Just wondering if it is wise to bring an extra stator(electrical chargy thingy) along with my KLR650. Has anyone had any experience with them failing. Is there any other part(s) that are essential to bring along when on a trip, say in south america? Any first hand experiences where you wished you brought that part or were thankful you brought it?

Can't really think of anything I actually needed in a hurry that would be practical to bring along....except a supply of clutch cables. Certainly not a stator(!). I needed a shock at 80,000 miles, but there's no way anyone would carry a spare. I needed a doohickey repair at 12,000 miles (fortunately this was in Canada, therefore covered by warranty), but again I'm not carrying piston, cam chain, valves and more along for the ride.

Couple of valve shims in likely sizes would have saved me a bit of trouble--I had to have an old one surfaced down in Buenos Aires to make the correct size. I went through quite a number of fork seals, and although these are standard sizes and can be purchased in any major center of civilization it would sometimes be nice to have them on hand when they blow out and contaminate your brake pads. Sprockets can be an issue, and I like to carry spares on any long trip--at least when existing ones are getting worn. Chains are easy almost anywhere, although again when the old one starts getting worn I'll buy a quality replacement when I have the chance, then carry it for a few thousand miles. Brake pads are nice to have, as are bulbs and patches and a few valve cores and fuses and other such--but they're mostly standard parts.

Looking back on more than 90 thousand miles on my KLR, the most trouble I remember having that I might have prevented by carrying parts involved clutch cables, of which I've used maybe a half-dozen. The problem is that some last almost forever (my original went over 50,000 miles), while others barely make it around the block. Since they always seem to break at night in the rain, the tendency is to neglect to buy a replacement right away, and this caused me some trouble. I now carry two spares on a long trip (one zip tied in place for quick changes in the dark and rain), but most people would consider this excessive.

Oh, and lots of spare bolts, nuts, washers, and a supply of locktite.

Hope that helps. Out of curiosity, who suggested carrying a stator?

Mark

Other than the clutch cable suggestion and some spare fuses there really is no need, nor is it practical ,to carry spares for a potential,maybe, possibly? breakdown.
If you knew which parts were going to break you should look after them before hand.
As to valve shims - the KLR uses shims which are common to those in Suzuki and Yamaha bikes which used the shim on top of follower piston and they can be used as easy replacements- same number size sequence. I also have heard that several car makers used the same shims, VW comes to mind, so there is another source to look at before going to the trouble of having shims machined down to fit.

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http://advrider.com/index.php?thread....207964/page-5 then scroll down to post #93

I'm planning a trip from Australia across Russia to Europe next year and am asking the same question. Currently whilst the mechanic in me wants to load the bike with "just in case bits" I'm thinking it is more important to keep my bike as light as possible to help compensate for my limited off road skills - so I'll carry as little as I think I can get away with to cope with things that break easily and accept for everything else I'll need to find it locally or at worst get it shipped in. (As an aside, whilst it might be a bit excessive, my insurance policy is that I've just bought a second KLR with a blown top end which I plan to leave in the garage at home - then if my "stator" or something similar should fail unrepairably I'll just get my son to pull the bit off at ship it to me; quicker and cheaper than relying on Kawasaki)

I agree with the clutch cable - I've had the same variable experience on their life as mentioned above.

Bike specific I'd also add:
- Brake and clutch levers
- Throttle cable (pull one only)
- Fork seals

General parts I'd carry:
- some bolts (selection of M6, M8 and M10)
- two spare master links and short length of chain
- decent puncture repair kit.
- spare wire and electrical connectors.

My other comment is most consumables like sprockets, brake pads and the like don't dissappear overnight - so I think it is more important to start with brand new items and then keep an eye on them rather than carry spares expecting to change them early in a trip.

Thanks for starting this thread - I'll be interested to see what else people add / suggest.

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Martin

finally back on the road again


http://awayonmybike.blogspot.com/

It seems all three you guys, Mark, Sjoerd, NA, suggest the clutch cable and fork seals - i will be getting those. Also I'll go to my fastener supplier and get a little goody bag of nuts and bolts.....locktite is essential for klr650's.

List of parts one could call essential so far:
Clutch cable(s)
Fork seals
Tire tubes
Fuses
bulbs

Any more? Is there anything on this list that you could do without with some skill and/or ingenuity in either riding and/or mechanics? Personally if i could get away with only bringing a paper clip and a rubber band i would.

through experience of similar problems a refined list of the most likely things you may need for a particular bike could be made - maybe even prioritized. Maybe a good idea for the hub. For instance, when a part or problem is needed or noticed for a particular bike, it could be tallied and applied to a prioritized list. Just a minute, did i just take all the fun out of Travel "adventure" touring.

For your curiosity Mark. My paranoid self suggested it to my uncertain self - i need to get on the road. I got worried about the stator because i will be driving through cold weather and i may be using heated clothing. i also have an auxiliary battery i plan on bringing and keeping charged while riding(might use it often). Consequently, with my limited knowledge of bikes, i rationalized that this would stress the stator and cause damage....? this thought lead me to think about what might be the MOST important things to bring.....short of strapping a bike to my bike.


Thanx all

An extra battery? For godssake why? I am known to carry far more crap than most people, but it never, ever occurred to me to bring a spare stator or battery.

I would suggest changing out the original battery for a maintenance free one, checking your charging system for proper operation, and heading out. Don't forget to leave the spare battery someplace nice and warm while you're in South America, or it might freeze and destroy itself in your unheated garage.

You've probably already noticed that the KLR stator doesn't put out much current--more on 2008+, less on 2007- models. But the upgraded stator which is available has had a lot of problems, so you can't bring heated everything plus set up camp by headlights and then expect to power your satellite tv. But if you wanted to do it this way you'd bring a Goldwing with a trailer, right? Carrying an extra battery won't change this appreciably.

Regarding your question, some folks don't carry bulbs, on the theory that you can always find them just down the road. That's true, but then again it's nice to have a spare h4 when your bulb breaks (therefore no headlite at all) in rush hour in the dark in Panama City, as happened to me. Same with fork seals: you don't need to carry them, but they're nice to have when it's a question of losing your front brakes to oil contamination. Etc. And I met one guy who didn't even carry tire changing tools or patch kit--he pointed out, quite rightly, that there's usually someone not too far away who'll come and patch your tire for you. But that doesn't really work for me, or for most of us....and I noticed he didn't make it past Central America before selling the bike.

Mark