2009 klr 650 built in 2008

P

Pacific stumper

New member
Looking at buying a 2009 klr 650but was told to stay clear of the 2008,,,,,,, the one I was looking at was manufactured in July of 2008,,,,, the guy selling it claims it was the bikes made in 07 and sold in 2008 that were the problem

what are your thoughts
 
C

cheeseburger

New member
I have a 2008, bought new in February 2009. Not sure exactly when it was manufactured. I have put over 50k on it without doing anything to the motor (doohickey and thermabob done early, though). It starts to burn oil around 4200rpm, I've noticed, but virtually none below that. With a 16 tooth sprocket on the front I can cruise at a little over 100kph without worrying too much. It would be nice to have a bike that didn't make me worry about the oil at all, though.

Other things to look for: the little rubber fittings on my bike rotted really early. The boot that covers the connection between the clutch cable and the clutch, the little rubber things that help to hold on the windscreen, the cover for the main fuse; they were all rotten within a year. I also had some electrical trouble around year 2; taking about 40 minutes to trace the wiring harness through the bike and adding split loom at likely rubbing points was an excellent time investment.

Other than that, the bike has been solid, and I don't ride her nice. Good luck with your hunt.
 
P

Pacific stumper

New member
Still not sure what to do ,,,,,I'd like a new bike but finances aren't there,,,,,, wasn't sure if the 08 problems was just a rumour ,,,,, and I'm still not sure,,,,,, lots of 08s with no problems at all.
Gonna keep looking I guess
 
C

cheeseburger

New member
There are lots of well-sorted pre-2008 KLRs out there too. I would have appreciated the larger ground clearance of the older models, myself.
 
prime

prime

New member
My 2009 guzzled oil.did the 688 kit and its like great now. ALASKA AND BACK, NOT A DROP USED! My friend has a 2008, hasnt used a drop.
Go figure!
 
John M

John M

New member
My '08 has 36000 km, and burns 400 ml in 1000 km. Some would call that an oil burner, but I don't have a problem with it. Ring blow-by makes the oil dirty very quickly, though.

J.
 
Old Phart

Old Phart

New member
I bought a '09 for adventure touring. It burned oil when honking along at 120+ km/hr, so I switched to Amsoil synthetic that seems to significantly reduce the oil burning as well as to increase the power a bit. I asked a Burnaby Kawasaki mechanic about replacing the doohickey - he did not think it was necessay on newer KLR models. Anyone else have thoughts on this?? Thanks.
 
jurgenk

jurgenk

New member
Here is a post from klr650.net in which wymanwinn (KLR guru) talks about this issue:

http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?t=104640&highlight=2nd+gen+doohickey+replacement

I have a 2000 C model which uses a different doohickey and found in split in half in my oil at around 10000 km. Do a more comprehensive search on there or contact eaglemike (the originator of the upgraded doohickey) directly if you are wishing more confirmation (the contact info for EM is in wymanwinn's sig in the post I linked to).

EDIT: This thread posted today does a better job of answering the question:

http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1198387#post1198387

Brad
 
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volcon

volcon

New member
I risk a charge of heresey but here's couple of things about KLRs to consider.

If the idler lever bolt is over-torqued the the idler lever will be broken. In other words: If you tighten your bolt too much you'll break your doohickey, in fact you could strip the threads, break the bolt, or even jam the broken doohickey bits into the case so hard that a hammer and chisel will be needed to remove them. And yes, I have seen it more than once. Also, if the balancer chain is over-tightened the chain and sprockets (like any chain and sprockets) will wear prematurely. The balancer chain can be over-tightened through the installation of extra short or heavy duty lever springs. That's to say: If you pull too hard on your doohickey you'll wear stuff out. And again I have seen it.

And while I'm at it: If you run a single cylinder engine at high RPM for extended periods you will prematurely wear the rings and bore. It will then burn oil.
 
jurgenk

jurgenk

New member
volcon said:
I risk a charge of heresey but here's couple of things about KLRs to consider.

If the idler lever bolt is over-torqued the the idler lever will be broken. In other words: If you tighten your bolt too much you'll break your doohickey, in fact you could strip the threads, break the bolt, or even jam the broken doohickey bits into the case so hard that a hammer and chisel will be needed to remove them. And yes, I have seen it more than once. Also, if the balancer chain is over-tightened the chain and sprockets (like any chain and sprockets) will wear prematurely. The balancer chain can be over-tightened through the installation of extra short or heavy duty lever springs. That's to say: If you pull too hard on your doohickey you'll wear stuff out. And again I have seen it.

And while I'm at it: If you run a single cylinder engine at high RPM for extended periods you will prematurely wear the rings and bore. It will then burn oil.
Click to expand...

Speaking of the high RPM, as my C model does not have a tach I am going to be shortly installing a TrailTech Vapor (saw your thread on here) as it would be nice to at least have an idea of how high you are running.
 
Jeckyll

Jeckyll

Member
Coming in late to this thread.

It's the model year that counts, not the manufacture date. I have an 08 and it was burning 3/4 to 1 liter every 1000 km. Now it's a 685 and burns no oil at all :)

If I had to do it again I would probably not buy a 2008 unless it had a 685 kit already installed. Love it now though and it was a fun project to tear down the engine and re-build it. Great opportunity to check on the valves (I replaced a couple of exhaust valves while we were at it as they were slightly worn).

For background, I believe someone on klr650.net put together a detailed analysis of all the reported oil burners and graphically showed that there was a distinct point in time when they much have fixed the ovalized bore issue that lead to the oil burning.
 
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P

Pacific stumper

New member
Thanks for input from all,,,,,, I ended up buying a brand new 2012 all black model ,,,,,, now I just need to blow some money on mods ,,,yeeeehaw
 
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