The Saga of the KLR 690

As I'm sure most are aware, I had a bit of a 'mishap' with my KLR last weekend, resulting in some severe damage to the bike. Thank God that I landed in a muddy ditch! Had it been rock, I would have been severely injured!

A few people have expressed interest in the tale of the rebuild, so I figured I'd start up a thread to keep track and share photos.

IF the frame and steering head are straight, I believe that the rest of the bike is in good shape. I just got it up on the stand this evening, having to wait until plenty of help was available to get unloaded. A big thanks to Dane for letting me keep his trailer for a week!

Fortunately, parts abound on eBay and I think repairs will be much more affordable than I initially thought! I've put a lot of time and love in to upgrading this machine (including 692cc big bore kit), so I would hate to see it go to parts if I can avoid it; but a bent frame would really put an end to it.

More updates as I work on her!

Good to hear Nick and pay no attention to that Free Range Chicken guy that thinks you are kicking a dead horse!

Several people asked me to post updates of the repairs, so I'm just obliging.

Had my first chance to get in the garage. Wishing I had some A/C out there!

Pulled the forks and inspected the steering head as best I could for a layman. The bottom bearing feels like it has breakage in it, so it'll need replaced for sure. The faring support is bent quite a bit, that'll need replaced as well.

I'm hoping that my progressive fork springs are re-usable, but the one in the fork that broke is definitely not straight. I'll contact the manufacturer about that. Kill switch & mirror mount seems to have lost some bits as well.

After cleaning up the triple tree and steering head, I didn't see any signs of cracking or damage to the triple tree, but I did find some flecks of peeled paint at the very bottom of the steering head, indicating it may be damaged. I'll need to consult with someone more experienced than myself to know how badly - good thing my brother is a Motorcycle Mechanics Institute grad and spent several years at Daytona HD

I also believe I found the root cause of braking issues that I believe lead to the crash: The connecting pin between the rear brake lever and the master cylinder was missing, presumed to have fallen out. I think that I either didn't get the cotter pin back in properly, or possibly forgot to reinstall it. A very costly mistake!

Nick, I praise the Lord you came through better than the bike!!  That's quite a bit of damage.  Sure wish you the best on the rebuild.

Take care, RD

Thank you, I hope it'll go well. I ordered a slew of parts already and they're starting to trickle in. Forks, triple tree, steering head bearings, front wheel bearings, front rim, stainless steel front spokes, rear master cylinder, and turn signals.

I think my triple tree was OK, but I found a used set of forks that included the triple tree and steering head bearings for a good price, so I went that route.

Nick!!!! My friend if you go to Craigslist Kansas City, and Lawrence there have been two DR Suzuki's posted today 6/20/18. One is pretty cheap (but ugly) and the other is ok priced... a little high for my liking but not bad. Both just lack the TM40 Carb and then you will be set forever! No more working on the KLR! Just riding the DR, and imagine how sweet it will be watching the other guys KLR ride off on the trailer as you ride away on your very own DR? Come on Nick cut the cord. Friends don't let friends KLR. Nick Nick Nick Nick!!!! Go get a Dr appointment! You deserve it.

https://kansascity.craigslist.org/mcy/d/2007-dr650se-enduro/6608987359.html

https://lawrence.craigslist.org/mcy/d/suzuki-dr-650-motorcycle/6611363531.html

Hmmm I dunno Nick, seems DR's are prone to stalling on water crossings...Not so with a KLR

Ya well one time caused by a kickstand kill switch and I wasn't the rider, that is no longer a possibility of a problem! The devil sends his demons to try to break down the holy. Like kickstand kill switches! Demon!  Oh and BTW! Nobody has ever  pulled or towed my DR! 

Well you do know I am not actually dishin on DR's simply defending my KLR which has never been towed or hauled either.

Good the here your KLR will be up and running again.

Made a lot of progress over the last week:

• Rebuilt rear master cylinder, replaced missing pin (and cotter pin!)
• Straightened radiator protection bracket
• Replaced radiator with Tusk aluminum replacement radiator
• Rebuilt & trued front wheel - new rim, new spokes. New wheel bearings in hand but not swapped yet.
• Lower steering head bearing replaced

I pulled photos from my phone to upload, and realized I haven't taken very many, just the wheel after i finished lacing the spokes. I'll post a few more tonight.

Had previously also replaced the broken rear turn signal and removed the broken tail rack mount for my trunk.

Also replacing clutch & throttle cables during re-assembly.

I had hoped to replace the steering bearings and get the front end re-assembled this weekend, but I just couldn't find anything that would get a bite on the bearing races to pound them out. I've ordered the tools from Rocky Mountain ATV with overnight shipping, and they'll be in tomorrow - I went ahead and ordered a race removal tool, as well as a race installation tool.

Planning on a shake-down ride on the 4th of July, so I'm taking tomorrow off to GIT 'ER DUN!

That is a lot of wrenchin'!  Did you get to ride on the 4th?

Through an epic battle with bearing races, my final weapon being a dremel rotary tool, I spent six hours of cutting time (probably 8-10 hours total) cutting out the bearing races!

The remover tool I purchased was completely useless, it wouldn't reach the bottom bearing race, and couldn't get enough bite on the top. I guess the only tool for it is the official Kawaski tool. However, the installation tool from Tusk worked pretty well! Worth the $120 to accomplish the installation in only about 15 or 20 minutes total, including figuring out how to use the tool.

Once I got the races in, I got to work re-assembling the front end - worked until 0130 on the 4th! Finished up the morning of the 4th with Dad's help (thanks!) and got to leave for a ride around 1230pm. We did about 110 miles and things ran pretty smooth, except for a squishy front brake - need to work on that yet.

I don't know that I'd mentioned it yet, but the replacement forks I bought came with Progressive springs already installed! Found that while changing the oil (who knows how old it might have been, so I put in fresh).

I was a bit disappointed to find that the coolant thermocouple didn't fit in the Tusk replacement radiator, so I had to rig up a switch until I can find a correctly sized thermocouple. Fortunately, if a KLR is moving more than 15-20mph, it doesn't need the fan, so it's easy to deal with just turning it on when stopped or going through slow terrain.

IT LIVES!

Have a bit of to-do list yet, though:

• Replace front brake line (already in hand) and re-bleed. I think this will address the squishy brake.
• Replace throttle and clutch cables
• Apply more bending to the faring stay, which is still a bit wopperjawed; might need to replace if I can't get it fixed, but it's ride-able as is
• Figure out why left rear turn signal stopped working half way through the day on the 4th

So Nick my friend, if I buy a nice professionally made sticker that says "Lazereth"  in a cool font will you proudly display it on that beast? I feel I owe you that, and it darn sure deserves the name!