I went back and forth between the acerbis and Clarke and finally ended up with the Clark, it provides pretty decent range. And keeps the stock/ slim profile of the bike. If your really doing a lot of miles i suppose the extra capacity is worth it but i believe you will want to rig up a pump system to keep from having to tip the bike over to Get all the fuel out.
I put a kick start on my 351 and for a while I was at about 80% getting it to fire with the kick, before pushing the button. Then, mysteriously, things changed and i can rarely start it with kicker now. Occasionally it will fire (once when it actually kind of saved my ass) but it’s to the point now where I basically ignore it. The LiPO4 battery has been very reliable so I just use the starter but sometimes I’ll give it a stab for the novelty, and sometimes I’m surprised. Full disclosure - I modified the foot peg mount on that side so I may be getting less than optimal swing on the lever.
"Full disclosure - I modified the foot peg mount on that side so I may be getting less than optimal swing on the lever." Funny you mention that. I just resurrected a 1982 CR 480R that hadn't started in 30 years. It took me awhile but eventually I realized I needed to use the very tip of my boot in order to clear the foot peg in order to get enough swing. Left hand kick too!
I still have the stock carb, but I remember seeing that the top half of the throttle wheel on the carb needs to be cut off and the return cable can no longer be used. I have a Mikuni pumper carb, but I've just never gotten around to putting it on the klx because I'm actually quite happy how it runs. Thanks I've done so many mods to this bike. It's been a fun build, when I got it the bike was completely stock with only 800 miles on the odometer. I honestly can't remember all of the mods I've done, but it's set up perfectly now.
Good point on how the Clarke tank keeps the bike a bit slimmer. I went with the Acerbis 3.7 gallon tank with the wings that go on the outside of the radiators. I actually just ran my tank dry about a month ago and found the absolute limits of my fuel range and how much I could put back in the tank after running reserve dry and then leaning the bike over to the left to get a bit more fuel to the petcock. Acerbis shows that its a 3.7 gallon tank when I ran it empty on reserve I limped it to a gas station one mile away and put in 3.65 gallons. I don't have a pump to get the last few drops out of the extreme corners of the tank. Just lean it to the left if you run it dry on reserve it will get you a few miles if necessary.
I have what must be a Clarke tank on my 351 big bore and because I'm getting about 50mpg's my range is still only about 125 miles before I hit reserve and I'd really like more, just because. The season's about over it seems so I'm going to change fluids etc. this winter. I've got a Pelican knock-off for a top box and a 1 gallon Rotopax would fit nicely on top of it. I may just go that route.
I get 50 mpg as well with the 351 and a 15 tooth counter sprocket. Last tank of gas I went 165 miles on the main tank and 20 miles on reserve with the acerbis tank. I found out that the main tank is about 3.25 gallons and reserve about 0.4 gallons, there's only a tiny amount of fuel in the tank by the time reserve is empty.
You can find information on the Mikuni Pumper installation here; http://dpippin.com/klx/home_files/Page2630.htm Doug
This thread has me sold. I'm looking at a 2009 KLX to replace my XT350 that I have a love hate relationship with. While i'm sure I'll love the E start and better suspension and lighter weight, it looks like I will have to install the 351 kit to get close to the XT's low end grunt which is one of its endearing traits. How is the 351 kit on the highway? The XT is fine at 75 for those trips up north.
Okay drunk the cool aide bought the bike seems to run well but of course when I get it home and start it from cold I notice a ticking sound from the right side of the valve cover. Normal? Bike only has 5 K on it.
Does the bike have a manual cam chain tensioner on it? If so as long as it is quiet after warm up you're good, otherwise it needs a slight adjustment. The tensioner will look like this: If not, it might be getting to the point where the OEM one is starting to fail. Usually a rattle on the right side around 4000-6000 rpm.
Confirmed that FMF doesn't make a Q4 for '06-'07 bikes. I don't want to risk spending for a too loud some other aftermarket pipe so bought a used one from eBay.
I don't have a lot of history with my big bore but when I got mine it had a 13 tooth front. I installed the stock 14 and find it is fine at 65 but haven't had run it for long at 75. Depending on how much of your riding is highway, I think you could go up a tooth to 15 without sacrificing too much grunt. I'm still surprised at how well the bike pulls. There's a steep hill near me that I can take at 4k rpms in 4th and it just pulls fine. Otherwise, I'd try the stock gearing, knowing you can always go up a tooth. I have plenty of throttle left at 65. Your mileage will definitely suffer with either counter sprocket, of course.
Another odd thing was the fan wasn't mounted, I put it in when I got home, tested it on a battery at first and it works.
hmm, I just went to the FMF site and they may have sold an FMF pipe for our bikes at one time, but they don't anymore, only 2018 as far as I could tell. Maybe you could offer some part numbers.
For anyone looking for a 2 brothers pipe and P1X power tip, I have it listed in the Flea Market section.
