Fear not; if you adjusted your valve clearances (as in, loosen lock-nut; adjust clearance with screw and feeler gauge; re-tighten lock-nut and re-check clearance) at piston TDC (there's a "lazy T" mark on the rotor, I think) between the compression and power strokes (NOT between the exhaust and intake strokes), DON'T WORRY ABOUT ANY SIDE-TO-SIDE PLAY IN THE ROCKERS. KLR250's remain rather low-maintenance machines. As to farkling the KLR250; just installed Progressive fork springs; improved off-road performance . . . and my Eagle Mike 1.5" handlebar risers improve standing ergonomics, for me . . .
Sweet! I appreciate the assistance! I agree, mine has taken more abuse than most. Of 6300 miles, over 4000 miles are off-road single track and glacial silt. It has been completely submerged in a river 1/4 mile from a glacier (Brrrr!) in Alaska, ridden in 100 F+ heat in both Hawaii and Virginia, over the Going to the Sun Hwy and all the dirt roads we could find at Glacier NP, logging roads in WA and OR, and now gets thrashed regularly on NorCal twisty roads. The wife and I are getting ready to do a two week DS trip to Utah in September , so I am trying to make sure this thing is ready to go!
Hello all, about 2 weeks ago I got my first motorcycle ever: a 1999 KLR250 (the blue-green year) with only 1,300 miles. I've been riding it around town and the surrounding countryside, and I have a great newbie question for all you other KLR Jr. owners: How can you tell if the noise, rattle, buzzing, shaking, etc is normal or should be looked into? The roads around here are far from perfect, so I can't tell if that slight chugging feeling is frost-heave or a fuel problem, or if that loss of power is a slight upgrade or something worse. Am I supposed to hear the chain rubbing on those plastic pieces around the swing arm and kickstand? (I adjusted it to within spec, and it still rubs.) Is it shaking more violently at 6+ rpm because of harmonics or is something bad about to happen? Basically, without the aid of idiot lights or experience, how am I supposed to know if something is about to go wrong?
My klr (lower case for 250) has begun leaking gas out of the carb bowl drain hose. WTF??? If I shut off the petcock and drain the float bowl, it doesn't leak. (Hence, not the petcock leaking). If the carb float was leaking I suspect gas would flow out of the carb into the airbox; the carb bowl drain is simply there to drain the float bowl, right ? I open the allen screw bowl-drain valve and fuel flows out till the bowl is empty, then quits: another indication the carb float valve is sealing properly. I've never heard of the shut-off screw leaking. It's dirt simple (right ?) Anyone crossed this bridge before and can bring me up-to-speed ?
Short answer: yep, that's what it does when it overflows. Some carbs have a small aluminum overflow tube inside the bowl. The overflow tube sticks straight up from near the drain screw and tucks between the jets when it's assembled. If the bowl overfills, fuel bypasses the drain screw and goes straight out the drain. Mine cracked at the base when I removed the bowl (it is really thin aluminum and isn't braced or supported anywhere) so it was leaking out the drain as if I had not tightened the screw. This site has a picture of what I'm talking about (he didn't have an overflow, so he made one from copper): http://web.ncf.ca/ag136/floatDrainTubes.htm My guess: something is wrong with the floats or the float valve, causing it to overflow, or you cracked it the last time you disassembled the carb, like I did.
just had same problem in a little CRF 100. Float valve was stuck. Causing bowl to fill and gas to run into top of overflow tube and out the drain line. Never been inside the carb on my klr. But the bowl on the CRF looks just like the one in the picture from link above
Uh, "wrong," I think. The non-vacuum-operated, gravity-feed petcock KLR250 scheme (unlike the vacuum-operated petcock scenario on a KLR650) with its CVK34 carburetor, uses a dump tube for both float bowl draining AND fuel overflow, IMHO. Improper float valve and/or float valve seat seal results in fuel puking out the dump tube. Chances are, trash in float bowl compromises float valve seal. Long shot: punctured float. Suggestion: Drop float bowl, clean float valve and float valve seat. Valve should be pointy, but pliable. Make sure float holds air; float height can be checked without carb disassembly with a length of transparent hose (connect to dump tube spigot, bend into "U" shape, open drain screw and observe meniscus; should be about the level of the carb body/float bowl interface).
My 250 used to never leak gas. I could leave the petcock on indefinately and it would not leak. Now, however, it leaks from the float bowl drain tube if I leave the petcock on. I'm forgetful and I hate to waste gasoline. After reading the last few posts concerning this issue I have deduced that... No. 1..... I should remove the float bowl and check/clean the valve and valve seats. No. 2..... Check/adjust the float height. If everything is OK I should be able to leave the petcock "on" and have no leaking problems.....correct?
Okay, back to the valve adjustment again. 1999 KLR 250, about 7k miles on it, I bought it brand new and has been very well cared for. I have tried to adjust the valves about 10 times now and can't get it right. There is a bunch of play in the rockers at TDC. I'm not talking about side to side play, I'm talking about up and down a considerable amount. Looking at the bearing surfaces of the rockers and the cams, all look just fine, no abnormal wear and look brand new. Also, when I do adjust them and think they are set correctly (between .008 and .009 thousandths), then cycle the motor through a couple of revolutions and back to TDC, they are out of adjustment again. I have tried to adjust them statically, pushed all the way up, and pressed all the way down, none of these work. What the hell am I doing wrong? I have adjusted valves on my other bikes no problem, but this one is pissing me off! I am about ready to light it on fire and push it off a cliff! Help please!!!
Hi folks, Looking at buying a 2000 klr250 with 37000 klm (23000miles) on it. looks like its had a sheltered life as she's pretty origional. Not knowing any thing about them, is there anything to look for in this model (known problems ect) and what sort of miles can one expect before major engine work is nessecary. I know this depends on how it was ridden, some noobs could kill any bike in 2000miles but assuming well maintained and not abused. Thanks in advance. Bruce
I have done my valve adjustment twice with no issues. Following the directions that I pulled off the KLR 250 web site, I almost messed up this time. You have to rotate the flywheel counterclockwise about 1/3 of a turn after you see the intake valves open and close. At that point you'll see the timing mark in the hole above the flywheel. What I did wrong was to turn it clockwise and nothing made sense.
8GV, Yep, found out that was my problem too! Let it sit for a few days and went back to try again, starting from the beginning and reading each step. Set them no problem first try! Obviously, clockwise does something to the valves that doesn't allow them to be set, lesson learned and that part is highlighted in the instructions now! Tim
Is there a aftermarket (larger) tank for a 1988 klr 250? would love to get more mileage between fill-ups. Read somewhere someone had mounted a 650 designed tank on one.
I'm part of the klr group now, I just bought a kinda rough used one for 500 dollars. According to the stock gauge the bike has 12k miles, but from the looks of it 90 percent offroad. The tank is a white aftermarket oversized, I'll check out the name on it tomorrow while I work on it more. I just had a quick question- is the front brake on these easy to operate? Right now it is REALLY hard to pull the lever and get it to stop. I'm going to bleed the brakes and see if that helps.. I"ll also check out the condition of the pads. I bought the bike for my girlfriend, and right now it's just unsafe how difficult it is to stop. Thanks for any advice!
Drizzt, The front brake on my GF's KLR250 is not hard to pull in at all, but it does NOT have good stopping power. I bled the brakes and checked out the shoes (they looked fine). The front forks also dive pretty seriously when squeezing hard. richmo1
Drizzt, My 88 KLR front brakes have a nice easy pull with decent stopping power. You better dig in and look for a problem. I'd like to find me another cheap deal on a KLR, get her running and operating good, then Enjoy:)
I live south of you. I have a 2000 KLR250 that I've been riding on and off as I haven't had much time to ride. I still need to get my license. I might take the Team Arizona course. I read your and the others posts on the Tucson forum, and it sounds like you guys have gone on some nice rides. You can check out the following sites for your new to you KLR250: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/KLR250/ http://home.earthlink.net/~klr250informationexchange/index.htm http://klrworld.com/forums/index.php?board=76.0 http://www.klr650.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=41 http://klr250.blogspot.com/ http://www.privydigger.com/klr250.htm You should be able to get an answer from the dedicated KLR250 sites and the Yahoo KLR250 user group. Good luck!