About Me

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Henry Martin spends his nights writing fiction and poetry, which predominately deals with the often-overlooked aspects of humanity. He is the author of three novels: Escaping Barcelona, Finding Eivissa, and Eluding Reality; a short story collection, Coffee, Cigarettes, and Murderous Thoughts; and a poetry collection, The Silence Before Dawn. His most recent published project is a collection of Photostories in five volumes under the KSHM Project umbrella, for which he collaborated with Australian photographer Karl Strand, combining one of a kind images with short stories and vignettes. He is currently working on his next novel narrated in two opposing points of view. He lives with his family in the Northeast.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

KLR 250 Project: Part XIV

This may well be the final post in the KLR 250 saga. (that is, unless something goes wrong soon)

On Christmas Eve, the needed parts finally arrived. As the entire family was in the midst of holiday madness, I postponed working on the bike until after Christmas. Sunday morning, despite the frigid temperature, I gather up all the parts, put on some gloves, and got to work.
After replacing the bad oil gear and installing new oil seal, mechanical seal, and O-ring, I was ready to put it all back together. I installed new gaskets on both the clutch cover and the water pump, installed the impeller, and bolted everything back together. So far so good. While the tank was still off, I checked and lubed all cables, and then installed the tank and the seat.
When I poured gas in the tank I was a bit nervous since the last time the petcock leaked. My fear, however, proved not necessary as my homemade petcock fix worked and no gas leaked out.
Everything, except side covers was on and ready, so I tried starting the bike. Nothing, zero, zip, nada. I kicked and kicked for almost an hour. Fuel - check...air - check...spark - check. A mystery.
It was getting late, so I gave up.

This morning, I went back to the garage, determined and ready to hit the bike with a sledgehammer if needed to be.
After checking all connections (again) and not finding anything wrong, I tried starting it. Nothing again. Well, with nothing seemingly wrong, I took out the spark plug and replaced it with a new one. I then sprayed some ether down the airbox and the bike started on the third kick. I let it run long enough for the thermostat to open, then added some coolant, and shut her off. Later on, I checked the oil level and added as necessary.

An hour later, the bike started on the second kick and I went for a test run up the hill (through snow). Except for slipping on the ice, the bike revved up just fine and handled well. Shut it off, tried starting again -- first kick this time. Tried again half an hour later and the same thing happened. The only thing left was to adjust the clutch cable and ride back in to the garage.

Project is done!! (for now)
A few pics of the completed bike on its maiden voyage and in the garage next to my G650GS. 

Front

Left side in the snow

Right side in the snow

Looks like a toy next to the GS (excuse the messy floor)


Next to the GS, reversed color scheme (the GS is red with black seat, etc, while the KLR is black with red seat, etc)


  
A little tribute to ADV Rider (a great community!)
I hope you enjoyed this journey with me and the little KLR 250.   

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

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.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

KLR 250 Project: More Downtime

Saturday morning, I was ready to bolt on the few missing pieces, fill her up with gas, and hit the trails. Nevertheless, as luck has it, I discovered a small amount of coolant coming out of the weeping hole underneath the coolant pump. The weeping hole itself is small hole between the oil seal and the mechanical seal portion of the water pump assembly. Since the shaft for the impeller runs through the case from the oil pump, there are two seals which prevent oil from getting into coolant and vice versa. While the O-ring and a part of the mechanical seal are accessible from the impeller's side, the mechanical seal itself cannot be removed without taking the clutch cover off. Thus, for the third time, I took the cover off (breaking the newly installed gasket in the process).
When I had the clutch cover off the last time, I did not replace these seals as they appeared to be in good condition. This time, however, I noticed two small grooves in the shaft itself, which could be the main culprit. After all, even a new seal will not seal an uneven surface.
And so, I'm currently waiting for more parts and hoping this will be the last thing to go wrong (at least for a little while).  

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

KLR 250 Project: Part XII

Finally some real progress!

After clearing the nut and the screwdriver from the timing/cam chain area, and putting everything back together, I was able to proceed.
Engine was filled with fresh oil and new coolant. All motor wires were connected back together, chain installed, rear brake hooked up and set, and the gas tank was temporarily installed. Control cables were routed and adjusted. I poured a little bit of fresh gas in there, waited a minute to prime the carburetor, and, holding my breath, reached for the kickstart. On the second kick, the engine started and ran, ran, ran. She is a little loud, but that could be because the previous owner opened up the airbox. There was a little white smoke coming from the exhaust, but that could be due to running the choke (still waiting for my choke cable), and the fresh oil on the air filter. Nevertheless, she ran.

And then I noticed gas leaking from the petcock. I shut her off, took the tank off and drained what I could. Clearly, the petcock is busted, but I didn't have the chance to look at it yet. I'll try to play with it tonight to see if it can be repaired.

Bike then sat overnight with a clean piece of cardboard underneath to spot any leaks, and I'm happy to report there are none!

If all goes well, she'll be going on her maiden woods voyage this weekend.

Still to do:

Radiator covers and plastics.
Body panels.
Choke cable, plunger, and spring.
Wire lights, switches, controls, horn, and turn signals.
Upholster seat.
Boil coolant and add as necessary.
Check all gauges.
Bleed front brake and replace brake fluid.
Adjust clutch.
Install shifter.
Bypass sidestand switch.

Test and ride.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I'll find out as I work my way through the list. 

Sunday, December 5, 2010

KLR 250 Project: Part XI

After a very eventful couple of days, I finally have some real progress to report.

Lets begin with Saturday:

In the evening, I had a couple of hours to work on the bike. Since, the day before, I install the engine in the frame, I was hoping to start wrapping things up a bit. I began with the wiring harness and routed everything the way it was before I took it apart. At first I worked from memory, which is normally a good thing; however, as it has been weeks since I took it apart, my memory failed me. Fortunately, I took some digital pictures of the wiring harness before I took it apart, and after a quick refreshment course, all went smoothly.
Then, since I had the tank, radiators, and everything else still off, I decided to check valve clearances before proceeding further. I took the valve cover off, and removed the magneto cover (this is normally not necessary, but I wanted to replace the gasket). After I replaced the gasket with a new one, reinforced with silicone on both sides, I took off the two caps necessary to rotate the engine (via magneto bolt) and to check timing marks on flywheel. 


Rotating the engine counterclockwise, I watched for the intake (rear) valves to complete a full operation, then move the flywheel further 1/3 of a turn to align the T mark on flywheel with a the notch in the observation window. The valves were slightly off. Kawasaki provides valve clearance of .20mm - .24mm for both intake and exhaust valves. My exhaust valves were in excess of .25mm, while the intake valves were less than .20mm. Using a feeler gauge purchased on Friday for this very reason, I set the valves at .23mm each, and rotated the engine two full turns. I then rechecked the clearances. Intake valves were closed again, less than .20mm, while exhaust valves stayed as set. I readjusted the intake valves, rotated engine two additional turns, and rechecked them again. This time, all valves remained at .23mm. Perfect! Just as I was about to pull the feeler gauge out from underneath the last rocker, I heard something dropping into the engine. Not a sound one wants to hear when working on an open top-end. Since I had no tools laying around, I was puzzled at first. And then I spotted it – the nut, which held my feeler gauges together, came loose and dropped into the engine, on the side of the timing chain. I tried locating it with a flashlight, but to no prevail. Since, by then, it was almost 10:30 at night, I gave up on the idea of locating it, and went upstairs. Needless to say, I did not have anything nice to say about what happened.

Sunday morning:
After numerous failed attempts to locate the missing nut, I was left with only one thing to do – the nut had to come out. Leaving a metal piece in an engine that spins six thousand times per minute is not only a bad idea, but it is also a dangerous thing to do. Should the nut get picked up by flowing oil, it could not only cause a substantial damage to the engine, but it could also cause the rear wheel to lock up at high speed due to damage to gears.
I first attempted the easy thing – flipping the bike upside down, in hopes that gravity will do its part and the nut will drop out the way it fell in. While picking up a 200-pound bike and flipping it around is not an easy task, it is easier than the alternative – splitting the engine. I laid the bike on its side, grabbed the wheels, and pushed it upwards. In no time the bike stood on the subframe and handlebars. But no matter how hard I shook or how many times I tapped on the engine, the nut did not fall out.
Frustrated, I opted for option two – looking for it inside the engine. 

Since the KLR 250 has a magnetic rotor, I assumed the nut could be near the magneto (which is located right underneath the cam chain). I took the magneto cover off (breaking the new, beautiful gasket I installed only a few hours earlier), and looked in there. Nothing. Next, off came the magneto flywheel. This was not an easy task, as the flywheel has to be held in place to remove the bolt that holds it on its shaft, and the bolt itself is torqued at 87 ft/lbs. Not owning the proper gear for this, I used a large socket wrench and an adjustable wrench. Yes, it worked. As soon as the flywheel came off, I spotted the nut laying in some sludge right behind it. Greatly relieved, I used the opening to inspect gears and timing chain. This is when I noticed something red between the timing chain and the cam chain.
At first I though it was some red silicone the previous owner used to reinforce his home-fixed stripped drain plug. I tried pulling it out with a gasket pick, and this is when I discovered that it was not silicone, but something rather hard. Twenty minutes of pulling, pushing, and wiggling, it finally dropped down between the gears, from where I was able to pick it up. Nope, it wasn’t silicone, it was ... a screwdriver!
I have no idea of how long it’s been in there, or who left it in there. However, I’m glad I found it, as this would most certainly cause much bigger problems than the little nut I dropped it.

From this point on, it was cleaning things off and installing the magneto cover back on (reused the paper gasket, but cleaned off silicone and applied new silicone on contact surfaces).
Initially, I planned on finishing the bike this weekend, but the lost nut “episode” set me back by a few hours, and there was no way I could have finished everything else.
This, however, did not stop me from making some serious progress.
To be continued...

Friday, December 3, 2010

KLR 250 Project: Part X

When, two days ago, I received a call from the bike shop that my kickstart spring finally arrived, I rushed over to pick it up. Filled with anticipation, I ate dinner quickly that night, and headed down to the garage.
After removing the clutch cover, I took the kickstart assembly apart, cleaned and lubed everything, and started working on putting things back together. The first thing I noticed was that the punch marks on the ratchet and the shaft were not aligned properly, which explains why the kickstart did not engage at times. The second thing I noticed was that the spring, which pushes the ratchet gear in place, was weak. To remedy this, I stretched the spring while it was out. With the gears, spring, and washers in place and properly aligned, I inserted the kickstart assembly in the crankcase and took out my new, still packaged, kickstart spring. However, luck proved to be once again not on my side. As soon as I removed the spring from the bag, I knew it was the wrong spring. While the external markings all bore the right part number, the part itself was completely different.
At that point, I spend three weeks waiting for the new spring, and I was not about to wait any longer. Instead of aiming my frustration at the shop (who ordered the right part), I took my frustration out on the old, broken spring. The part that was broken was the tab that inserts into the shaft itself. The last ¼” or so was snapped off, and the spring would not stay in place. I placed the spring into a vise, and squeezed it, repeatedly, until it changed the angle of the tab. With the spring bent, the shaft insert actually stayed in place even under tension. This was somewhat of a dirty fix, but it worked. With everything in place and tested, I removed the old gaskets with a razorblade, cleaned the contact surfaces with brake parts cleaner, and applied a thin bead of Hondabond. This was followed by a new gasket, then a second bead of Hondabond on top of it, and finally the installation of the new clutch cover I purchased on Ebay.
This cover came off a 2005 model, but, except a few minor changes, was identical to my old 1989 cover. The old cover had been welded and re-welded, and I wanted to make sure that I won’t have any leaks, and, more important, that the case cover is dimensionally correct. It fit perfectly.
I took pictures of the entire process, along with detailed pictures of the differences in the two cases. Unfortunately, my computer refuses to recognize the pictures and does not allow me to download them.

Well, with the case cover in place, it was time to install the water pump propeller. Since the new cover has an almost-new looking mechanical seal in place, I did not bother changing the seal. However, I did apply some black Permatex sealer on the shim, and along the new gasket. Otherwise, installation was pretty straightforward.

Then it was time to insert engine into the frame. Being a 250cc, this was easily done solo. The only time I struggled was inserting the rear engine bolt, which also attaches the swingarm to frame. Essentially, one long bolt goes through swingarm, frame, and engine block at the same time. It was tricky, because I already had the rear shock in place, and the shock’s spring kept forcing the holes out of alignment. A few whacks with a rubber mallet and several curses later, it gave up and let me insert the bolt.
All threads were treated with blue Loctite, and all bolts tightened.

Next up: Installing everything else, filling engine with oil, filling cooling system, and fixing wiring harness.