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  #1  
Old 17 Jun 2007
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Problem KLR
Okay all you "Sabelotodos" out there. All replies,(even patronising), received with gratitude,,,

Kouritsimou, my poor, abused burrito did not take too kindly to being locked in a Colombian shed for 3 months with no prep. work whatsoever. I returned full of beans with an equally full bag of spare parts. First she wouldn't turn over, so I bought a new battery. Then, the only way I could get her to fire up, was by blocking the air entry to allow a richer mix, but she would die again and then revive when I persisted and got her really hot,(Ai, las chicas!!). At first I was sure it was a carb. problem, but after thorough cleaning nothing had changed. I brought in some local boys who are great at basic stuff, but they have no diagnostics here, and it's all guess work. Everyone then thought it was the carb, later the electrics and now we've settled on lack of compression. Basically, we can phaff about enough to get her going, warm her up, but on letting out the clutch, there's no, (read sometimes), power. On stripping the pot down, there does seem to be quite a bit of wear, (sunlight through the piston rings), Is this enough to cause such a massive change in response, given that she's done nothing for 3 months?

Ta v.much
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  #2  
Old 17 Jun 2007
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Hi there Stretcher M,
First, I have to say that I don't know about KLRs, never owned one etc.
But, I have to agree that not much can have changed over 3 months, so, if it was my bike, I would start with all of the simple things - loose connections for instance. anything chewed away by little furry things?, and that type of thing - has anyone been able to fiddle with it while it has been stored?

This link might give you help and ideas:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...al-stuff-27640

I found it recently when I was doing loads of work on my bike,

Good luck,

Dave

ps You don't say much about the history of the bike - mileage, model/year, that type of thing - folk who do know about the KLR will ask this!
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  #3  
Old 18 Jun 2007
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Can you double check your float valve in the carb?
Hi Stretcher Monkey!

I had a similar problem with my KLR after it was stored for a couple of weeks.
The bike had no power. I had to rev it a lot to keep it running and as soon as I would try to ride in first gear it, the engine would die.

At first I thought that I had clean my carb correctly. I could not see any dirt in there. But I was missing one small thing: The float valve was stuck!!!

I would suggest you to double check if your float valve work properly!

Hope this help,
Patrick
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  #4  
Old 18 Jun 2007
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Patrick beat me to it, I had an duke 750ss that had been standing for a while and turned out to be a sticking float.

Could be worth a check?.


Roy
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Old 18 Jun 2007
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Sticky float valve
Ah, the float valve - mine sticks when the carb has been drained by running it dry with the tap shut off and the engine running - something that I used to do regularly, but no longer. Therefore it was sticking in the open position so fuel pours out of the overflow.

Gentle tapping on the side of the float bowl gets it to work OK and I do this with the rubber handle of a hammer - this gives a bit of "weight" to the tapping without damaging the casting of the carb.

Dave
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Old 20 Jun 2007
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Same thing happened to me. Stuck float valve.
Brian
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Old 22 Jun 2007
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[quote= On stripping the pot down, there does seem to be quite a bit of wear, (sunlight through the piston rings), Is this enough to cause such a massive change in response, [/quote]

"pot" means cylinder?
piston rings are measured at the gap...I don't know the specific KLR specs, but "ballpark" you should have about .010"
the rings will be shaped so the explosion forces the rings against the cylinder walls, and they have to float.

...what can happen when sitting is the rings stick in the carbon-cruddy grooves of the piston and don't expand against the cylinder walls.

do a quick compression check...you want to see 125psi+...100psi will run, but not impressive....if compression is low, it can be crud under a valve seat, stuck rings, or blown head gasket because young Pedro had your bike at the hill-climbs in your absence...

it sounds like it's getting spark but not gas...another thing to look for is dry rot in the intake boot causing a vacuum leak or something silly.

I would look for a mud dobber nest blocking a vent/drain tube, or float valve stuck.if you have spark and compression, I would suspect insects or mice doing what they do best...and your bike is just another opportunity.
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