KLR 650 "Doohickey" balance adjuster lever and spring

[amigoride]

Allof you klr guys know about this issue.You get as many different opinions as you do answers.Upgrading these parts does not appear to be a big deal but you need a couple of tools that can get pricey.The whole package-parts,gaskets,tools adds up to about $150.00 U.S. plus freight,duty and currency exchange.

If we can get three or four of us to order the parts and one set of tools together we can save on shipping charges and then move the tools around from one to the next till we are all done."I'm in".

This upgrade may not be necessary in your minds butI have e-mailed six or eight guys on the Yahoo site and after hearing their storiesI want the "peace of mind" this mod. will give me for under $100.00 Cdn.

Let me know if you're interested and I'd be happy to find the best price and put it all together.

Thanks guys!!(and gals) Brian (amigoride)in Kelowna

[2wheelsgood]

Hi Brian,

Good idea, I've alsorecently decided todo the doohickey replacement if only for the 'peace-of-mind' factor (probably been reading the same threads as you on DSN_KLR650). I have an A18 as does my friend Matt in N.Van, so that makes three of us so far including yourself. Beyond sharing the tools, maybe we can even turn this into a Okanagan doohickey party?

Mike (2wheelsgood) in Kelowna

[bakelite]

I have the tools if anyone wants to borrow them just let me know.:)

[2wheelsgood]

Thanks! Most excellent offer :dude:. We'll be in touch :hb:

- MikeE

[ktmken]

Sorry to Jack your thread, But Lets get some Okanagan rides going. Every Sat and Sunday afternoon (In the summer)I ride around the Kelowna area area saying to myself, "Surely I can't be the only dualsport rider in Kelowna" We have some of the best dualsport riding areas in BC right in our back yard. If you want to get together and plan a ride and maybe invite some of the Lower mainland and Kamloops down for a weekend let me know. I am always here.

KTM Ken

Back to the doohickeys

[KLR MIKE]

I'd be up for a OK ride...:hb:

Okanagan...my ole stomping grounds.

If we could only find a designated driver we could end a days ride by doing a wine tasting tour:shock::hb:

I'll be coming up definitely when the snow on the mountains starts to melt to check out some riding areas and to see if some of the old ones are still there.

[tomtumb]

Hi could you please tell me what a doohickey is? thanx tom

[vanmixman]

Tom,



It is the counterbalancer tensioner. They claim the stock one can break fairly easy. I had mine done out of paranoia.

Vanmixman

[tomtumb]

thanx for the info tom

[ktmken]

If you really want some information on the whole doohicky issue, go to yahoo groups

DSN_KLR650

In the search menu type in doohicky . I studied this whole issue for a couple of months as I was planning on buying a new KLR650 before I found my KTM. If nothing else it makes very interesting reading. I still don't really have an opinion on the whole doohicky thing.

[bakelite]

From what I understand a lot of these do break but if you are going to change to a better one for peace of mind, its an easy job, get a better spring too, lots of guys I talked to have found the springs broken. :hb:

[Yak_KLR650]

Are there any plans to follow up on getting thedoohickey parts? I'd like to do mine. Maybe have an interior doohickey replacement day?

Doug.

[Aaron]

What the BEEEP is a do-hickey? and if I have one how come I don't know about it? ;);)

Aaron

[Yak_KLR650]

The Doohickey is the counter balance lever. Commonly considered a weak point on the KLR. Apparently a simple job to change. Below is taken from the KLR 650 FAQ at http://bigcee.com/.

Balancer chain tensioner ("Doohickey") prone to failure
The counterbalancer tensioner arm (clamped down by the small bolt on the bottom left engine cover) has a tendency to get brittle and break. This has happened on bikes of all years and mileages, while many other bikes (of all years and mileages) are fine. If anything, later bikes seem to be more prone to failure, perhaps because of the change to solid balancer sprockets. If this system fails and the balancer chain jumps, it can sieze the engine. Sagebrush Machine Shop and Eagle Machine (available from Arrowhead) both make a machined adjuster arm that should be much more reliable than the stock unit. (Both units are of equal quality, although they offer different spring lengths.) In addition, the adjuster bolt and spring were upgraded in 1996; earlier models can be upgraded by replacing the bolt and spring, and adding the washer. The required parts are: Idler spring, 92144-1860; 7mm O-ring, 670B1507; washer, 92200-1263; idler adjuster bolt, 92150-1923.



Doug.

[newguyklr]

HI

Re: Replacement of Doohickey - Saw you message on tool

I am in the process of upgrading my KLR for a extended tour in Yukon and Alaska outbackin th next few years. Got lots of work ahead of me

Am looking at replacing the doohickey for my peace of mind. May I borrow you tool for this please. Will send deposit

Thanks

Dan in Regina. SK

[Yak_KLR650]

We changed 2 Doohickeys on the weekend - my '99 with 28,000 km on it and Ray's '04 with only a few thousand km. Had them both done and cleaned up in less than 3 hours. For someone that has never seen the inside of an engine, this was really easy. The instructions on the internet -http://www.klr650.marknet.us/doohickey.htmlwere great.

PM me if you want some more details or info.

[ktmken]

Was there any damage to the stock parts

[Yak_KLR650]

The springs were good in both, there was some wear on the lever in mine (28,000 km) and some evidence of over torqueing, probably by the previous owner, because I've always torqued to specs. It's a pretty cheesy part. Mine didn't fit very snug on the shaft and it was starting to wear in the corners of the shaft hole. Simple job to do.

[bikebutcher]

2005 KLR doohickey replacement? Is the assembly any different than previous models or can I order the same parts from "Fred"?

I live in Gibsons and would be more than happy to ride to Kelowna with a case of beer on the back for a weekend of doohicking. Could pickup a riding companion in N. Van on the way through. Would prefer to ride up hwy 7 on the north side of the river and then possibly hwy 3 (rather than the bloody freeways and the coq.). I do have a 16t counter sprocket but I'd rather not cruise at 120km/h + all day.

I'm planning to ride to south america and back so it is extremely important to me to check this type of part for possible problems. I don't mind being stuck somewhere for tube/tire changes and clutch cables but I'd rather not crack my case in nowheresvilleBolivia and try to rebuild a toasted engine while floating on an island made of reeds.

Any progress on finding parts and/or tools?

[Yak_KLR650]

The part for the 2005 is the same as the other years. Simple job to do. If you can locate the tools, it would be easy to do by following the instructions at http://www.klr650.marknet.us/

Good luck. :dr:

[VIMike]

Dooh, another hi-jacker. Welcome 'Butcher' to our group. I have some friends in Gibsons and Sechelt that I sometimes go visit. I would like to meet you should I bring my bike, maybe even go for a ride. I especially like the strtch of highway up past Pender Harbour out to the Powell River Ferry. Also every time I would pass by the two lakes along the highway I'm tempted to bring my fly rod andcast a few.

Drop me a line, as to where you are, what you ride etc etc.

VIMike/ A19 KLR

Back to the regulary scheduled programming on Doo-Hickeys.

[avmechanic]

I have a set of doohicky tools if anyone needs them in the Lower Mainland. I live in Langley but I could ship them Greyhound if anyone needs them elsewhere.

Greg

[klrman]

Could you ship the doohickey tools to me!
I just ordered 2 2006 KLR's and I just want
to do the Doohickey thing, basically because I have
dreams of being stuck on a high mountain with my
engine fried and it bugs ne enough that I will change it
as soon as I pick up the bikes this week

[klrman]

By the way, can I get the Doohickey parts here in BC?
If I order it from the US, then I don't know how long
the wait will be before it crosses the border and the snow has melted around the mountains here! I need to test the new mountain roads around me as I did not know we had so many until I downloaded Google Earth and saw the satelite shots of my area. If any of you are in doubt where the back mountain trails lead in BC, that free satelite program google earth will give you a pretty good idea about the roads and how long they run through the mountains.
The mountain just behind my house has a road that looks like it goes at leat 40 K up the mountain to 3 lakes I never even knew of and I have lived here 12 years now.

[Yak_KLR650]

You may be able to order them through a dealer like Burnaby Kawasaki, but probably simpler to get them from Fred Hink at Arrowhead Motorsports. http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/index.html

That's what we did, quick and easy. Just make sure you get them to ship them US Postal Service NOT FedEX or UPS - Customs brokerage fees will kill you.

[klrman]

Thanks Yak_KLR650.
If I can't get it through a BC Kawasaki dealer then I will order it in the US as you suggest.
I can't order it through my local Kawasaki dealer as he goes crazy when I mention the word "Doohickey"! He denies the Doohickey problem as if his life depended on it:D

[vexorg]

Yak_KLR650 wrote:

We changed 2 Doohickeys on the weekend - my '99 with 28,000 km on it and Ray's '04 with only a few thousand km. Had them both done and cleaned up in less than 3 hours. For someone that has never seen the inside of an engine, this was really easy. The instructions on the internet -http://www.klr650.marknet.us/doohickey.html were great.

PM me if you want some more details or info.


A few of us out here in the Toronto area are getting together on the 22nd to have a tech day (http://www.klr650.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10309), which of course includes doohickey replacement. Any pointers on things we should watch out for? I can do routine maintenance on a bike, but like you, have never been into the engine.

I know your post says to PM you, but I thought that other listers here might appreciate the info as well.

[Yak_KLR650]

The only issue I had was overcoming my fear of opening up a functioning engine :shock:. When undoing the rotor bolt it was useful to have a cheater bar, and a 1/2" drive torque wrench for retorquing it. The instructions at http://www.klr650.marknet.us/doohickey.html are great, follow them and you should have not problems. We did ours upright on a lift, so we drained the oil. I was able to reuse the gasket (careful pulling the cover off).

The doohickey in mine was intact, but showing signs of wear on the shaft. The engine runs smoother now (for a Thumper! :P).

Good Luck

[klrman]

I found another website with a step by step guide with great pics to change the Doohickey and a wealth of other KLR info. http://www.multisurfacemotorcycling.com/klrpage/lever/lever_p01.htm

Pretty decent site and goes indepth about what parts to grease etc and torque specs on the Doohickey adjuster bolt not mentioned in the Kawa service manuals etc.

Between these picture and info at http://www.klr650.marknet.us/doohickey.html everyone will feel confident in doing the job properly. This site mentions important stuff about Doohickey replacement that I don't see mentioned anywhere else. :dr::hf:

[Hoots]

[Hoots]

[Hoots]

[Norm]

We just did another Doohickey today. There were no broken parts but the lever had a compressed area which would have prevented movement unless the bolt were backed off significantly. In addition, the spring had no tension so we replaced the Doohickey and installed the shorter of the two springs.

If you find a broken spring, look in the oil pump pick-up screen for the broken piece because that's where they usually end up. It's a good excuse to clean the bits of silicone out of the oil pump pick-up screen.

Anyone in the Fraser Valley who needs a hand with a Doohickey, give me a shout. I have the tools and have done several.

Norm

[dooveman]

You know it would be great if everyonewho replaced a doohickey, would bag it up and give it back to Kawasaki with the year of their bike and the Km's on their odometer. They won't do anything about it until they start getting data back that shows the issues. I was told by them that a few years ago they made changes like improving the weld that eliminated the problem. But they still offer an after market fix for the paranoid people that hear about it.

So the more doohickey's that get returned, the more valuable data they have to see what should be done and how it fails with use.

Brian

[04klr]

another two bits worth, 1)don't ask why, just do the "Doo" and sleep at night.

2) when doing the Doohickey (and spring replacement) ensure that there is enuf clearance between the adjuster and the case, some castings don't leave enuf space for future adjustment, if the adjuster takes up slack at ea. adjustment , then there must be room to travel, mine didn't have enuf room and, though scary I jammed a rag in there thentook a wood chisel and Jokers fav. tool, a hammer, andpersuaded some material off the case(a die grinder could be used, but I felt it would be easier and safer to use the chisel as the little bits are easier to keep track of rather than filings from the grinder), now there's room for future travel of the adjuster. was that more than two cents worth?, so sue me :}

[Flyfisher]

A19, 7600 Km

Do the Doo, it is just worth the peace of mind.

Did mine with no problems, the doohickey was a bit warped where the bolt sits, there was an obvious mark from the bolt, had to be done at the factory or stealership because I bought the bike new. Factory spring was 40mm and maybe would have pulled one more time (doubt it though), put in the 35mm spring.

Marknet or Multisurface Motorcyling are both great sites. Register on KLR650.net plenty of help here to. Do a doohickey search and see if you want to do the doo or not, it convinced me.

If you do the job yourself here are a couple of things to keep in mind, when pulling the generator cover don't take the bolts right out, back them out until there is about 1/4 of the threads to go. There is a bit of magnetic attraction here so when you pull the cover the bolts will hold the generator cover in place. you can now carefully go around the case and seperate the gasket. Once the gasket is clear remove the bolts and remove the case. The only other thing is when removing the inner cover, put your thumb on the end of the shaft that holds the doohickey and hold it in place. this shaft can pull out and drop a washer.

If you do not want to wreck your gaskets have new ones ready to do the job, cause if you don't, Murphy will rule.

I used my new ones and now have emergency gaskets.

[bman]

Hi

Do you have the doohickey tool?

I would like to borrow one for my '07 My email is blgollner@shaw.ca (mailto:blgollner@shaw.ca)

[bman]

Hi

Do you have a doohickey tool I can borrow.

Thanks Bryan blgollner@shaw.ca (mailto:blgollner@shaw.ca)

[bman]

Hi Do you have a doohickey tool I can borrow? My email is blgollner@shaw.ca (mailto:blgollner@shaw.ca)

Bryan

[Tinastin]

I cheated when removing the rotor bolt. I fired up the impact gun. She came off with no problem, didn't even need the wrench. Of course you still need the wrench to put it back on.