New KLR650 owner in Houston TX. (problems aswell...)

[jase__]

Howdy all!​

Finally made it here. I have been looking at bikes for 2 years on Craigslist and dreaming but found one in my budget. I have had my 66cc gas bike for a year or so now, and it just made me want to get a motorcycle even more. (pictures at the bottom.)
I am new to street-legal motorcycles and just purchased a Gen 1 KLR 650. The bike has 16000 miles on it and PO kept a nice chart of all the upgrades and mods he did to it. He gave me all the original parts and also provided me with the manual and toolset.
He has done the Doohickey, KLX Jet, Subframe Bolts, rebuilt piston and cylinder, Mikuni TM42 Carb, Thermobob, and new radiator hoses. He also upgraded the rear spring and the front brakes. I saw this bike on Cycletrader for a decent bike jumped the gun and bought it. I am very happy with my purchase and I think that it is a sweet KLR with a lot of mods already done to it. Here is a picture.

Now onto the bad news. I trusted my friend who rides a Rebel 250 and a CBR600rr to come with me and test ride the bike. (I do not have my endorsement yet.) I figured he knew more about motorcycles me and would be able to provide some sound advice. Anyways, I let him convince me to let ride the bike all the way back to our city, (I know this was a very dumb mistake) and it overheated and died on the way back. The bike died about 130 mi into the trip. (still won't turn on) He noticed that the temperature gauge was in the red, but did not think that it was a problem because his bike that he rides feels way hotter. When I checked the oil gauge it was very low, also the coolent was very low. When I checked the bike before the purchase, coolent was full, and oil was full. I am sure that it was running rich and buring oil. I went against my better judgement when I let him ride it and its my fault. Sucks to learn things the hard way.

Here is a picture of the rock that I used to get the bike in the bed of my truck.

I am determined to fix this bike. The bike turns over. Has spark, fuel, and air. But the bike is making low compression, even with the KACR disabled.



I have replaced the oil, spark plug, and coolant. I just attached an air compressor to the engine and it is leaking out of the tailpipe when at the top dead center. I think the signs are pointing to a valve being warped or broken. I have not had the time or the space in my apt. to look at the piston yet, but I will soon. I am also considering the 685 kits because if I have to tear down the entire engine, I might as well build it back better. I know that PO already rebuilt the engine. I looking forward to adventure riding this bike. KLR is a good bike for me because it is very capable, and I will get to experience all the aspects of motorcycling. I want to go on some do some dual sport adventures in Texas once I fix this thing. I am nervous to take apart the engine but I am pretty handy and have an automotive tool set, the tools the bike came with, and the manual. I know this bike is supposed to be bulletproof, but everything has its limit.

Now for the questions.
Good machine shop recommendations in Houston?
How much does it usually cost for a mechanic to do a leak-down test?/Is it worth it for the bike to be diagnosed by a proper mechanic?
705 kit vs 685 kit?
Engine teardown tips?

Here is the 66cc gas bike I put together.

If anyone else rides these in the houston area we should get together and maybe host a race/show off day.


TLDR
New KLR650A 2000. Overheated. Tips on rebuilding it. GasBike

-Jase

 

[SpiritAtBay]

Ah Jase, sorry for your woes.

Welcome to TWT. This place has lots of knowledgeable folks, you’ll soon get more free advice than you’ll know what to do with.

BTW, I believe I’d give that “friend” of yours a good kick in the pants!

Persevere, adventure riding awaits you.

Another btw, I think maybe your screen name should be “CloudHead” or HeadlessKLRDude.

 

[Tourmeister]

Another btw, I think maybe your screen name should be “CloudHead” or HeadlessKLRDude.

Ichabod Crane

Good luck with the bike. You will learn a lot going through the process of fixing it. You'll also have a lot of fun adventures with it. I put about 15K miles on an 02 KLR and had a blast with it. When you do get it running, the fun "local" DS riding is mostly up here around me in the Sam Houston NF and Davy Crockett NF.

 

[jase__]

Ah Jase, sorry for your woes.

Welcome to TWT. This place has lots of knowledgeable folks, you’ll soon get more free advice than you’ll know what to do with.

BTW, I believe I’d give that “friend” of yours a good kick in the pants!

Persevere, adventure riding awaits you.

Another btw, I think maybe your screen name should be “CloudHead” or HeadlessKLRDude

Ahahaha I appreciate the suggestion. I didn't want my face on the forum yet. I might keep it up as a bit now lol.
It hurts the most knowing that if I had just put it in the truck it would have been fine. I will definitely persevere, I caught the bug a while ago now. Now that the hurdle of getting the bike is accomplished, I just have to fix it.

 

[jase__]

Ichabod Crane

Good luck with the bike. You will learn a lot going through the process of fixing it. You'll also have a lot of fun adventures with it. I put about 15K miles on an 02 KLR and had a blast with it. When you do get it running, the fun "local" DS riding is mostly up here around me in the Sam Houston NF and Davy Crockett NF.

I like the Sam Houston national forest, I have camped there many times. I am excited to visit. Have you rode the dunes/sand in Galveston or somewhere further down south?

 

[Tourmeister]

I like the Sam Houston national forest, I have camped there many times. I am excited to visit. Have you rode the dunes/sand in Galveston or somewhere further down south?

I try to avoid riding into or through Houston at all costs But I have done it. I've not ridden any of the dunes/sand in Galveston. We have LOTS of sand up here in the woods Although, it seems the people that maintain the roads are doing their best to get rid of all the fun sand roads as fast as they can by constantly dumping more and more gravel on them. Many of my favorite sand roads have been "improved"...

 

[mr72]

That story has one too many things in common with my first street bike purchase story from 2016. For some encouragement, I still have that bike, it runs and works great as long as I ride it at least once or twice a year, and I learned a ton in the process. But it certainly didn't all go according to plan.

I can't help you at all with the KLR-specific stuff. Most likely there was stuff wrong with it before you bought it, and having not fully evaluated its condition before riding it, you just accelerated its failure. Biggest lesson here should be, don't ignore that temperature gauge, ever. It was trying to save the bike from catastrophic damage. Forget about whether your friend's air-cooled motorcycle "feels way hotter". Maybe the biggest lesson is to get better friends. Good news, you've come to the right place for that

Sure it's going to be tempting to try to upgrade that KLR when getting it fixed but IMHO that's adding another unwise choice onto a bad situation. In my business, we call that "getting out over your skis". Learn first how to keep a stock, "bulletproof" motorcycle working before trying to make complicated mods.

My bet is the water pump or whatever cooling system mods the PO did failed, you overheated it and blew out most of the coolant through the overflow, and then the engine grenaded as you were unaware it was failing. "The PO rebuilt the engine" would worry me more than anything, since it has now experienced a bad failure, and why would a KLR with only 16K need a rebuilt engine? For example, my well cared for air-cooled Scrambler has 51K and shows no signs of needing any serious work...

The best thing you could do right now is chalk this up to a learning experience, sell the bike and take the loss, buy another one without the problems. That will be much quicker and cheaper than fixing the one you have. If you are insistent on keeping this one, the best solution is to pull the engine and do a complete overhaul. No other good way to positively identify and repair everything that might be broken. Or you could probably get a used/working KLR engine from a wrecked bike and swap it in, maybe temporarily while you rebuild the original. The thing is, anyone who is a good enough home mechanic to do this work wouldn't have gotten into this situation in the first place, and if you have to hire it done, it'll cost more than just buying a replacement motorcycle.

There's a bunch of KLR fans on this forum and Houston is TX's biggest city so you'll likely find plenty of locals that can help you. Make friends with some local motorcyclists who are on this forum and have gray hair and wrinkles and were working on motorcycles when the KLR650 was new. Beware shops who employ only techs who were not born until after fuel injection was introduced on motorcycles.

 

[Lowrider Bud]

Here's my 2 cents - I have a '97 KLR with close to 100K miles, never been rebuilt for a failure, but I did replace the piston to a stock bore performance piston at about 50K mile because I thought I was using too much oil. Afterwards I figured out that KLRs use more oil when operated above 5000 RPMs.
Secret, cruise at 4500 and the oil seems to stay in the engine longer. The engine is pretty easy to work on in the frame and there must be a 100 YouTube videos for How-To.
That said, you can't replace an experienced head looking over your shoulder. Flee Bay has thousand of useable parts and I would not make any decisions about selling and replacing the bike till you know what your dealing with. Good Luck with your project.

Later, Bud...

BTW - be sure to tie a string on the cam chain so you can retrieve it or keep it from falling down in the crankcase when you take things apart. Also, I'm not a fan of ThermoBobs. I trust the engineer's design more than some after marketer's products.

 

[ntklr650]

Welcome to the forum, sorry it's not under better circumstances. As to the bike. I would definitely make it a learning tool. You can't make it worse so spending some time would be well worth it.
I have about 30k miles plus between two Gen 1 KLR'ERs and have never done a Thermobob kit. I can't say they are bad but I have never seen the need. I would also be suspicious of anyone rebuilding a KLR motor after only 15k. Something definitely went wrong or he was pulling your leg.

I would first check your shims and see where your valve clearances are. Then do an engine leak down check. You used to be able to rent the tool from AutoZone but is may be good to buy one from HF.
The procedure is not hard especially with one cylinder.

I can second @Lowrider Bud on the oil burning above 5000rpm. With stock sprocket, your running 5500 rpm at 75mph so depending on how fast y'all were going on the way home, that could have helped further the failure along. I run a 16 tooth front and it keeps me around 4500 rpm at 70mph for my commute.

Best of luck to you and stick with it. Get a Clymers manual and watch lots of videos. Keep us posted on how it goes.

I have learned a lot from this guy. He really does a great job explaining the process.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRlQQGpo_IRScXfK2DxarCtFZRDHfNnYu&si=NZuiQ7OrrJzcZAr_

 

[mr72]

Contrary to the opinions of those more experienced and wiser than me, I still contend a complete overhaul is warranted, at least because who knows what other time bombs are planted from the PO's "rebuild". I think you have ample evidence to mistrust it. With such a severe overheating, it's possible that even if it was properly rebuilt before, there still could be bottom end damage that you would want to check before spending 80% of the time and money on top end only and then having to do it all over again because you didn't bother to check the main bearing, oil pump, rod bearings, etc. If this is too much, then the safest route is just to swap in a running engine, or trade in the whole bike. Low-mileage KLR engines can be had on eBay for $1-1.5K; I spent nearly that much on the top end rebuild of my GS500. You can probably sell the KLR as-is now, put $1500 with whatever you get out of it, and get another one without these problems. The reality is, you are not going to get out of this mess for significantly less than $1500 unless you put an enormous amount of your own labor into it, which is great if you want a new hobby as a motorcycle mechanic. Not so great if you want to just ride.

 

[ntklr650]

I can definitely agree with @mr72 that it's gonna cost you some serious time and money to have machine you can trust and ride long distances. You might get lucky but don't count on it when heat is involved. It definitely still worth your time to check it out and possibly spend some diagnostic dollars. I just would not jump all in with so many unknowns.

I post this not as a suggestion but a success story more then anything. This is a coworkers bike and he had a similar story when he bought it. The case was cracked along with a few other items the PO didn't mention. He ordered case halves off eBay and rebuilt it in is living room with the eagle mike 685 kit. He just completed the continental divide trail this summer. All that's to say is it's a super easy bike to work on and it is a blast to ride. Don't be scared of learning on it just weigh the cost and some educations cost more then others.

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[mr72]

I can definitely agree with @mr72 that it's gonna cost you some serious time and money to have machine you can trust and ride long distances.

It sucks that this is the initiation into motorcycling for a new moto owner and rider. I think it is often the problem that older and more experienced motorbike owners have the luxury of experience that enables them to make choices and recommendations that are not reasonable for new riders. Among motorcycles, a KLR650 might be easy to work on and super reliable (I don't know, but I assume...), but the context is completely lost on new riders or owners. Consider if you would recommend rebuilding an engine to someone who probably pays to have their oil changed in their 4-wheeler and who drives straight to the dealer when the check engine light comes on... that's like 99% of people!

The temptation for oldsters like me is to recommend you get too-big of a motorcycle to start. This is not great, not because it's too heavy or too powerful for you to handle, but because the only way to get one in your budget is to get a very old one with a jillion potential issues. For example, $2K will get you a real beater of a midsize road bike but it will buy a mint condition 150cc scooter. One of them will be a project you have to constantly work on and the other will be a reliable motorbike you can ride every day until you gain enough experience to properly evaluate your first non-scooter motorbike. But since 20yr veterans of motorcycling would probably not consider a 150cc scooter for themselves, they won't often recommend it to someone just starting out. I mean, I bought a high-mileage, 17 year old beater-type motorcycle just a couple of months ago, and it's been fine for me, but I am fully confident of my ability to evaluate it, assess the cost of repairs, and do any repairs myself. That's why us old guys make bad recommendations. What works for me won't work for new riders.

FYI, I also just recently bought a mint condition 150cc scooter, too.

To the OP: recently there was a Ninja 250 for a ridiculous low price here on TWT for sale, and that's a capable road bike you can learn on and probably be far more reliable than a KLR650 just because it cost a lot less when it was new so the same budget gets a much better Ninja 250 than a KLR. If you're more the dual-sport type then there is also a Yamaha 250 on here for sale for a wicked great price that I'd jump on in a minute. For the same money you can get a project beater KLR650 or a ready to ride the world 250 that's a decade newer.

 

[julimike54]

& enjoy! Hope you get it back in working order....

 

[jase__]

Here's my 2 cents - I have a '97 KLR with close to 100K miles, never been rebuilt for a failure, but I did replace the piston to a stock bore performance piston at about 50K mile because I thought I was using too much oil. Afterwards I figured out that KLRs use more oil when operated above 5000 RPMs.
Secret, cruise at 4500 and the oil seems to stay in the engine longer. The engine is pretty easy to work on in the frame and there must be a 100 YouTube videos for How-To.
That said, you can't replace an experienced head looking over your shoulder. Flee Bay has thousand of useable parts and I would not make any decisions about selling and replacing the bike till you know what your dealing with. Good Luck with your project.

Later, Bud...

BTW - be sure to tie a string on the cam chain so you can retrieve it or keep it from falling down in the crankcase when you take things apart. Also, I'm not a fan of ThermoBobs. I trust the engineer's design more than some after marketer's products.

I am definitely going to replace the sprocket for a larger 16 tooth sprocket to help keep the rpms down. Thank you for the string tip, I will utilize it soon. Would you recommend leaving the engine in the frame or take it completely out?

 

[jase__]

Welcome to the forum, sorry it's not under better circumstances. As to the bike. I would definitely make it a learning tool. You can't make it worse so spending some time would be well worth it.
I have about 30k miles plus between two Gen 1 KLR'ERs and have never done a Thermobob kit. I can't say they are bad but I have never seen the need. I would also be suspicious of anyone rebuilding a KLR motor after only 15k. Something definitely went wrong or he was pulling your leg.

I would first check your shims and see where your valve clearances are. Then do an engine leak down check. You used to be able to rent the tool from AutoZone but is may be good to buy one from HF.
The procedure is not hard especially with one cylinder.

I can second @Lowrider Bud on the oil burning above 5000rpm. With stock sprocket, your running 5500 rpm at 75mph so depending on how fast y'all were going on the way home, that could have helped further the failure along. I run a 16 tooth front and it keeps me around 4500 rpm at 70mph for my commute.

Best of luck to you and stick with it. Get a Clymers manual and watch lots of videos. Keep us posted on how it goes.

I have learned a lot from this guy. He really does a great job explaining the process.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRlQQGpo_IRScXfK2DxarCtFZRDHfNnYu&si=NZuiQ7OrrJzcZAr_

My Clymers manual was become my nightly reading. I have done a jerry-rigged leakdown test and it is leaking out of the tailpipe. A valve might be warped or destroyed.

 

[jase__]

Contrary to the opinions of those more experienced and wiser than me, I still contend a complete overhaul is warranted, at least because who knows what other time bombs are planted from the PO's "rebuild". I think you have ample evidence to mistrust it. With such a severe overheating, it's possible that even if it was properly rebuilt before, there still could be bottom end damage that you would want to check before spending 80% of the time and money on top end only and then having to do it all over again because you didn't bother to check the main bearing, oil pump, rod bearings, etc. If this is too much, then the safest route is just to swap in a running engine, or trade in the whole bike. Low-mileage KLR engines can be had on eBay for $1-1.5K; I spent nearly that much on the top end rebuild of my GS500. You can probably sell the KLR as-is now, put $1500 with whatever you get out of it, and get another one without these problems. The reality is, you are not going to get out of this mess for significantly less than $1500 unless you put an enormous amount of your own labor into it, which is great if you want a new hobby as a motorcycle mechanic. Not so great if you want to just ride.

I think I would prefer to fix my bike. (I will probably eat these words.) I think that I could learn a lot about my bike, and if I rebuild the engine I will be more confident to go on longer treks because I will understand how the internals work. Thank you for the caution about the bottom end, I was not even thinking about that yet.

 

[ntklr650]

My Clymers manual was become my nightly reading. I have done a jerry-rigged leakdown test and it is leaking out of the tailpipe. A valve might be warped or destroyed.

If your valve cover is off and you have some shims. Measure the exhaust side and see where it falls. If you have a destroyed valve, you will be way out on your valve measurement.

Also, with your valve cover off, do your cam sprocket look aligned? Both arrows point forward of the bike parallel to the the base

 

[jase__]

If your valve cover is off and you have some shims. Measure the exhaust side and see where it falls. If you have a destroyed valve, you will be way out on your valve measurement.

Also, with your valve cover off, do your cam sprocket look aligned? Both arrows point forward of the bike parallel to the the base

View attachment 365884

I will pick up some shims today at AutoZone after my lecture. I will update with the cam sprocket alignment later today as well. Thank you for the pointers.

 

[Tourmeister]

Take pics of the process and share them

 

[Lowrider Bud]

I'm not aware Auto Zone has shims for a KLR. That aside, find out if you have a burnt valve before you invest in parts to fix it. You can work on the engine in the frame and if you do have a burnt valve the head must come off and you will need a special valve spring compressor to remove the valves. KLR shims can be purchased but you won't know what size to order until you are putting the thing back together and use the SHIM CALCULATOR to determine the correct size.

Later. Bud...

 

[ntklr650]

Feeler gauges is what you need to get. Any decent tool store should have those.

 

[Hellwig]

Hey Jase, welcome to the forum and motorcycling in general, it sounds like you have the right attitude about your task at hand. There are plenty of knowledgeable folks here happy to help. Good luck with the repairs.

 

[Tourmeister]

I'm not aware Auto Zone has shims for a KLR.

I could swear I saw someone working on a KLR mention that Harley has shims in the right size

 

[Lowrider Bud]

H-D's have hydraulic lifters... Let's not make this a thread about valve shims. The OP still needs to get the head off to determine the extent of his problems.

Later, Bud...

 

[jase__]

If your valve cover is off and you have some shims. Measure the exhaust side and see where it falls. If you have a destroyed valve, you will be way out on your valve measurement.

Also, with your valve cover off, do your cam sprocket look aligned? Both arrows point forward of the bike parallel to the the base

View attachment 365884

Take pics of the process and share them

Its been a while since I posted but I want to keep y'all updated. I am in the process of tearing down the engine to look at the cylinder and valves and gaskets for damage. Here are some pictures of my mechanical journey this last Sunday.

My timing was lined up correctly at TDC.

Before I took off the cams.

My work area behind my apt. The neighbors have a lot of trash/junk. I cleaned it up a bit so I would have a better working area. I attached straps to the the stairs so I would not have to worry about the bike falling over. Went and bought a center stand but mainly used it as a chair. I am going to have to return it to harbor freight.

My work bench.


Had to stop and store the project yesterday because I had to go to work. Stopped after taking out the cams, carb, and exhaust. Planning to remove the head.

Haven't seen any damage so far. All the valve clearances were in spec, but were all over the place. I will update the post with the numbers when I get home.