KLR 650 Catastrophic Engine Failure (Dohickey?)

2007 (Gen 1) 30K miles. Possible Dohickey Failure or Timing Chain Tension Failure.
FACEBOOK: KLR 650 USA Asventures

[@heretohear8662]

Great info!

[@jerrycagle7565]

My question is did do the adjustments on a regular basis, I totally agree with you, I’m replacing mine.

[@adventurevin7600]

I F'd up big. Once I did the dohicky upgrade I did not do any periodically adjustments. I just rebuilt another Gen 1 and used alot parts off this 1st Gen 1. They look exactly the same. I am doing the Dohicky and sub frame bolts next week. I will be doing videos for that. In August I'm riding from Riverside Ca to the Artic Circle via the AlCan Hwy and Dalton Hwy.

[@adventurevin7600]

I did this video on Feb 8th. The engine in the crate was sent back a few hours after the video. I'm going to sit on this for a few weeks before I commit to a plan moving forward

[@fredgood9085]

I know this is old by now, but I don't think you did anything wrong other than possibly missed hearing the extra noise as the upper balance shaft bearing (shown around 2:33) was going bad. The doo has been replaced and looks fine. The cam chain is loose because the upper chain tensioning guide is now broken. The big culpret is that all the ball bearings in the upper balance shaft bearing are gone , the shaft is flopping around, and the sprocket had come off the shaft. The other gear you show is just one of the starter gears which can fall out when you take off the stator cover. The stator actually looks pretty normal. The inner cover is broken and crank case is a bit chewed up. If there's no other damage beyond what is seen here, the engine may be salvageable, but it's probably cheaper to get another engine.

[@adventurevin7600]

I ended up getting another KLR 650, exact year, and color (Twins). It has 14,000. I bought it last month and will start swaping parts soon

[@patrkbukly]

Great video thank you. 2 big lessons. I wonder if ultimately it was an overtorqued doohickey adjustment bolt because thats the Eagle Mike doo-hickey and spring in there.

[@adventurevin7600]

Might be. After I put in the Eagle Mike doohickey, I put on another 15K mikes

[@ReMotoCycle]

Hate to say it, but I believe your doohickey-fix caused your problem. If the tension was able to get so rigid that it snapped your shaft. It's either that or you had a faulty from the factory shaft. Either way, sorry that happened and I hope you get a replacement motor soon.

[@holisticaustralia]

Total Bummer, so sorry bro!

[@adventurevin7600]

Yes, it is. But I think back to just 7 years ago and I didn't even know how to ride a motorcycle. Since then I did a round trip on Route 66 and a round trip U.S. West Coast from Mexico to Canada. I did put almost 30,000 miles on that KLR and learned many maintenance and repair skills. I'm still considering getting another engine because I like the Gen 1.

[@tampz0nz]

I read somewhere that the doohickey is a bandaid for a problem that lies in the balancer chain guide material being too soft. The chain cuts away at the material over time causing excess slack in the chain which stretches (and eventually breaks) the stock balancer tensioner spring. Em Doohickey fixes the spring/lever breakage but doesn't account for the chain guide being eaten away. So if you still end up having a bunch of slack in that chain I imagine it could just start eating into the engine case and eventually seize up and cause a similar issue to this. Not an expert by any means, just repeating things I've read but it does seem plausible.

[@adventurevin7600]

Very good info. I just got another KLR same year and I will keep this in mind

[@AlphaChimpEnergy]

You’re basically a doctor.

[@TheHortond]

Those gears are starter gears.

[@slalomking]

Well it’s been 6 months, what did you end up doing?

[@adventurevin7600]

I was in Europe for three months. I just got back on Sep 1st. My Europe clips on on my other channel, Euro Vin 2023. I was only home for a week in California now in Ohio for a friend's Air Force retirement. I was able to put a viable plan (KLR Re-build) in place in the few days I was in California. After Ohio, I fly to Washington to get my daughters settled in college. I will be back home on Sep 21st and put out a detailed video on my next move with my KLR.

[@Ramenscooter]

Gen2 !

[@adventurevin7600]

I already rebuilt another Gen 1. Looks just like my original.

[@SigmaSheepdog]

I would probably purchase a new Gen 3 then part out the Gen 1 to help cover part of the cost of new bike. Until the end of March, Kawasaki is giving $1000.00 off of the KLR, plus an additional $250.00 if you are a veteran.

[@bigdave6194]

Yep 3 weeks ago I bought a brand new 2023 S model out the door for a little over 6k. Almost 2200 than a KLR was for the 22 model when it came out

[@SigmaSheepdog]

​@BigDave Congrats on your purchase! I just bought a 2023 base model last Friday at a similar price using the $1000.00 promo and a $500.00 Kawi Kash coupon that I had.

[@gildelvecchio]

Noooo…. Good luck fixing the bike!

[@adventurevin7600]

It's been frustrating. At least when it happened I was close to home and didn't wreck

[@reubenreports2904]

From what I'm understanding in this video is that the failure happened because you didn't periodically adjust the doohickey? You just installed it and forgot about it? Or was it because it was overtightened? Also about the timing chain tensioner, isn't it an automatic adjuster? I don't think we have to periodically adjust it, it should do it on it's own because it's a spring loaded system that tensions the chain as it stretches overtime. Or maybe you meant something else? I just would like to get clarity on exactly what went wrong, sorry if I sound a bit confused.

[@adventurevin7600]

I think it was because I installed the dohicky but never adjusted it. I have seen other youtube videos where the adjust the Dohickey with each oil change. I never did that. I bought the motorcycle with 1000 miles on it. I put on about 8K before I did the dohicky and then another 18K before the engine busted. It has 29K on the engine now.

[@reubenreports2904]

@@adventurevin7600 Makes sense now. I adjust my doohickey every oil change which has been anywhere between 1500-2000 miles. I also torque the bolt down to 78 inch pounds with a proper torque wrench. What most like happened is the balancer chain got so sloppy overtime that it kinked causing a stoppage and took some of the gears with it; just my guess. Was there excessive engine noise and vibrations that developed overtime before this happened?

[@adventurevin7600]

No engine noise or odd feel. In fact when it happened it just shut down. It wasn't dramatic at all

[@wingtimeRV7]

@@reubenreports2904 every other oil change is all you need to do.

[@bobsullivan5714]

I know I'm responding to a 3-month-old post but maybe my comment will be useful. The doohickey spring does adjust the cam chain tension but ONLY when the lock bolt is released. The adjustment you need to perform is to simply loosen the lock bolt a half turn and then re-tighten it. When you loosen the bolt, the spring tightens the chain. This is true of the factory stock tensioner as well as the doohickey. There are a bunch of youtube vids that cover this. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXrXnJiApsh2qsk

[@MrPepper312]

My 2023 KLR doohicky failed with only 1300 miles. Dealer fixed it under warranty. 😮

[@adventurevin7600]

Cool deal. My Gen 1 is 16 years old with 30K miles

[@MrPepper312]

I have had four KLR'S over the years and the first three no problems. I think Kawasaki is getting lazy with quality conctrol.

[@campionoverbagh561]

Gen one !!

[@joeyk810]

Where are you located? I can easily swap your cases and rebuild it for you. I have a good set of cases. Located in Michigan. Check my vid of my KLR.

[@adventurevin7600]

Riverside, Ca

[@BLUESBOYBENFIELD]

Your bike already has an Eagle Mike doohickey and spring….I’m in the process of doing mine…..cam chain and valve shims too….just put your bike back together properly…it’ll be fine……

[@adventurevin7600]

I'm my best and worst enemy fixing this thing. But I value all the lessons learned

[@fernandizo]

who ever did you doohickey did not put the engine back together correctly or the chains are way over tightened. Alot of times people do their own engine work they dont realize how to put the gears back together correctly. so you have timing chain failures, shafts sheared completely off due to friction and strain on the chains.

[@adventurevin7600]

Thanks for the insight. I did the dohicky with the help of a friend. I put about 15K miles on it after. This failure was 100% my fault.

[@slalomking]

This is why it must be done, all you nay sayers. Mine crapped out at 7000 miles. Luckily no balancer system problems like he has. Just put in the Eagle Mike doohickey and save yourselves this heartbreak and headache.