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No doubt Mike is an expert on this topic. I am new to the KLR platform. Its hard for me to understand why Kawasaki engineers have designed a system at such risk. Almost hard to believe.
@@BigRockMoto as someone who works in engineering, this is absolute truth. If engineers were in charge nothing would break, but everything would cost 5x as much.
@@dw5523 true. That’s when they refer to it being over-engineered, or exceeding the cost benefit. They would rather eat the cost of a few warranty claims than retool the entire process.
@@michiganmoto7687 But how much is there to retool in this case? It seems these are mostly a matter of changing the spring, the machining of the doohickey and extending the shaft. Hardly a prohibitive cost for a company such as Kawasaki and a rather trivial adjustment for a decades old problem. Add $50 to the price of the bike, that should more than cover the cost of adjusting 3(!) parts out of hundreds. This is not a good look for Kawasaki. They're being stingy at the wrong end and I will think twice of buying a Kawasaki.
@@sv650nyc7 exactly. There must be more to it than cost benefit. Warranty claims is one thing. Having such a well know flaw, damages their reputation. We’re not talking about crankshaft design here, it’s a spring for a tensioner. About as minor as it gets. I don’t buy the average bike is low mileage opinion personally. Yes a lot of them, but there’s a lot with high miles. Accounts don’t run the company. They must have some real data and senior engineers who have valid points.
Thanks Mike! Great video. I had an ‘03 with a utility/off road sidecar. It took me to Batopilas Mexico and to a Northern Michigan AMA ice racing championship. Temperatures were in the teens for our week long trip where we also circumnavigated Lake Michigan. I abused this bike terribly and it never failed me. The Mexico trip was run near redline for more than half the trip!
Interesting, and thanks for putting this up. I have to say that for anyone who doesn't own a KLR but is thinking about getting one, this video doesn't make a compelling case for going out and buying one. Why would someone want to pay $7,000 to 8,000 plus for a new bike (those $ might be peanuts to some, not to me) and then have to break into the engine to replace parts? I watched another video on how you go about replacing the balancer and spring and it's not that easy, not for the casual home mechanic anyway. It requires getting a couple of tools that I would probably never use again. In spite of your video, I still have some reservations about the need to replace the parts. More on that later.
The problem is all the old school dual sports have serious issues. DRs have nsu issues and 3rd gear pitting, XR650L has design and sprocket issues, kawasaki has doohicky issues. Not a lot of competition happening for big thumpers. I'm sure KTM has issues too.
5000 miles and the engine has to be opened up lest it self destruct? That's unbelievable! IMO, that makes the motorcycle not fit for its purpose. I used to ride almost 1000 miles A WEEK, and I did that for years without any engine issues.
Carbureted bikes are the best. Hopefully Suzuki will continue to build the extraordinary DR 650 for many years to come. Chinese motorcycles with fuel injection are an epidemic ...
I'm sorry maybe I missed it. What is the fix? Almost the whole video explaining the problem. Is the "doohicky" the fix? Same part will fix all Gen bikes. Thx good video
The fix is the torsion spring to replace the stock coil spring and a one piece machined tensioner (the doohickey) to replace the two piece factory part.
It's mind boggling that Kawasaki would neglect the most documented KLR issue ever...Imagine how reliable the 2022 could have been. It's absolutely stupid to buy a new bike and have to update the engine to avoid a catastrophic failure. Bad on you Kawasaki. They probably didn't get enough warranty claims because it failed out of warranty, a lot of people ride just 5k per year.
@@davidgrunklee8407 that would cost them triple what redesigning would have. It’s not like they just learned about it. Imagine how pissed other Gen KLR owners would be if they offered that to just Gen 3s?
Great video - thanks for putting this out. I was considering the new gen KLR but have now crossed it off my list. No excuse for not fixing this known issue.
Same here. I was going to pull the trigger on one this upcoming weekend. I don't care for the V Strom so I'm going to look at a new DR650 instead. Such a shame.
I think it gets back to what Ian said. You get a lot for your money with this bike, but there are some corners cut. It' advisable to factor the cost to retrofit this spring into the total cost and decide if it's worth the cost to you. Kawasaki will change the part when it is financially advantageous to do so, and so far it hasn't been. That could change, but, in the meantime, share this information with others so they can avoid costly repairs and ride their KLR more. It is a good bike in many ways if you respect its limitations.
Such a cool video. I've know about the legend of EM for over 10 years but never seen a video of him or his work space. Thanks for posting this video big rock. Fantastic as always!
Great video. Kawasaki took a years long break on production and I can't accept the fact that they did not make a meaningful design change and eliminate this problem. I'm in the market and considering this bike but after a lot of homework, it's a big turnoff to have to make this repair when I get this bike new🤕. Again, you get what you pay for. Thanks for the video Ian.💯
@@tactical690r2 awesome thank you! The CB has been on my list too, having trouble finding even a dealer to have one to sit on though. Sounds like you're happy with it?
Thanks very much for taking the time to do this video. It's a great help. IMO this is one of the things that brings the KLR650 community together. Shared information, stuff that can be easily fixed. It gets the owner to know the bike, and become involved with it. We started tech days to help one another, share info, and fix the various flaws. If the bike was perfect, I don't think it would have the same community. The KLR650 people are great!
@@Don2006 We've held tech days at my shop in the past. None since the Covid situation though. Other people have held them around the US too. I helped with several up in Boise, a few in northern Ca, and a few in Az. 20th anniversary of tech days next year! I hope we'll be able to start again at some point. It's a tiring day for whoever decides to host one.
So how do you fix this problem with a Gen 3 KLR 650? Did I miss something in this video that tells me how to remedy this? Sorry I have cognitive issues. So of someone could help set me straight on how to fix the issue so that my bike will be fine after 5000km?
Man, I have a new 2022 KLR650, I love the bike, I worked at auto dealerships in the part's dept. for over 30 year's, any part can take a shit at any time, just my 2 cent's !
Great video, thanks for getting this information out! Heard of this problem, great to see such a detailed explanation. I'm amazed Kawiasaki hasn't done more to fix this. Even seeing the orientation of the stock doo-hickey spring in this video, I'm even more amazed that the spring is installed open side up versus down. As the spring wears and stretches in the stock configuration, it's appears more likely to drop into the case...
Lol those who think the internet hype I still do and I'm not the only Kor owner to think so so because this old man stunts 75 of the supposed doohickey out of thousands and thousands of klr s on the the road there all bad this guy is just another parts sales who found a part that he could sale.
Great video - thank you both. I did the EM Doohickey mod on my 2013 then did the TAT - safe in the knowledge that the KLRs worst snag had been addressed. (The bike performed faultlessly for the 5,880 miles offroad).
I owed 3 klr650 within the last 31 years , from generation 1 to the latest generation ( riding a 2022 klr650 with now 13000km) never had any problems with the engine , just do the recommended maintenance and oil changes , that's it .
I have One klr 650 1989/12 with 12 thousand miles. I never heard any noise , absolute nothing. I Change oil every year, dosent matter the mileage. Now im afraid........ I live in Portugal
Shame on Kawasaki for manufacturing known problems year after year. I have installed 2 of Mike's doohickeys in gen 1's and also fixed most of their known problems on a Concours that I owned. There is no excuse for this, financial or otherwise. BTW I just bought a new KLX300 so I haven't totally written of Kawasaki.
Got my 2022 KLR a few days ago and it's my very first adventure bike. I don't like changing anything on the engine while on warranty. In the meantime I need to upgrade other things. This bike needs adjustment for a tall rider like me. It's good to know what to do when the engine starts running rougher. But in general I'm going with if it doesn't break don't fix it.
Why wait until it Breaks? You heard the things it can cause. But hey, if you don’t want to fix a known problem before it Ruins your Bike, you deserve it!!!!
So I really don't won't to watch the whole video first generation they wouldn't fix mine under warranty it was making a loose chain rattling noise. I replaced the broken idler sprocket spring.i sold it bought the new style generation 2 it was a made in Mexico everything broke on it I bought it brand new .all the turn singles broke off one after another. dealer said I broke all the turn singles off and they wouldn't replace them under warranty. the mirrors when they started getting spiderweb in the glass.They did replace a bad counter sprocket seal at 400 miles that was leaking oil,anyways I went back to riding a DR 650.it wasn't as comfortable but it held together
Thanks gentlemen. So Kawasaki have had many years to fix a problem they knew existed and still haven't done so. Therefore, because I ride in remote areas over vast distances, I will not be purchasing a gen 3 KLR. I feel that I could not trust the KLR. My choice now will be either Honda 500X or a Honda CRF300 Rally.
Im also in the market for a ADV bike and the KLR was inching up to the top of the list. Seeing this it just dropped to the bottom for the exact same reason you mentioned. Aparently it wouldnt matter if I bought a used or a brand new one they all have the doohickey issue. No thanks!
I rode a 2008 KLR 650 from Canada to Argentina on the stock doohickey. No problem. 26000kms On a subsequent trip From Key West Florida to Canada I used an oil filler cap from Eagle Mike and it stripped half way through the trip. I had to use vise grips to get it off. Adjust your doohickey as per the manual. No worries. Keep your stock oil filler cap.
kawasaki weet al meer dan 20 jaar van die constructie fout . maar heeft het probleem nog steeds niet opgelost . als je een klr 650 hebt ,niemand wilt die 2 de hans kopen ..je raakt hem aan de straat stenen nog niet kwijt .!!!!!
I had a gen 3 and put roughly 25k miles on it before being ran over by a (insert name youtube says no to) pulling out of a parking lot absolutely smashing my bike and my ankle. Luckily wasn't broken thanks to my hard panniers taking the brunt of the force, but was meshed up and couldn't walk for months. But I did not have any issues out of the doohickey. I also did no other upgrades on the bike. Was doing really well. I believe it's a getting lucky with manufacturing thing. Would have loved to still have it but it wasn't worth trying to repair it. I still plan on doing the upgrades if I get a new one. Just makes sense.
..this was to replace my ‘19 Himalayan.. Those having invested in a KLR try hard to either justify or ignore this problem, but after some serious thought & research, unless K has fixed this engine for ‘24, it’s a no-go for me.. I’ll just pile miles on my ‘21 Wee-Strom ..and keep lookin for a reliable Thumper runabout 😣
Well shit i have 20k on mine and haven't done this. Maybe thats why my engine has some chatter to it? Update: my 2022 now has 24k on it and I just did the door yesterday. My OEM parts all looked fine, but the doohickey was not providing any more tension. The specific chatter I was referring to did appear to go away once I did the doohickey as well.
What he don't tell us, How many miles did the broke part bikes have on them, Or how the bikes were maintained/ oil changes, Or how hard they were rode, or even over revved. Sure he has lots of them sitting there, He makes and sells them for a living!. Sure there maybe a few or couple with cracks, you get that in castings even in firearms, And out of how many bikes? Kawasaki would have told us after 30 fricken years of one of the longest running models of all bikes in the world!. Hell you get that small failure rate in brand new cars!. Then if a guy gets 100K+ on a KLR it's pretty much shot anyhow, Just like cars!. So what does anyone expect out of a ^ to 8K bike in the first place?. Comming from a guy that owned 2 each gen 2s which never had one problem, and now a 2022 ADV ABS... Next he says there's only 10 to 15 thousands left of adjustment in the spring you showed us? Thats BS!. I use a machinists caliper everyday! There's tons ( If not 100s of thousands) of spring pull left just by looking at the video in your closeup!. Oh, there is No torque or excessive presure on this counter balance system, just 3 small weights, It does nothing more!. You'll be ok, just maintain your bike, Change the fricken oil on time, Don't over rev or beat the crap out of it, It will last!. It's funny to me how nobody talks about the cam chain tension or the valve shim check or adjustment!... I have 2 Aerospace degrees, and been wrenching or Kawasaki's since 1968, Way way before you were born, and Mike was in Jr high school..LOL!..
It weird but in Europe no one speaks about the doohickey issue. At least in countries like Greece n Spain. I ordered the Eagle Mike doo myself and replaced it on my 1993. The original one looks definitely flimsy but it was in perfect shape
I've been interested in the KLR650 because of it's reputation of "legendary unbreakable" You come here and show us a box full of broken pieces that could break gears in the engine, thanks for ruining the magic But seriously that was super interesting, i never knew such things existed
Don't let this video keep you from buying a KLR650. Keep in mind, Eagle Mike has worked on hundreds if not thousands of KLR's over decades so he's going to have examples. Yeah, there's plenty of quirks about the KLR but their dependable and a great value for the price.
Great video-first rate explanations. I had a 2006 KLR and kudo's to Mike for his replacements parts. That being said, mine was still way too viby to enjoy and I sold it. To think that Kawi did not make the obvious corrections to Gen3 is inexcusable-Hard Pass.
Hard to tell what the solution is. I hate vibes too but theres 1 cylinder reliability pros and cons too. Only way youre truely getting rid of vibes is a 4 cylinder man. So thats going to pump up the cost and its going to be hardee to do a valve adjustment in the middle of the sahara or mojave or arabian desert or something
No problems (yet) with the "doohickey" on my 2015 KLR 650, after over 36,000 miles. Most likely the cause of excessive balance shaft chain slack is worn chain guides, if I was going to up-date the tensioner I would replace the guides as well, if it makes it to 50,000 miles I'll consider doing it then.
Excellent video and amazingly competent guy there. Kawasaki pisses me off a bit because this isn't the only long running series of bike with issues like this that they just don't fix. A fair number of other bikes such as the Z650, Versys 650 etc all have the problem that the bolt that holds the front drive chain sprocket on is done so tightly at the factory that it is nigh on impossible to remove without breaking something. I had to use a bloody Dremel to get mine off. Impact drivers etc just wouldn't do it. Kawasaki are cheap.
As long as Kawasaki refuses to correct their known design flaws like the doohickey, the cooling system flaws, subframe issues, etc. based on their "bean counters", I will not consider buying a KLR even though I might want one.
This is the best video on the KLR that I have ever seen. So glad Mike is around to help us through the issues with the bike. Thanks Mike and Big Rock Moto
I have to believe not fixing this issue and the general lack of Gen 3 upgrades, that the KLR is just a "place holder" until they can deliver a KLR replacement bike. As the saying goes, some products are created out of R&D and engineering and some products out of marketing and hype.
I used to own a 2009 KLR650 and loved it, still thinking to get the new one, but I am wondering how KLR650 became the symbol for reliability and toughness with this catastrophic engine failures? and I guess I found my answer in the video. People just don't ride their KLRs as much as some other bikes. So the reliability is maybe a myth! maybe no! who knows :D
Rubbish- plenty of original doohicky KLR's have done very good miles without catastrophe- including my own. Mine has done 70,000 kms and running smoothly. Alarmist hype IMO.@@BigRockMoto
Great video and explanation! Thank you! Question: For those who are not mechanically inclined, what would you estimate to be a reasonable cost to have this upgrade done, including parts and labor? For example, how much would Eagle Mike charge to do this job?
This is more about the fact that Kawasaki would have to finally admit the design is flawed, which should have been re-engineered years ago, many thanks Eagle Mike Eng for saving my KLR, with your torsion spring and machined lever replacement, a top engineer of our time.
My dad and I must be the luckiest mofos on the planet. I had two KLRs. One I rode for 60k miles and the other I rode for over 30k and the stock doohickeys and springs were flawless when I opened them up to see. My dad has two with over 20k miles each and they are also flawless as of last week's service
The Thermobob is a wonderful mod. I did it on my 08. I never did the doohickey, but I also sold the bike at 14k miles. I should have done it. Every Eagle Mike item I used was well designed and built.
Question: How many damaged or broken stock doohickies are due to owners or mechanics overtightening the balancer tension adjuster required to be done approximately every oil change?
Thanks now I’m not buying a klr, now what about the versys x300? is it POS too? Would a KTM 390 adventure be a much better investment? It’s a pity I was very close to buying the KLR thanks again awesome content
TADT: I had a customer who brought in a seriously noisy 2008 as he thought the doohickey might be the cause. I sent him back to the Kawasaki agent who previously had "fixed" his oil burning engine by fitting a new piston and new rings into the poorly machined out of shape cylinder (yeah, after "re - honing as you might have guessed). I sent him back to the Kawasaki agent with a print of the parts diagram with DAMPER 92075-1968 circled in red and annotated: This is the part you forgot to fit! 🤣
This bike may very well be the best bang for the buck, out the door, especially if you watch Dork-In-The-Road's channel, but the fact that the 2022 KLR650 has this same problem, is a headache I just don't want. After watching your KLX300 video, that's probably the route I'm going to go (or possibly the Honda CRF300L) until I can save up the bucks for an Africa Twin. The Honda CRF300L would definitely give me the reliability peace of mind I want, but the suspension sounds like it might be an issue for me. The other issue I'm going to have to compare is the tank size between the CRF300L and the KLX300.
My DRZ puked the stator right at 22,000 miles, like clockwork. Suzuki service manuals are top shelf. These bikes are easy to work on, and kinda fun to work on. Looks like a "doohickey" is just as easy. Fuel capacity and comfort gentlemen, I see a KLR in my future. Kawasaki service manuals are excellent as well, Japanese instructions, when translated to American English, are rather poetic. Same with Honda service manuals. My Sportster service manual is excellent also. What do all these bikes have in common? Ease of maintenance and repair.
Eagle Mike sent me his Doo Hickey kit when the spring failed on my 2010 KLR when I was in Mexico (doing Alaska down to Argentina). Mike's doo hickey kit worked perfectly. Legend.
Thanks for this upload. I'm on my fourth KLR now and have always changed the doohickey after my first KLR chewed up the spring and sent metal parts through the whole motor.
I've had four gen one KLRs. Two ran for over 100k miles. I'd change the tensioner cam and spring every 25k miles. Mainly I thrashed hell out of them. Probably that's why they ran so smoothly.
Thank yous. I have no doubt this is true. I had a gen1, A1 (geared it up, less 2 teeth on the rear very early on) I did 102k klm and sold it. Second owner put another 50k klm. Never opened up, top or bottom. Then had a engine failure. Cause?? I guess its only a matter of time. Thanks Mike
