KLR 250 Project: Part XIII

Trying to make the most of the current downtime caused by the leaking coolant, I made some progress on the to-do list.

All wiring has been completed and all lights, turn signals, and horn now work. I found the culprit responsible for the wiring glitches I experienced while connecting the lights -- a broken primary wire inside the harness. What was happening is that the wire was snapped/cracked and would loose connection unless it was bent a certain way. Thus, upon moving the bike around, power connection between front and rear wiring harness would come and go. Once I discovered the location (noticed charred isolation) it was as easy as cutting the wire, stripping it a little, and tying the two ends together in a butt connector.
I also bypassed the kickstand switch by tying the two wires together, which not only saves me purchasing a new kickstand switch, but it also prevents me from having future issues in this area known to cause running problems.

I remember reading (somewhere on the Internet) that a 1991 Honda Civic temp switch can be used to replace the KLR temp switch. This switch only powers the cooling fan, and it does so via relay. Well, since the Civic part costs less that $15 and the Kawasaki part costs over $80, I decided to give it a try as my fan was hardwired and an automatic operation would be much better. After a got the switch from a local car parts store, it became immediately clear that the Civic part would not work. The poster of this info online claimed that a new thread 10mm coarse would have to be cut in the civic part. Well, the threaded part of the Civic switch is not large enough to accept a 10mm coarse thread. I verified the parts numbers with several stores and always received the same part. So, for now my fan remains hard-wired.   

I reupholstered the seat with marine vinyl (red, to match the accents on the black bike),

 

and added some finishing touches to the flat-black gas tank

So, at this point, the to-do list looks like this:

Install new oil pump gear (which is also the shaft for the coolant impeller)
Install coolant pump seals and gaskets
Install right side engine cover and gasket
Fill (again) with oil, coolant, and gasoline
Adjust clutch
Bleed front brake
Go through all bolts and check
Start and pray that nothing new comes up


Now, allow me to go back a little.

My initial kickstart issues were traced to two things: First, the kickstart spring was broken; and second, the previous owner assembled the ratcheting parts incorrectly. As my camera did not work when I was posting the kickstart info a few posts back, here are some pictures.

First, if you disassemble the ratcheting system,  make sure it goes back together the same way. To aid this, there are factory punch marks on both the shaft and the racthet. Make sure these marks align. You won't see them at first, but once the retaining clip and washer are removed, they are hard to miss.

Second, the order of washers and springs should look like this:

This is where the entire assembly goes to. Unlike on other bikes, the crankcase of the KLR 250 does not have to be split to install the kickstart assembly. Just slide in and turn clockwise to lock it in place. (There is a shim/washer between the crankcase and the kickstart assembly -- don't loose it!)

Next, install spring (in shaft first), then pre-load the spring by turning 1/3 of a turn and sliding its tab into the hole in crankcase (make sure the plastic spring guide is in place and pressed all the way down on the shaft or the tab that goes in the shaft could get loose)

There is also a washer.shim that goes on the shaft after this step is done.