i just brought a 2011 klr from my mate who has a kawasaki dealership i asked him about the doohickey he said what are you on about i said videos on you tube show this problem never heard of it you watch to many videos he said i have seen klr with 70 thousand km on them rode hard no problems so who do i beleve he is a mecanic
That's what they ALL say. Mine said the same. I also replaced my doohickey and put in the torsion spring. When I got my bike at 7000 miles the spring had no more tension to pull the lever any more. Miracle it hadn't unhooked itself and taken a trip through the transmission
@@danmanthe9335 I guess I have to believe if it were as serious as eagle mike makes it sound..wouldn't we be hearing about thousands of these KLR's that have catastrophic failures? I'm not knocking on Mike, but let's remember he is making money off every unit he produces. So there's that.
@@markcrum5895 I agree with you. Speaking from personal experience, my doohickey lost the ability to take slack out of the system before 10,000 miles and the spring had no tension at all leaving it prone to making its' way into the transmission or somewhere else. I thought it would be prudent to be proactive regarding this issue and I have been pleased with my experience. The EM products fit better than OEM, the torsion spring will continue to provide tension for many more thousands of miles based on reports of others and my own judgment of the design. If you want to leave your bike stock then that's your choice. You certainly don't need my permission
I decided to upgrade the doohickey on my 06 KLR at about 11,000 miles a few years ago and opted for the torsion spring setup. When I opened up the cases, I found that I was not doing an upgrade but a repair. The old spring had long since failed, so long ago in fact that the broken end of the spring had worn a groove in the case. Apparently the broken off piece had come out with an oil change somewhere along the way, boy was I ever lucky!!
I just knocked out the Eagle Mike Doohickey kit with torsion spring. I bought the entire kit with the hub puller. I just wanted to say thanks for a great video! It made the job way less painful and explained alot of little things
This is the best tutorial I've seen, I like the attention to cleanliness on reassembly that any good mechanic should do. The only choice is the torsion spring, I don't understand why Eagle Mike bother with the hook springs, they are bad cheap design in a engine, and won't break but could fall off the hook post, letting the chain go again.
What I don't understand is Kawasaki made this model for decades and never addressed this supposed issue? If it's such a liability then where does the KLR's legendary reliability come from if a weak spring/design causes potentially catastrophic engine failure? Perhaps it's from people that have absolutely tortured their rides on world traveling excursions which me as a Gen2 owner will never come close to emulating. If I was planning on crossing the Himalayas or Sahara Desert then I would probably 'doo' the hickey and the thermal bob mods. Just my 2 cents.
Kawasaki would only recall if warranty figures showed there was a problem. Not many of these break during warranty, especially with the new lever that was introduced with the Gen II. Many KLRs probably go their entire life without having this touched. (I have an EM piece on my 08. When I changed it at about 20000 km the lever was good but the spring was broken)
Interesting, but holy cow! I got about half-way through the video before deciding this is something I would never want to do myself. If doing this replacement is so important, what I don't get is why aren't more shops offering this service (e.g. a "KLR Upgrade Special - the Doohickey and the Thermobob")? I would think they could make some money from doing it. When I had a KLR, I called around to several shops to get their thoughts about the doohickey. In every case, they said it wasn't necessary. So I didn't do it. If I get a 2022 I guess I'll have to decide again about doing it at some point, but I won't be buying special tools for a one-time job and trying to tackle it myself.
I got the same reply from a mechanic. I have a 2001 and it is as quiet as when new and mine is still stock. But then I read the coments from people that open up the covers and find broken spring or doohickey. My real question is if that was a known issue, why didn't Kawasaki fix it in over 30 years?
Exactly.. it's baffling that Kawasaki wouldn't have just used a torsion spring for the Gen3. I was just thinking to myself "Well, at least i can change the sprocket while I'm dealing with this bull."
My klr, two thousand twenty two has issues after driving it for a while. It won't start. I have to wait and then it starts. It'll turn over, but it won't start. Wait a few minutes, wait a few minutes, then it starts. This is after driving it with no problems.Whatsoever.
I have owned three klr650s. The first one i put over 100k miles. Never replaced the doo hickey on any of them. I lugged and chugged all over the US. Stop worring and start riding. Brap!
Are all the gaskets, etc. necessary when doing this upgrade on a brand new bike? Would it be wise to wait for the warranty period to be over before doing any such internal work like some are deciding to do? Very good video, thank you!
If your bike is brand new you probably won't need all new gaskets. If you're worried about the warranty, it would be best to wait until that is up to do this mod.
Wow, all because of a Kawasaki design flaw. I was seriously considering one of these bikes actually went and looked at them today for the third time. I’m very glad I came across this and it has easily helped me remove them from my list. No thanks...
Hi i have a mental dilemma about this maybe some one can answer this if i understand wright if he doohickey bolt is tightened the springs don't do anything only when is adjusted is making tension on the spring wright so question how or way the factory spring break? from vibration from the engine or is just a defective part that breaks whit the tension once adjusted and if so i guess just by checking the bolt is possible to find out is the spring still have tension ?
Factory spring can break easily. In addition the (doohickey) is also fragile. Also the spring is too long and will quickly run out of adjustment. Then it will fall off and likely break in the case there.
I have been looking with interest in getting into a KLR lately. After watching this video I will have to think twice. Your video is excellent, all steps in the process fully explained. I however lack the space to work (condo apartment) and some of the tools. I seriously doubt a Kawasaki dealership mechanic will do as thorough a job as you have explained, at whatever the cost. And lastly, when asked if the doohickey has been installed I will have to doubt the response of any seller. It is a necessary modification, one that if ignored can leave you stranded in the middle of the woods if lucky. ...still thinking about it.... 🤔😕 .... Nah! I better keep my Beemer.
Some people have to do this at different intervals. While some may need it at 7k others have made it to 11k without any issues. With that said, it wouldn't be a bad idea to at least take off the covers just to check it.
Am I the only one thinking straight here? You spend top dollar for a brand new n Bike and then you have to do what this on your brand new bike? People is there anybody out there thinking straight?
You should never use a click type torques wrench on aluminum. Took me cracking a aluminum head with a guide pin torqued to 18#/ft to learn that lesson.
Attention anyone that doesn't think this is necessary. Or they think it's some kind of scam? Or they're just cheap. Why not take a few minutes and pull the side of the case off and check out your system? You can inspect absolutely free of charge. If you like what you see? Put the bike back together and carry on.
You know,.....................you shouldnt have to do any of this. The manufacturers shoul have to suck it up and do it at their cost, or better yet, just make a product so there isn’t any problems like this to begin with. Use to if you bought a reputable brand like Honda, Suzuki or Kwai, you just rode em and kept the fluids and filters changed and they lasted for years
When did he retighten the bolt that holds in the adjusting arm/doohickey? He loosens it once he puts the torsion spring on the doohickey, and says he would “retighten later” but I don’t see when he does? Is it torqued or just hand tight? Any help greatly appreciated.
I was thinking of buying a new Fuel Injected KLR650, but won't buy a product that a manufacturer lets go to market with catastrophic potential failure.
On my 2002 with 24k miles, the washer between the rotor and the ring gear was blue from heat. Any idea what would cause that? I'm chasing a noise, and after pulling both side covers the discolored washer is the only odd thing I've found. No debris, clean oil, clean filter, clean wire basket...
2 questions why can't you use the extension spring and torsion spring ? also once the doohicky bolt is tightened the springs don't do anything except allow you to retighten it later with the covers on is that correct ? I enjoy your videos most informative thanks
Good point on doubling up on the springs, but kind of redundant, not sure if it would cause any problems thought. As for the second question. I'm not entirely certain why the tension bolt has to be tightened, isn't the point to allow tension by way of spring pressure? It's no wonder the springs break on OEM parts, the bolt is too tight to allow free play of the tension spring.
The torsion spring is held captive if it breaks and wont fall into the engine the way the regualr doohickey spring can. That torsion spring offers alot of pull. I would guess from my experience with it, way more pull than the normal spring.
Every KLR has a doohickey - it's the counterbalance chain adjuster. If you bought it new then is has the standard doohickey. If you bought it used then ask the previous owner if it was upgraded.
We really like the contact cleaners from PJ1 and Maxima. You can check them both out here: www.rockymountainatvmc.com/parts/pj1-professional-contact-cleaner-p www.rockymountainatvmc.com/parts/maxima-contact-cleaner-p
A lot more involved than I had hoped. Makes me want to avoid the KLR like the plague. If buying used, every owner will claim the Doo Hickey has been done.
dragonrider385 If you don’t know how to change the oil filter (which they did show in the kit at the start), then you should not be working on the doohickey.
i do know how. i was just asking . yes they showed it but did not say that they put it in. I put 26000 miles on my KLR and never needed to change the doohicky. Maybe i was just one of the lucky ones. It was a 2011. Have a great day and a Merry Christmas.
yes i did. At 20000 it was fine. The crank pin was bad and had to replace that. And yes maybe i should have done it then but i was at the Tail of The Dragon riding. And didnt want to stay and wait on parts. Wheelers had a pin that fit it.
dragonrider385 Seems to be hit or miss. I am going to run mine to 5,000 miles or so and make sure I like the KLR enough to start putting a lot of mods on it. I did do the Thermobob as it just ran way too cold.
The first link in the description of this video will take you to a page with all the parts and tools used in this video. You can also click this link: www.rockymountainatvmc.com/Sales/2949/KLR650-Doohickey-Install
Question: the side cover bolts are listed to be torqued to 14 ft. lbs. in the manual (= 164 in. lbs.) for my gen1. This guy says 78 in. lbs. on this gen2. Are they that different? Or is my manual wrong?
in case someone sees this is 71 in-lb for the gen 1 cause they are the 6mm ones... what you are saying (14 ft-lb) is for 8mm. You have to measure the cylinder of the bolt.
Hi, After tightening the bolt to 144 Ft Lb, is the very tip of the crankshaft supposed to be touching flush to the flywheel? Or another way to ask, is the flywheel supposed to be right up against the top/flat part of the crankshaft? Thanks for the great video!
The balancer chain should still be inspected according to the manual, but this replacement doohickey and torsion spring shouldn't ever need to be replaced.
using the puller is impossible to remove the rotor, i did try with the standard 22cm but is impossible, have you another idea or another technic to remove the rotor?
The 2022 model has an upgraded doohickey but the spring remains unchanged and is still a weak point. We have a first impressions video where we go over this and other features on the 2022 KLR650. You can check it out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vFv_GmIyNdE.html
Great video. Bought all the tools and parts from Rocky Mountain. Took my time following the video step by step. Job was straight forward. I hope it’s my imagination but it feels like my bike has a little more vibration after this job. Anyone out there have the same issue? Any help would be appreciated.
Thx for the video on this. I am confused on the status of doohickey adjusting bolt though. You looosened it after hooking the spring to it and said you would tighten it back down after installing the inner case? Shouldn't it be left loose so the doohiicky can still rotate and the spring keep proper tension on it?
I think that bolt might have a shoulder / stop on it that keeps it from locking down the tension cam thing, so it just ends up being a guide, not a fastener. Not 100% sure though.
@@daviddunn7817 I asked the same questionn on EagleMikes install video and he replied as follows: "The bolt should be tightened to 70 inch lbs. Emphasis on inch, a few have used ft lbs, which always results in a broken bolt. The bolt should be loosened to allow the system to adjust about every 7500 miles, while the engine is off, then torque it up before starting. It must be tightened while the engine is running." There is a rubber plug on the engine cover that can be removed to access this bolt.
Well, I did the Doohickey. Eagle Mike does a really great job with the parts . Everything is like you see it in the video, I didn't do it as best as I had hoped, but I put oil in it, and it fired right up. One thing I don't understand is the explanation of the main bolt you put through the rotor assembly. In this video you make it clear to clean the shaft and bolt to make a dry metal to metal contact, but I was fighting rabid squirrels while I was on fire and most likely had oil on those points. It still fired right up . Getting oil on those 2 points is inevitable but she started so hey . Follow the video and pause after each step . If you are watching this , you can do it. Just DO NOT over torque the bolts . It's soft aluminum. Follow all torque specs 👍🏁🏁
The new doohickey kits only come with the torsion spring. As per Eagle Mike, "you won't get, and don't need the extension springs. The torsion spring is far superior.". Hope that helps!
