My replacement doohickey kit came from Happy Trails. It was the EagleMike kit. You can order direct from EagleMike. http://www.eaglemike.com/
Your story is what made me freak out and check it when I normally wouldn't. So thanks. It doesn't make any weird noises, so hopefully it is ok.
The holes looked pretty crusty. If a screw holds don't touch them. If not try a heli-coil. My original 87 klr was on it's third tank because the rear mount broke and it would leak gas. It had 16000 on it when I sold it. I brazed the mounting bracket and to my knowledge it never broke again. If I wanted to preserve my tank I would get a plastic one and save the original.
Very many, me included. It is rare it causes catastrophic failure, but it does happen. Is it worth risking a total engine lock up at 60 MPH? Easy, cheap job. Just do the doo.
Did mine ! She's a 2009 Doohicki was fine at 5000miles but the spring was just sitting there not doing a dam thing ! Your choice . To me, I ride all over - It's cheep Insurence .
my doo spring was broken and just hanging there at about 18000kmsish. Was quiet etc but the internet said i should replace it so of course i did because it was on the internet.
I ordered a kit with the torsion spring from Eagle Mike to have on hand. I checked mine at 1,700 miles while at a tech day with Lt. Dan at GSM Moto Rent. I adjusted it. After that first adjustment, the spring was slack and would not have adjusted anymore. Instead of pulling it down later, I went ahead and replaced it with the one from E.M. Glad I did.
Having spent many years taking on old bike projects, dealing with a rusty tank is pretty much the norm. I've used your method many times but about 10yrs ago I used a kit from POR15. Its their motorcycle tank repair kit. And unlike Kreem their product has lasted for many years after treatment. Key with any product like this is to follow the instructions EXACTLY. If it says roll the tank for 20 min it doesn't mean to take a 5 min break during...roll for 20 min. You're tank in my opinion is in great shape. Personally, I'd still pick up the POR15 product. As for threads...yes, run a tap through it. For drying I tape a hair dryer to the inlet. The KLR tank has some deep recesses that take a while to dry out. Good luck!
Thanks Aprilia! Yeah. The tank is in great shape compared to most, if not all of the rusty tanks I saw on YouTube videos. Can I buy POR15 at a local store? Or is it something I have to order off the net? I want to protect this tank for future use by me or someone else. After all, aside from a few scratches, this tank is in great shape. No dents or dings anywhere. If it wasn't for the scratches, it would look new. Even the paint is nice on it. When I pull the tank out of the tub later, I'm going to see how the threads are for the petcock. If they need to be tapped, I'll go buy a one size bigger tap, and new screws for it.
I attended a doo tech day a few months ago. About 12 to 15 bikes there. One of the group had a broken doo spring. We installed the Eagle Mike product to replace stock ones.
My local Auto Paint supplier keeps the kit in stock but plenty offer it online. Even Amazon carries it... POR15 KIT Why tap to larger size? I'd re-tap current threads regardless. Once done you can quickly determine their condition. In my experience the treads will be just fine.
When I used Valvoline 20w-50 in my '11 it would use/burn oil like crazy (with around 3K miles on the bike). After and oil change I could ride a hundred miles or so i'd have to add so I didn't plan on getting to far from some place I could buy oil. Pissed off I was! Switched to Rotella T and haven't had issues since. I may have to add just a little at the 1200-1500 mile mark with aggressive riding but nothing like the Valvoline. Next oil change is coming due and thinking on giving the plain jane Castrol GTX 10w-40 a try.
Has anyone actually had a problem with the stock Doo hickey?? Yes...But, when I had my doohickey side blow up it was caused by the heavy counterweights wearing out the bearings. I had done the upgrade. If I went into this topic any further, I might start criticizing another forum.
and have the best luck with plain ol' Castrol GTX 10w-40. Change my oil every 2500 miles and don't add any in between unless I'm riding hard, then about 1/2 qt used in 2500 miles.
Enough guys. This could go on forever. The ADV mods have enough to deal with on this awesome, free (and adfree) site. Let's not make it harder on them.
As long as you keep the upper bolts tight you probably won't ever break them regardless. I am willing to bet that If everyone yanked the seat off and checked them, at least a few of them could use a turn or two to crank them down. BTW, I did the drill-through upper subframe mod (on a couple of frames now), and I don't know if it's all in my head or what, but the bike just feels more solid. I reckon it's a good upgrade.
Yeah, my seat is removed frequently... I guess I probably check them fairly often. There's a joke in there about "in your head" and loose screws, but I'll resist.
I figured I would have to tap to a larger size because of the rust making the threads smaller. I guess when I pull it out and look at it, I'll see if the threads need to be tapped or not. Then I'll try re-tapping the same size. If that doesn't work, then I can move up a size I suppose. If I'm able to keep the same screws and threads, that's a bonus! Thanks again Aprilia!!!
