KLR 650 Doohickey - What I found in my bike.

This is not a how-to since there are plenty out there already. It's just a short video of what I found inside my KLR and even though I was told it had already been fixed it's a good thing I double checked it.

[@jsned2502]

I had the same concern about the torsion spring. But thought the same way about the gear holding it in.

[@natvega1]

It would be nice to see that when you put it in top dead center the silver links will not line up because the chain is stretched, now you will be using your bike with a stretched chain going into the sprockets. The correct thing to do is to change the chain and use the original spring because the original spring is also an indicator that your chain has reached the end of its lifespan before digging into the sprocket. The lifespan is usually 8000mi and the chain and guilds will run you about $300 every 8000mi.

[@yamkaw346]

Uhhh, I’ve got over 85,000 miles on original chain and guides. Just did the doohicky at like 15k miles

[@millermike5739]

You do not change the chain every 8k that's crazy talk

[@Thomas-wk5ll]

Good job Mate, I don't even have a klr yet but I'm looking forward to changing the do Hickey ans installing a thermo bob. Happy riding

[@xpsgarage]

They are kind of fun to work on but even better to ride!

[@Thomas-wk5ll]

Yeah they look great to work on

[@psalwasser]

hint: buy a dr650 and a big gas tank. you wont have to rebuild your camchest or cooling system to just go riding.

[@davidsimmons3844]

Make sure you check the chain guides, they wear out and then the tensioner doesn't have enough travel to tighten the chain.

[@spacetruckin6555]

Excellent video Sir, thank you for sharing what you found. After riding my 2018 DRZ for 25,000+ miles, I've got the hotsies for a KLR. How many miles on yours?

[@xpsgarage]

It has 15k on it right now. I've finally got the carb tuning where I like it so it should be getting a lot more miles soon!

[@josepeixoto3384]

I had KLRs in the 80s, 3 of them; you mean to say that the damm counter -balance chain still has problems today?? LOL

[@xpsgarage]

They have the lever fixed so it doesn't break anymore. I think that was done on the Gen 2 bikes. The coil extension spring that holds it is still not the best.

[@onerider808]

Interesting. I wonder if this is (or will be) an issue with my ole ‘23....s’pose I’d better find out.

[@xpsgarage]

The tensioner lever is good on all the models except the 1st gen. The springs can still be an issue even on the new ones. After the chain wears some the coil spring gets floppy. I'm really thinking about taking the spring out altogether and just pulling the side cover whenever the thing needs adjusted.

[@orlandoigno482]

Update?

[@nikhayes3396]

I have heard a lot of people say that the Gen 3 doesn't have the problem, and the real problem was only a certain number of early generation KLR's used poor quality metal on the spring or the guides???. Is there any truth to this? Many people are claiming 1000s and 1000s of miles on Gen 3s without touching the Doohicky.

[@xpsgarage]

If I remember right there were several different revisions of the doohickey and after the early ones they were good. My biggest complaint is the extension spring. I don't think they have fixed that problem even on the Gen 3. The springs are just not sized right to pull the doohickey all they way through it's travel and that lets them get loose and fall off. If I had a Gen 3 I would still either go to the torsion spring or just take the spring out altogether. If you don't mind pulling the side cover when adjusting the doohickey then no spring at all would be best since the only time the spring does anything is during adjustment. I would probably wait until it's out of warranty though.

[@nikhayes3396]

@@xpsgarage right… solid advice. After watching a lot of videos it looks pretty simple really. My bike doesn’t even have 400 miles on it yet, but if the drive chain itself is any guide that has stretched quite a bit really. I am waiting on kawasaki brand oil and filter and I got a tusk low profile drain plug. Once I hit 5-600 miles I will change out the oil and adjust the doohicky but I wont pull the side covers until the first real oil change at 3k at that point I think I will pull the side covers just to see how much the tensioner has moved and check the guides for wear. If at that point the spring has lost tension I will be surprised, but if so I will just do the torsion spring. Waiting for the warranty to go before I do anything drastic that I can’t “put back” I did put an 8” carbon fiber delkavic exhaust and removed the snorkle, I will say even after 20 plus miles she still snorts and pops quite a bit. I also did the clutch switch bypass mod and the fork brace. If by some crazy chance she blows up the original exhaust and snorkel are going back on ha. I wonder if I put the clutch switch back on if the fuel cut would cut down on what sounds like gun fire when I let off the gas. I took it to work today for the first time on i-90 and 25 mph wind gusts at 70-75 mph gave me an uncomfortable shake, so glad I put the fork brace on this morning before I left, and oddly enough found a much more fun to ride route back home. kind of pissed I have to wait for a year before I can do the thermobob and the jdjets 6 kit for the fuel map. and the doohicky for that matter. If it weren’t for the warranty I would just get it all out of the way right now. I have only rode dirt bikes my whole life so going from a 2 stroke cr250 that holds the front tire off the ground through 4th gear to a tractor KLR was a big leap, at least the new exhast and snorkle removal has given her the ability to clutch up a wheelie, but the “money we are going to save on gas” excuse I used to talk my wife into the KLR has gone out the window pretty quick, haha, my real delema at this point is what tires I want, riding on the streets has been really fun, but I was primarily thinking about using it for real off road adventure, I am either going to get a different fender and some street tires for it, or I am going to go full send on a set of dirt tires and an o-ring chain and then I will have to buy a street bike. Good grief thank goodness for banks that allow schmucks like me to make terrible choices. What would make a good full street bike that is comfortable for a lot of miles but also fast? and fits a guy that is 6’4” 280? seems like all the street bikes I looked at that weren’t harleys made me look like a clown on a tricycle. and I don’t really want to go the harley route. I am a bit surprised that the KLR seems smooth no vibration in the mirrors or foot pegs but my hands get buzzy after just a half hour, and I hold the handle bars like baby chicks? so either Im getting old or… well I bought a KLR so… yeah I guess im old and boring now. That was the biggest draw for me to the KLR when I sit on it, I feel properly sized for the bike. Of course with the preload set to 5. which leads me to my next bank drain, I feel like I need a bigger spring or maybe different rear shock. the eagle mike fork brace seems like it stiffened up the front end a little bit, not sure why doesn’tmake any sense, I guess it just feels more solid up front.

[@xpsgarage]

@@nikhayes3396 LOL It's been a very long time since I had anything new enough to worry about a warranty. A better fuel map should fix your popping since it just sounds lean. Putting the KLX needle in my carb was a drastic change and fixed all the fueling issues so it's spot on now. I went with the Top Gun spring on my shock and that made a noticeable improvement. I actually took the fork brace off of mine and liked it better. I ride more on dirt but haven't noticed any issues on pavement either. It's just a really fun bike to ride.

[@zanebraunstein8366]

Torsion spring is questionable. I would check your starter gear after a few thousand miles. Probably been rubbing on starter gear.

[@xpsgarage]

I don't doubt it's rubbing on the starter gear. I'm leaning toward just going without a spring and just taking the side cover off when I need to adjust it.

[@waynemac9869]

After many many years of making motorcycles, and you would think they would know and fix ongoing problems , but no they don't .Shame on you kawasaki.

[@xpsgarage]

They did make several improvements to the doohickey itself but the one thing they never fixed was the spring. Eagle Mike didn't really fix that either until he came out with the torsion spring.

[@waynemac9869]

@@xpsgarage thankyou for that information.cheers.

[@coreymerriam1007]

Intentional? Obviously.

[@josepeixoto3384]

recalls are for safety systems ONLY, to avoid deaths and Courts@@Paul_Ridgeway

[@user-vd1uz3dj8l]

Everything manmade including humans have problems! Mercedes v12 twin turbo have 1.98 o-ring that's costs 30,000 to replace!

[@PaulWegner1]

That's not a compression spring, it's a tension spring.

[@xpsgarage]

Yes I realized I misspoke and corrected it with an onscreen message.

[@Wabbit1961]

The spring was fine. It was under tension. It's not stretched out.

[@xpsgarage]

@@Wabbit1961 Spring was not fine. It's supposed to pull on the arm and since it's not stretched out it can't pull anymore.

[@anonimoanonimo2141]

How much km?

[@xpsgarage]

32,000 km

[@sachsgs2509]

I be damn if I understand what r we talking about lol. What exactly r we looking at?

[@xpsgarage]

You don't know what a doohickey is?? LOL. How'd you even find this video? Seriously it's part of the chain tensioner for the balance shafts in these KLR 650s. They've been an issue for the entire run of KLRs including the brand new ones.

[@sachsgs2509]

@@xpsgarage I know what it is however I've never seen it. I've had 4 KLRs so far never had this problem. I just don't know exactly which part r we looking at in the video. Is it the little spring underneath?

[@xpsgarage]

@@sachsgs2509 I gotcha. The actual doohickey is the part in the center of the pic that has the slot in it. It actually locks the tensioner eccentric in place. The early models were prone to breaking. The spring underneath is what pulls the doohickey into position and it also fails. Eagle Mike's doohickey kit comes with a new doohickey and a new type of spring so both can be replaced.

[@sachsgs2509]

@@xpsgarage ok now I get it...thank you. I guess I was lucky huh?

[@queenslander954]

KLR’s are a terrible designed motor , running camshafts directly on cylinder heads with no bearings is just lazy.

[@xpsgarage]

Actually that is normal. All of the DOHC engines I've worked on, both motorcycle and automotive, run the cams directly on machined journals on the head. No replaceable bearings.

[@josepeixoto3384]

i confirm, don't even recall any engine with bearing shells on the cam or cams @@xpsgarage