'88 KLR 650 Running Again

[Old Grinner]

Last year I was having charging system problems with my vintage KLR. The bike would basically run off the battery until everything would start going dim.

Hence, I ordered a new stator and eventually a regulator/rectifier. It was during a time when I had a lot of irons on the fire and not much time for anything else.

After months of delay I finally got to working on it this past week and finished up today.

The battery took a full charge (solid green light on charger), the oil was swapped out (left filter in because it was only about 500 miles since my last oil change), and I began with first replacing the regulator/rectifier. I threw the dice and hoped that the new component would do the trick and fix the charging problem I was having. As luck would have it seems it was all I really needed.

Foolishly I spent $$$ for a replacement stator that I guess I don't need after all. That said it goes into the drawer for later use if ever needed. The KLR is running and I'm happy . . ..

The first time the system failed I had put about 25 miles or so on the machine riding at dusk. I started to notice things going dim and the turn signals were cycling much slower. This was all on a new battery last year too.

So today I did about a 35+ mile ride. Some miles around town to see how things were going and then out of town. There was no change in the lighting characteristics. Using turn signals with the brake light on didn't make any difference from start to finish. The neutral light characteristics remained constant. I even checked the headlight brightness in the garage after I got back and it was fine on high and low beam. All on the same battery I had bought new last year and was the victim of the previous charging system failure.

As an aside, I had to stop for some errands and the starting motor showed no "weakness" or change in enthusiasm when getting underway again. The engine eagerly fired right up.

The signs seem to point to a successful endeavor. I am cautiously optimistic the problem is solved. Short of taking it for a hundred miles or so I'm fairly confident at this point I'll be OK.

Lesson learned? Yes . . . study up on how to analyze a charging system and get a proper tool for it. Just guessing and throwing money at swapping parts is better left to dealerships. But at least you can blame them instead of yourself.

Here are some pics I took today. This is after I got back from the ride. I have the old regulator/rectifier in hand and the box was for the replacement that's now installed and seems to be working fine.

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[Old Grinner]

Yesterday was a nice day so I took a 60 mile loop on the KLR.

Everything worked excellent. At a point where I remembered having problems last year with the battery running down there was no sign of deterioration in the turn signal strength or head lights. I was able to continue to use up more of the old gas that was still in the tank from last Fall. When I stopped to top off on the way home it took about 3 gallons . . . enough to create a more healthy fuel supply.

I still can't believe the thing is almost 32 years old now. . ..

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[GeorgeSK]

Looks great!

Seems like the fix is for real - always a good feeling. Congratulations, and keep on truckin'.

[Old Grinner]

Recently I picked up some "Sea Foam" fuel treatment for my KLR. It was having problems holding idle and then would resist acceleration from idle without the choke on a bit.

I suspect the low speed/pilot jet was partially clogged from ethanol issues or perhaps something else. It is the original carb and it is 32 years old. I regularly use StarTron fuel additive too.

The Sea Foam product is a different animal so-to-speak.

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So I decided to give it a try. I added about half the can ( 8 oz.) to about 4 gallons of gas that was already in the bike and started it up and let it idle for a bit to get some mix through the fuel line into the carb and then shut it off and let it sit for a few days. Then I repeated the same thing again. Then I let it sit for a few more days and then took it up town to top off the tank. I added 89 octane. I think I'm just going to continue using 89 octane in the KLR from now on instead of 87. I've already made the move from 89 octane in my Suzuki GSF1200S to Shell VPower Nitro+ 93 Octane and noticed a difference. The Suzuki runs smoother around town and generally better behaved. I digress.

Today I put almost 50 miles on the KLR and it now idles much better and responds to throttle much better. I'm quite pleased with the Sea Foam product thus far.

From a cold start the KLR also started easier and settled down after the choke was backed off much quicker. I was able to begin my trip with more confidence and noticed on deceleration the motor didn't seem to pop in the exhaust hardly at all.

The weather here lately has been really hot, humid, and dry for a long time. Recently we've had a few bad storms though. Yet the humidity continues on.

That said I'm not going to let the motorcycles sit quite so long in between rides. I've been leaning on the Zuma and XMax for the majority of riding lately and avoided taking longer rides on the bikes due to the heat.

Anyhow . . . thumbs up from me for Sea Foam. At this point I don't think I'll have to remove the carb and take it apart. That will save me from having to order a bowl gasket.

Here's an interesting video though that kind of sums up the issue with ethanol and carburetor problems in general.

[big bear]

ive been putting sea foam in my tank for a few years now glad to hear its working

[gn2]

Is it not about time you peeled the break in sticker off the tacho?

[Old Grinner]

Is it not about time you peeled the break in sticker off the tacho?

I know what you mean . . ..

It's probably the only '88 KLR 650 left on the planet that still has it.