KLR front hub

[04klr]

pulled my front wheel to investigate a malfunctioning speedo and discovered the hub is trashed on my 2006 KLR, the drive mechanism musta siezed and then cleaned off the part of the hub retaining the bearing past the snap ring,
sooo does anyone have a 21" KLR wheel complete with hub laying around?
thx.

 

[old trials guy]

Could you reweld a couple of stops for the speedo drive onto the existing hub? They are not very high tolerance and could be shaped with a dremel or die grinder once welded. Other option is to install a Vapor speedo system as it would likely be cheaper than replacing the wheel or hub and offer more features. Relacing a new hub is fairly easy to do and maybe cheaper than a wheel but maybe you will get lucky and find a used one. Ebay looks like about 300 bucks for used which isn't bad.

Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KLR6...rcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20bc0a8a3f

otg

 

[04klr]

thx. good idea but the sudden stop of the speedo drive cleaned off the shoulder used to keep the bearing retaining snap ring in place, (leaving it mostly held in place by grease) cleaned it right off into many chunks, steel eats diecast everytime, not even the string and JB I kidded Islandswede about is going to help. that ebay wheel is for a 2008 , not sure if it's a bolt on for 2006, I have located a hub in CA. for a fraction of new. thx.

 

[islandswede]

pulled my front wheel to investigate a malfunctioning speedo and discovered the hub is trashed on my 2006 KLR, the drive mechanism musta siezed and then cleaned off the part of the hub retaining the bearing past the snap ring,
sooo does anyone have a 21" KLR wheel complete with hub laying around?
thx.

Copycat! I thought I was the only one pulling off this stunt. Definitely a non-reparable failure. Got a new (1989!!!! low mileage hub) on Ebay. Sprung for new bearings, a set of like new spokes (Ebay again) and a new speedo drive. Laced the stuff up and the wheel looked like a pretzel. Took the wheel into a British motorcyle specialist in Comox. He trued the wheel and banged out a bunch of rim dings. Total charge $30.00!!!!!!!!! Before I needed 4ounzes+ to balnce the wheel, now it balances without any weights.

 

[04klr]

yes, you are the trendsetter Lars, "when I grow up I wanna be just like,,,"
it seems we've stumbled upon another KLRism as there is a shortage of hubs, and no shortage of similar stories, speedo worm gears sudden stop blasts the hub to smithereens, though there is a rider who's hub is trashed and he's got 100thou k on it? Hmmm, my wheel still goes round, there is already a second speedo installed, and the bearing is still captive, well, sort of,,.

 

[old trials guy]

yes, you are the trendsetter Lars, "when I grow up I wanna be just like,,,"
it seems we've stumbled upon another KLRism as there is a shortage of hubs, and no shortage of similar stories, speedo worm gears sudden stop blasts the hub to smithereens, though there is a rider who's hub is trashed and he's got 100thou k on it? Hmmm, my wheel still goes round, there is already a second speedo installed, and the bearing is still captive, well, sort of,,.

It is not unheard of to re-install the front wheel and misalign the speedo drive dogs in the drive gear unit. I have seen it on more than one occassion. The speedo may or may not work when installed incorrectly. This could be the root cause of the failure....when was the last time you replace the front tire? Also, it is wise to inspect the drive unit and regrease it as the gear typically just runs on a plain bushing and they do dry out over time.

Probably all the more reason why manufacturers are moving to electromagnetic pick ups and electronic speedos.

otg

 

[04klr]

tire replaced about 6 thou ago, and having installed it incorrectly (as you suggested) in the past, it's been ligned up with care ever since, either the worm drive gear ceased it's motion, or the spring on the inside of the dust seal perhaps let go (corrosion?) then ended up in the drive as the spring had a bite taken out of it. .

 

[islandswede]

Interesting! I went through the the "incorrect" install about 80,000 kms ago and have since taken great care to make sure every install is correct. My worm gear was/is still 100% functional, the seal was intact and hence no obvious explanation to the failure. Plenty of grease inside the seal........... Stumped! Metal fatigue? Stress cracks in hub from banging out old bearings? Murphy?

 

[old trials guy]

Interesting! I went through the the "incorrect" install about 80,000 kms ago and have since taken great care to make sure every install is correct. My worm gear was/is still 100% functional, the seal was intact and hence no obvious explanation to the failure. Plenty of grease inside the seal........... Stumped! Metal fatigue? Stress cracks in hub from banging out old bearings? Murphy?

On other thing that can cause drive failure is a dried out or seize speedo cable which usually results in a broken cable but also puts extra stress on the drive gear. It is usually an easy task to remove the speedo cable once in a while and pull out the speedo cable inner. Wipe it down and inspect. If it has unravelled or has burrs or kinks it's a good time to replace. I would use a very light lubricant or proper "cable lube" and re-install, do NOT use grease except maybe Vaseline. Make sure the cable is not bound anywhere, it should not have any tight bends or be clamped down with extra cable ties.

Hope this is useful information....otg

 

[biggusbikus]

A common problem for the KLR, a $12 bicycle speedo from MEC suits me just fine. A Vapor would be nice but i dont have a lot to spend on the Kawi being my spare bike, i just fix it and ride it.

 

[Buckethead]

Add me to the list of people who have had a siezed speedo totally destroy a front KLR hub. Ended up finding a cheap used wheel in my case. I had some good times, but I don't really miss my KLR...

 

[Hamon]

It's okay Buckethead, your old KLR knows you don't mean that...

I also had my front hub explode. I went the Trailtech Vapor route, and couldn't be happier. 20+K Km later, it's still going strong, and hopefully it all holds together next year for a trip down south!

I think mine went the same way: seized worm gear. Just for the record, if anybody needs a perfectly functional speedo cluster (with 60 some thousand KM registering on it), I've got one! I'll throw in a pretty new Motion Pro speedo cable for free too.

Travis

 

[Buckethead]

Down south? Where to next, my wandering friend?

 

[Hamon]

As far south as three months will get me. I've arranged a leave of absence next year from February to April/early May, but that's another thread..

When I have a bit more of a plan put together, I'll post up an official thread. Right now, the goal is to learn a word or two of Spanish.

Buenas noches!

 

[04klr]

so clearly there has been more than one grenaded hub round here, so when you went digital did y9ou repair ( I mean replace) the hub?

 

[Hamon]

I didn't replace mine. The part that tore apart didn't look key to the structural integrity of the actual hub portion that connects the axle to the spokes and rim hoop. Basically, it's some cast aluminum tabs that connect to the edge of the hub on one side. The damage does not seem to migrate further than that.

As I mentioned, that was over 20K Km ago, with some fairly hard riding thrown at it in that time. I'm not worried.

Travis