Saturday, December 19, 2009

A few tid bits on the KLR

The one thing I knew was happening with the KLR was the exhaust seal was leaking very slightly. I reused it after I took off the the head pipe for something I can’t even remember why. It was obviously leaking and annoying when down shifting, the bike would make a lot of extra pops.

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That black corner on the bottom right is the leak spot. After a little ride around the block and no more flatulence from the back-end.

The next thing that stuck in my head was the kickstand switch. When I rode trails and would stand up on the pegs and the heal of my boot constantly pressed on the switch cover. If I cracked the switch while riding the bike would die out which would be a bummer.

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This is the switch connector that needs to be jumered to eliminate the option.

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Pretty simple = one bolt!!

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Taking the switch off does leave you with a big ugly blank plate to look at but worry free.

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Wires butt connected and weatherproof. I electrical taped it up and it’s all hidden behind the starter solenoid cover plate.

The last thing to do was the heated grip switch. The switch is not waterproof or even water-resistant. I’m surprised it lasted a year in the rain and multiple bike washes. At the time I couldn’t find a waterproof and small switch. There really isn't many options that worked well for my spot on my bike either.IMG_2063

Last week I was looking into heated seats on the web for the wife's van and stumbled onto a rubber cover for a 13/16 rocker switch. For only a few bucks it was at my door in four days.

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kind of looks like a big contact lens.

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The switch needs to be popped out to get lipped over the edge.

I know this isn’t perfect but it should help keep the elements out of it.

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Fit was very close to perfect. With the camera flash it makes the cover look translucent but it’s pretty clear with the naked eye.

Next week will be tinkering with the RD400 again, since I have been slacking off on that project since late may.

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