From: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com (klr650-digest) To: klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: klr650-digest V2 #152 Reply-To: klr650 Sender: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk klr650-digest Friday, March 19 1999 Volume 02 : Number 152 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 21:09:53 -0800 From: "ripkid" Subject: (klr650) KLR Break In (NKLR) - -------------- Skip Faulkner: Also, keep in mind that you SHOULDN`T baby an engine during break-in. Run it hard and vary the rpms the first several hundred miles. After the first several hundred miles that you`ve been ranging through the whole rpm range (yes, even to red line) ride it normally. Most synthetics shouldn`t be started till after positive break-in has occurred, which would safely be after a couple of thousand miles or your first oil change. - -------------- Ok Skip, this is all well and good if we're chattin' bout an airplane engine or other multi-piston motor(?)...but are you telling me I should have been putting my A13 through all points of the tach accept for the Big Red Line? I'm just now pushing 500m and would hate to hear my conventional ideas of, "break in", are all bunk. --- aside from the fact that its been tougher than hell to stay under 4k. - -rik ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 20:55:33 -0800 From: "Jeff & Lisa Walker" Subject: Re: (klr650) helmet lock >Hi Listers, can the factory helmet lock be used to safely carry a spare >brain-bucket at freeway speeds? It doesn't look too strong to >me,has anyone had it pop open? thanks, cosmo I seem to recall the operators manual cautioning AGAINST this, plus its a bad idea anyway. Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 21:16:23 -0800 From: "Jeff & Lisa Walker" Subject: Re: (klr650) Re: Helmet Lock Cosmo- I totally agree with Juan not to hang a spare helmet on the helmet lock while underway. This would be a sure way to mess up the helmet and worse make your bike unstable. If available, the luggage rack is the place to carry a spare lid. Like Juan, I use a bungee net and since I use a offroad helmet I turn the open face pointing backwards, so the helmet doesn't catch too much air. See now, I have to say that carrying a spare helmet reeks of desperation! Before the mandatory helmet law in this state, it used to be cool to go out and cruise on my bike and maybe take a girl that I met for a ride. But then you had to carry a spare helmet, and the girls thought that you were out "hunting" and therefore desperate. I had better luck in my VW bug after that..... Jeff--who's wife refuses to ride with him. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 20:15:50 -0800 From: "Jeff & Lisa Walker" Subject: Re: (klr650) Braking Physics (NKLR) >> Pressure is equal to force divided by the area. The >> pressure is different on the input side (brake lever) than the output side, >> as the areas of the pistons is different. > >I don't agree with this one. >If this is hydraulic pressure, the pressure of the fluid, then it >will be the same enough everywhere in the system, whether at the >master cyl or caliper. You're right, the fluid pressure is the same. I mean delta p, which means higher output force for larger area . >> Another poster stated that by adding a larger brake pad the area of the >> output side has increased. I don't believe this to be true, since the fluid >> pressure is acting on the caliper piston's area, not on the brake pad >> directly. > >Yeah, but differing pad area will affect the pressure of the pad >material on the disc. >Everyone seems to be assuming that pad/disc friction is linear with >pad pressure and temp, which in real life rarely, if ever, is. >But everyone has to assume this or their calculations get _way_ too >complicated. Pressure has nothing to do with calculating the frictional force between pad and disk. The only variables in the equation are the normal FORCE between the pad and the disk and the coeffecient of kinetic friction, which is mearly a scaler that is determined by the type of materials that are sliding past each other. Thats all. >> So you see, all >> of the extra work done by friction can either be converted to kinetic energy >> and actually stop the brake faster, or be converted to waste heat, which is >> a bad thing and causes the brakes to fade. > >This I don't get. >Braking converts your bike's motion into heat and to chewing out the >pads and rotor, and sometimes making neat whizzing sounds. >The vast majority of the energy goes into making heat, judging by >how long pads and rotors last. >To brake, you make heat and slowly tear up a couple of sliding >surfaces. There's not much more to it than that. >Besides, heat is just kinetic energy on a molecular level. > OK, by kinetic energy, I am refering to 1/2 X Mass X Velocity squared, or in the case of a rotating disk, KE = 1/2 Inertia X Omega squared. That is, one half of its inertia times its rotational velocity squared. This is the kinetic energy of an object in motion, and represents energy. Other energy is potential energy, like chemical energy, or the potential to roll down a hill, or heat. The Law of Conservation of Energy states that the total energy of a system is the sum of its kinetic energy and its potential energy. In the case of the brake, the brake is performing work on the brake disk, work and energy are one and the same. The total energy that is supplied to the disk by the brake pads is determined by its change in kinetic energy, plus its total potential energy. In the case of the brake, the potential energy is in the form of heat. Since this heat energy isn't useful for performing work, that's why I refered to it as waste heat. I could tell you exactly how effecient the brake was, i.e how much work was transformed to a change in kinetic energy, if I could determine the initial rotational velocity of the disk, the its rotational inertia, and the initial and final temperatures of the brake. (Assuming that the final velocity is zero). Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 20:57:08 -0800 From: "Vik Banerjee" Subject: Re: (klr650) bad dealers - -----Original Message----- From: Ztib@aol.com To: alarsen@rapidnet.net ; marbach@nucleus.com ; ddroger@travel-net.com ; klr650@lists.xmission.com Date: Thursday, March 18, 1999 5:55 PM Subject: (klr650) bad dealers >Face it, it won't get better until the consumer hurts the dealers pocket book. I agree with you totally, but in Calgary there are maybe 6 dealers all told and all of them (except HD who I have never dealt with) are terrible. What is worse they seem to be selling bikes by the truckload....I literally watch the bikes roll out on a spring or summer Saturday. I have complained and no result. I once needed a oil filler cap for my GSX-R. I called Blackfoot (same as my bad experience with low gas) and asked if they had one...no it was a special order item and they wouldn't order it till I came by and prepaid it or gave them a credit card. In a fit of rage I told them to F**K **F and called a smaller dealer that specialized in Suzuki....same answer...so I dropped by and prepaid or I'd be short one filler cap! Cheers, Vik ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 22:28:47 -0700 From: "Skip Faulkner" Subject: Re: (klr650) KLR Break In >Ok Skip, this is all well and good if we're chattin' bout an airplane engine >or other multi-piston motor(?)...but are you telling me I should have been >putting my A13 through all points of the tach accept for the Big Red Line? > >I'm just now pushing 500m and would hate to hear my conventional ideas of, >"break in", are all bunk. --- aside from the fact that its been tougher than >hell to stay under 4k. > >-rik > > Rik, I`m sorry, I`m talking about after the first 500 miles that Kawasaki recommends staying under 4000 rpm. And yes, singles included. During the first 500 miles, it is important to vary the rpm as much as is practical. I`ve broken in 8 bikes this way and have never had any problems. I`ve never kept one long enough to get over 40,000 miles on it, but up to that point I`ve never had an oil consumption problem or any other major problems. If you`re uncomfortable with this, I understand. But please don`t baby it. It`s important that you break it in like you`re going to ride it. I doubt that you`ll stay below 4000 rpm ALL the time, so you may not take it to red-line, but at least break 5000 after you get the first 500 on it. Skip ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 21:41:26 -0800 From: "Arne Larsen" Subject: Re: (klr650) Magnet in Oil >-----Original Message----- >From: Jeffrey Doyle >To: Arne Larsen >Cc: klr650@lists.xmission.com >Date: Thursday, March 18, 1999 11:08 AM >Subject: Re: (klr650) Magnet in Oil > > >>A magnetized oil drain plug may be a better way to go. If >>anybody knows of any sold for the KLR it is worth mentioning. Ya, I do... Me! Ordered one from Fred this evening. I thought it would pack nicely with the Stainless Steel Oil Filter; The Base and Supplement Service Manuals; the "purple", dimpled Pro-Grip gel grips; the White Brothers Skid Plate; the (spare) MSR folding shift lever; the K&N Air Filter; and the K&N re-charger kit. Arne (ch-ching...) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 21:46:57 -0800 From: "Arne Larsen" Subject: Re: (klr650) [NKLR] trailer questions - -----Original Message----- From: Tim Bootle To: klr650 Date: Thursday, March 18, 1999 7:32 PM Subject: (klr650) [NKLR] trailer questions >BTW is it [NKLR] or (NKLR) for non klr related? Both. Arne - who is now KLR ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 00:46:27 -0500 From: "Stephen Rivett" Subject: Re: (klr650) NKLR - Good dealers, bad dealers I think there are a lot of people who don't want to be bothered when they are out shopping or drooling :) I spent 20 minutes in a completely empty Kawasaki dealer before being acknowledge and when I said I was just looking around I was left alone. I'm definately going back to that dealer. Stephen Rivett - -----Original Message----- From: Eric Jasniewicz To: KLR650 List Date: March 18, 1999 8:50 PM Subject: (klr650) NKLR - Good dealers, bad dealers I walked into one dealer, ready to buy a KLR. >After waiting around for a while, with no other customers in the building, I >decided maybe I should try a different shop. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 00:48:44 -0500 From: Ted & Beth Cheney Subject: (klr650) TIRES I HAVE AN 89 KLR650 WITH 26,000 MILES ON IT. I PLAN TO REPLACE THE TIRES THIS YEAR. FROM READING THE LIST, EVERYONE SEEMS TO FAVOR THE AVONS. ANYONE HAVE AN OPINION ON THE DUNLOPS? WE CAN GET THEM FOR A REASONABLE PRICE AS THEY ARE MADE HERE IN BUFFALO. I CURRENTLY HAVE METTZLER SAHARAS WHICH I LOVE, BUT THEY ARE BIG BUCKS TO REPLACE. I AM A NEW SUBSCRIBER AS OF TODAY- GREAT TO SEE THAT THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER NUTCASES OUT THERE WHO LOVE THEIR KLR'S. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 00:53:34 EST From: OlZorro@aol.com Subject: Re: (klr650) helmet lock One would think the warning in the manual would prevail. But then I never cease to be amazed by our tendancy to try to bend reality to fit our own desires. John Paul Gray Dana Point CA 94 ST1100 95 KLR650 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 09:07:36 -0800 From: "Darrel & Deanna" Subject: (klr650) NKLR: SJ Mobil One In agreeance with Skip, Motorcycle Consumer News (highly reputable and not biased based on advertising loyalties) wrote that the higher weight multi-grade SH/SJ oils (i.e. M1 15-50W) aren't required to comply with the lower phosphorous/moly levels and don't . It's the lower weight SH/SJ oils typically used in automobiles that are different and probably not good used in motorcycles with integrated transmissions. Also starters are somehow adversely affected by the oils lacking in the additives. My conclusion: continue to use the *automotive* Mobil 1 15-50W. Darrel A12 Skip wrote: A guy I was talking to at Baja Designs last week said that they do oil analysis like we do in aviation, once a year, to compare oil blends. He said that the SJ Mobil One, so far, has shown the same phosphorus and moly content as the old Mobil One did. He said they were doing another one in a couple of weeks and would fax me the results. That goes along with my Mobil rep telling me that the SJ Mobil One wasn`t reduced as much as some of the other synthetics. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 01:03:21 -0500 From: "Brian Schoonveld" Subject: (klr650) using helmet lock I've been wondering about this issue ....... would it be worth it for someone to cut the strap on my expensive Shoei full face helmet if I were to leave it for awhile? I assume it's possible to have a new strap put on, and therefore potentially worth it for a shit head to steal it. What's the experience of other listr's on this issue? I've asked a couple of guys I know who have ridden for years, and they both said they've never had any problems. It would be nice not to have to lug it around, but maybe worth it not to have to worry about it or be stranded with no noggin cover. Kind of on a similar issue ....... I've seen people put locks on their brake rotors. Why would you need to do this if you lock the steering? ....... Is the steering lock easy to break or something? thanks, Brian Schoonveld Indianapolis IN A13 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 01:13:13 -0500 From: Tim Bootle Subject: Re: (klr650) using helmet lock Brian Schoonveld wrote: > would it be worth it for someone to cut the strap on my ... helmet > I've seen people put locks on their brake rotors. ...... Is the steering > lock easy to break or something? > People steal all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons. People shoplift things that cost less than a dollar and yes, helment straps are cheap. If you lock your helment there is less of a chance that it will be gone when you get back to your bike than if you just put it on the mirror. The same goes for the disk lock. It is just one more deterent. I'm 6'3" and 230 pounds. Two people my size can pick your bike up and put it into a van or pickup. (I've done it with mine) No matter how well you lock it, someone can steal it. The key is to make it a little less easy to steal than the next bike. (Sorry next guy) Because I know how easy it is to pick the bike up I use a floresent orange disk lock. It stands out and says "I'm trouble, skip me." Most of the time I put my Dowco cover on the bike to keep the casual observer from even getting interested. The steering lock alone leaves the bike looking unlocked and available. -Tim ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 22:37:48 -0800 From: "ripkid" Subject: (klr650) Break In (NKLR) > But please don't baby it. It`s > important that you break it in like you`re going to ride it. I doubt that > you`ll stay below 4000 rpm ALL the time, so you may not take it > to red-line, > but at least break 5000 after you get the first 500 on it. > > > Skip - ------------- WHOOP WHOOP !! Noooooo Problem Brother !!!! Rik -----> never met a line I didn't cross... stupidity, curiosity, and sometimes just plain lucky. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 02:16:34 EST From: Cloudhid@aol.com Subject: Re: (klr650) using helmet lock On 3/18/99, schoonb@iei.net writes: snip >would it be worth it for someone to cut the strap on my expensive >Shoei full face helmet if I were to leave it for awhile? That depends on where you leave it. Some areas are obviously more prone to crime. I've lost two helmets in 25 years that way, including a Shoei on my klr 3 yrs ago. Anyone need a set of rings? >[steering lock] It might be hard to believe anyone would steal a klr, but it happens. Except for coverage under a homeowners or renters policy, I would guess that most of us don't carry theft insurance. Those that do might find it doesn't cover accessories or mods without a rider. I've used a disk lock on occasion, but don't like lugging it around. There are many ways to make your bike less attractive to a thief. For instance, park next to a more popular bike and maybe they'll steal it instead of our goofy looking klr. The sad part is that biker will be out real money. Not the mere pittance asked for the klr. Excuse me. I'm going to go check on my bikes now. BRB Redondo Gone ------------------------------ End of klr650-digest V2 #152 ****************************