SATISFIED with. No complaints please. >Apparently the Kawi bag fell from grace after extended use by some. Even >Bill Wright >Hotlanta, GA. >98 KLR650 - "Special K" - 22,600 miles > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 07:25:33 -0800 From: Hugh Stout Subject: Re: (klr650) KLR longevity At 12:46 AM 3/17/99 -0800, Jeff & Lisa Walker wrote: > > > >>Also, I noticed the scoops that attach below the tank appear to be somewhat >>vulnerable in the event of a crash. Is there a way of protecting these or >how >>do you deal with it? > > >Well, plastic things break. These break at the attachment points. Nothing >that a couple of 5 cent zip ties couldn't handle. The cost of new Kawa >plastic is robbery though, hence my cheap fix. > >Jeff > I've had reasonable luck refixing the atachment points with a hot glue gun. They do tend to fail at the same places the next time I drop the bike, but it seems to hold up on the road. Maybe a little research with different kinds of hot glues would help. Hugh Stout '74 R90/6 '78 CB400T2 '94 KLR650 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 07:53:56 -0700 From: "Tim Bernard" Subject: Re: (klr650) MC trailer design I have built a few. If you can give me some specs I can tell you what has worked for me. Axle placement is only one of the considerations you have to make. Happy Trails Tim - -----Original Message----- From: Paul Christenson To: TomMyers@cycoactive.com ; klr650@lists.xmission.com ; dust@dorje.com Date: Monday, March 15, 1999 1:11 PM Subject: Re: (klr650) MC trailer design >>Does anyone know what ideal weight bias should be (tongue/axle) for >>stability with minimum tongue weight? > >Optimum is 1:9; 1/10 of the total weight should be on the hitch. I >wouldn't go far from that in either direction, but if the ratio changes >between loaded/unloaded, I'd keep a minimum of 1/10 on the tongue. > >So long as the rating of the hitch isn't exceeded, you can pile as much >as you want on the tongue. Going below 1/10 can cause handling >problems; even instability. >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:20:25 -0700 From: "Pokluda, Gino F" Subject: RE: (klr650) NKLR Mission Failed >>but the fates and my wife have conspired against me. She has a red half-breed F650 on order, should be here in two weeks.<< That's okay Skip. Mistakes happen. I forgive her and I'll send her some Kawasaki decals to put on it. Gino ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 08:30:11 -0800 (PST) From: Alex Jomarron Subject: (klr650) Kamloops Rally Kurt and Vik, I'm thinking of doing that rallye too! I'm going to jam a lot in this summer on the KLR. Alex == Alex Jomarron Oak Park, IL USA _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:34:02 -0700 From: "Kurt Simpson" Subject: Re: (klr650)Tank Bags Another note...the thing I like about the Kawi bag is that it acts as a bra protecting a good portion of the tank...I keep the tank waxed...and I have no scratches or blemishes underneath the bag...Also, because they keep the bag portion low below the tank filler it works perfectly with a Dual Star Co-Pilot. These two in tandem with the panniers are a terrific combo... Kurt ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:36:27 -0700 From: "Kurt Simpson" Subject: (klr650) NKLR...Tom's Report on R100GS From: Tom Meagher@ICS on 03/17/99 09:30 AM Hi guys, Due to diarhea of the keyboard, I exceeded the 7500 character limit! (sorry again Kurt) But I've got something to say. (even if the emphasis is arguably on quantity, not quality....?) So here is the exciting 1st installment: (note: the trouble I've had getting this thing posted is rather typical of all my dealings with anything to do with this bike...). I tried to send this exercise in angst last night from my other e-mail account, forgetting about the "subscription account only" rule. (Sorry Kurt, I think I will change it over, but I'll try using the majordomo robot first, before I bug you for help). My motivation was that this silly Lotus Notes mail program stubbornly implants little ".pcx" files in everything, which end up as ugly "uuencoded" blocks appended to the message (to other Notes users they look real purty...). It's embarassing! Haven't quite figured out how to suppress the little buggers, but I hope this posting is free of them. (Authors note: Apologies in advance, this is a letter (alright, a *rant*) I suppose I meant to write to BMW 5 years ago, but never did. If anyone wants to forward it to them, or the GS group, be my guest. I guess this stuff has been festering for a while, and needed to be let out... sorry... - --tom-- bemusedly stepping off his soapbox, after having semi-cathartically produced the following) OK, you asked for it (Well, Vik and others, so here goes): I bought my '91 R100GS brand new in L.A. (in Torrance, "Browns" was the dealer, I think), while I was working there as a consultant, late in '91. This was the third BMW I'd owned (counting the used R65 I bought for my 1st wife). My '76 R90/6 was getting a little tired, with well over 100,000 mi on it (the odometer died at 108K), and 15 years of having to put up with *me* (run 'em til they puke, re-build 'em, run 'em again...) Initially, I loved it. Going back and forth between the /6 and the GS was a real revelation. The GS felt so much more responsive and nimble. I tried riding it like a real dirt bike on a number of occasions. Yeow. Everything is relative, eh? I'm sure most listers here know that "oh shit" feeling when you are half-way up a gnarly old steep rutted rocky hill-climb, and you lose momentum... Well, about this time I began to realize that the GS had an "easily reachable" (read "exceedable") envelope in the dirt, and when things start to get out of hand, they can get ugly real fast. Nothin' like tossin' your new $7,000 "dirt bike" onto a pile of rocks. (My wallet puckers at the mere thought of riding a new $14,000 R1100GS in similar circumstances). Anyway, the GS and I survived these little forays into madness without much more than a couple of scratches, a few new gray hairs, and some soiled undies. No big deal, and besides, dirt is not really the point of the bike. What the hey, clumsy and frightening in the dirt as it was, it was still a LOT better than my /6. About this time, at the 4 week mark or so, the honeymoon started to wear off. At first it was just little stuff, like the OEM battery (Varta?) developed a bad cell, and wouldn't hold a charge. My poor girl friend gets a medal of valor for helping me push-start the mother on a couple of occasions so we could get home. Replaced under warranty, no problemo. Then 2 months later, the same thing happened to the new battery. OK, no big deal, still, this is not a fun bike to deal with when the battery goes dead (rue the day they economized the kick starter away...), and not a good portent. Now, bear in mind that this was a *California* model, and had the cannister, and psuedo-pneumo-solenoidal relay-McValvery that BMW stuck on there (I suspect no self-respecting BMW engineer actually had anything to do with that abortion, it smacked of some Detroit consulting firm, or such...). This bike, when new, was NOT a happy starter. When cold, no problem, but ride it a while, stop it, go into the store to buy a paper, and when you emerge, be prepared to be patient, because maybe it would, and maybe it wouldn't (feel like starting). The head mechanic at the dealership in Torrance where I bought it said (wink, wink, nudge, nudge..) that he had heard that if the emissions stuff was removed and the tank vented to the atmosphere, that the bike would start a LOT better. Of course the dealer couldn't do this himself because it wasn't legal (know whuddimean? wink, wink, nudge, nudge..). So, after the $480 (!!!!) initial service, and, after stripping 5 lbs of plumbing and little wierd parts off the bike, it DID start a lot better (let out a rebel yell and break wind). OK, nothing's perfect, right? Well, my girl-friend at the time, who was a real trooper (and a heck of a little push-starter by now...) started to complain of headaches when we rode the bike. It turned out that the stock exhaust system was designed in such a way that a portion of the exhaust gas stream siphoned up her back, and into her helmet. After every ride, her clothes, and her hair would smell like exhaust. Well, OK, just cut a piece of aluminum flashing, take some hose clamps, and presto, we have a one foot extension to the exhaust pipe that reduces the problem dramatically. (and so stylish, to boot) I guess none of the test riders had any girl friends, eh? (Maybe they strapped their inflatable pleasure companions to the rear to save weight, for test purposes, and THEY didn't complain...) OK, nothing's perfect, right? (did I already say that?) Now, I'm a pretty big guy (well maybe not TOO pretty...) and I like to ride two up, with saddle bags, etc. So I guess I put quite a load on the rear shock. Anyway, after a few months, the stock (Boges, I think) shock had totally puked it's guts out. There was no more life, or oil, left in the poor thing. It had devolved to it's humble evolutionary origin as a rear spring. Shocking. Under warranty, of course, no problem. I mean, hey, what can you expect, it's only a BMW, right? (what, me? sarcastic?) Now my NEW shock was OK, for about another maybe 6 months (I tried to baby it) before IT died too, in the same shocking messy fashion, spilling it's precious bodily fluids everywhere. By this time I had moved back to Tucson, and Marty at Iron Horse (one of the world's great BMW shops), even though I'd bought the bike in L.A., offered to give me full list price credit ($400 bucks or so) on my double whupped Boge towards a new Ohlins rear shock, sporting a big sexy red spring, so it only ended up costing me a hundred bucks or so (this was a $500-$600 unit as I recall). Now the Ohlins, this was a REAL shock absorber. End of shock problem. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 11:36:59 -0500 From: mjv2@psu.edu (Mark) Subject: Re: (klr650) NKLR Auto Oils in the Bike At 9:25 PM 3/16/99, Skip Faulkner wrote: SNIP >Rotella 15W40 would be a good one. > The above is just passed on information for you guys and gals to use as >you see fit. For me, I would not be using any of the automotive oils any >longer, except for maybe the Mobil One. > > Skip ( oiled out and needin` a change) Rotella is now SJ rated. I have been know to use it in my bikes though as I had the assumption that diesel oils were better due to the higher compression of diesel engines. I'll typically cut in 1.6qt of Rotella with 1qt Yamalube. Another thing I use SG motor oil for cars. You can find it on the shelves at grocery stores because nobody buys motor oil at the grocer. These cans have been sitting there since 1994-96 and are dusty. Does anyone know if shelflife is a concern? Mark B2 A2 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:41:46 -0700 From: "Kurt Simpson" Subject: (klr650) NKLR..Tom's R100 Part two... About this time, the front tire started losing about 5 -10 lbs of air pressure every day. Took it in, no problems found, re-seated it. Much better. For 2 weeks anyway. Took it in again. Hypothesis: tubeless rim leak. Solution: goopy stuff. Well, OK, I can live with that I guess. I think It took two, or was it three, outpatient visits to get this sorted. Shortly after this, I started having trouble shifting, and then the clutch started going bad. The clutch (always the weak point on my /6) started gradually being very "grabby" and hard to control, it felt like some sticky old clutch cable from a mini-bike my neighbor had. Then it started sometimes not engaging completely, and slipping. The little sucker actually STRANDED me a couple of times. (In 15 years, my /6 had NEVER stranded me). By this time I was living way north of Seattle, and it was time to TOW it to a new dealer (Gregg's Greenlake, I think), still under warranty. He gave me a new clutch cable, pulled the bowls off the carbs to clean them, and charged me $160 (the float bowl cleaning wasn't covered by warranty, and I *had* mentioned that the carburetion seemed bad, but I still felt ripped off...). Anyway, the joker broke down again, same clutch thing, leave it for two more weeks at the shop, they think they fix it, said it was some micro-clutch pushrod adjustment tolerance, or some such, known to be fussy, etc... etc... blah blah blah. I think it took three, or was it four, multi-day stays in the shop to get this straightened out. (well, I sold it a month after the last shop visit, still under warranty (barely), so the new owner will have to say if it really was fixed or not). Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion.... Tom ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:42:34 -0700 From: "Kurt Simpson" Subject: (klr650) NKLR...Tom's R100GS Part III From: Tom Meagher@ICS on 03/17/99 09:35 AM As we left our hero, he was wrestling with clutch problems, now see what happens to further destroy his already precarious perch on motorcycle nirvana: OK, no biggy. But then there was the trivial stuff. First of all, the electrical switches were crap. I mean, they were the cheapest pieces of junk I've ever seen on any motorcycle (of course, I've never had a british bike). Not only did they not work very well, they had terrible "look and feel", (reminding you every time you used them, that there were accountants in control here somewhere, and not engineers). My /6 switches were great, where did BMW go wrong? I seem to recall I fitted new model switches that helped somewhat, but still... What about those wimpy plastic BMW saddle bags. $700 bucks for those things? Man, they saw *me* coming. After a couple of weeks, I grazed something while lane-splitting (very lightly), and the plastic mounting flange on one bag cracked. I had to go all over creation to get the thing "plastic welded", but the design was SO WIMPY that it's pretty hard to be proud of it. And the locks were a joke, they required constant cleaning, and kept popping open or falling apart. I developed a modification that allowed them to be serviceable by drilling through them and adding a stainless pin. Plus, the saddlebags never fit snugly onto the mounts, and always vibrated and made horrible sounds. I ended up putting tape and plastic tubing over the mounts, to try to take up some of the slack. Jeesh. Good thing they only cost $700... Take the headlight assembly. After a year or so, I remember that the headlight kept falling out of it's mounting, and dangling on the front fender, when the bike was ridden hard. There was nothing really to secure it, and the tolerances sort of loosened up, so it started falling out. OK, I can deal, take off the duct tape and put a self tapping screw in. No biggy. How about the paint on front fender? My bike was fire engine red, I'd wanted black, but oh well. After a year or so, all the paint on the front fender started to flake off, revealing the black plastic beneath. Pretty ugly, but at least I was starting to get the black color I'd originally wanted... Marty replaced it, but he did mutter a little bit under his breath. Like the little mini-fairing on the front. First of all, guaranteed to put the wind blast right in my face, and maximize helmet buffeting. OK, I can put an after market windshield on. Problem was, I recall, that the little mini-fairing was held on by some wierd combination of screws/bolts that were almost impossible to remove. It was designed by some masochistic fiend in a fever dream. (Of course by this time, it really MIGHT have been just me)... And don't even get me started on the STUPID BMW oil filter. Why put it right inside the hot exhaust pipe? Why make it so it has to be jointed? Funny little sequence of washers and spacers that has to be JUST SO. Cover plate that can only be removed by removing the right exhaust pipe, or specially cut ball-head allen wrenches, which they don't supply. I still have the burn scars, thank you BMW. Why Why Why? Always more of a drag than it has to be to change the oil... And there was a *bunch* of other little stuff. Rider footpegs were a problem, as I recall. Passenger footpegs were a problem, as I recall. Shift lever seal died and leaked all over everything. Rear brake lever adjustment range not being designed right, resulting in extremely poor braking when the shoes still had plenty of wear left, Etc. Etc.. But the above complaints are only the loveable "personality" type stuff, right? Let's get to the real heart of the matter. The performance. Initially, my impression was that it was nicely "peppy", then I began to notice that I was having a hard time passing cars. In one impromptu drag-race against a VW rabbit (not the diesel version, thank god), on a hot Tucson summer day, with my girlfriend on the back, the rabbit won. The *shame* of it. My /6 would have blown the doors off it. ------------------------------ End of klr650-digest V2 #141 ****************************