Kawasaki KLR650 is baaaack ...

[troop]

With some modern day updates at a small price increase

2022 Kawasaki KLR650 | First Look Review | Rider Magazine

The 2022 Kawasaki KLR650 has been heavily updated, including fuel injection, optional ABS, revisions to the engine, chassis and more. Pricing starts at $6,699.

ridermagazine.com

 

[02SE]

Did they fix the do-hickey?

 

[troop]

Not sure, but I put the Thermo Bob in my 2013

 

[Alain2]

I suspect this is a temporary measure while they work on the all-new model to compete with the Ténéré 700. Or maybe this is the response, aiming for a lower budget bike than the T7.

 

[Ride_Red]

Did they fix the do-hickey?

I read that there is a redesigned cam chain tensioner (do-hickey).

 

[Fattylocks]

Not sure, but I put the Thermo Bob in my 2013 View attachment 43018

Looks nice. Street tires?

 

[CourierDriver]

And speaking Motor cycles, Honda motorcycle shop closing for lack of business and some of the other makes do not have hardly anything in stock,,said they cannot get them,,maybe 2 months out if you order one,,,,the world has changed.......Chattanooga tn

 

[troop]

Looks nice. Street tires?

Yup ... Knowing I was going to be mostly on road, I went to a 19" front. Worked quite well.

 

[Ausfahrt]

I'm glad to see that Kawasaki is bringing the ole KLR back. My son and I combined to put over 37,000 hard miles on my '06 and it never let us down.

 

[Snagglefoot]

With some modern day updates at a small price increase

2022 Kawasaki KLR650 | First Look Review | Rider Magazine

The 2022 Kawasaki KLR650 has been heavily updated, including fuel injection, optional ABS, revisions to the engine, chassis and more. Pricing starts at $6,699.

ridermagazine.com

I see you can get a digital subscription to Rider magazine for 5 bucks. Anyone have one? If it’s legit I’ll probably sign up. Thanks.

 

[troop]

I see you can get a digital subscription to Rider magazine for 5 bucks. Anyone have one? If it’s legit I’ll probably sign up. Thanks.

I currently subscribe to the paper issue, and with the pandemic, delivery has been spotty. I have link on file for digital, but still haven't followed thru..

 

[Lyman]

I bought a new KLR-650 in 1988. I rode it for years. It was my only transportation for a while. Great bike.

 

[DuckRyder]

Do they have a milk crate in the accessory catalog?

 

[electroken1]

Did they fix the do-hickey?

Some same yes, based on this from the Rider article:

And the aforementioned increased reliability comes courtesy of a stronger material and shape for the cam chain guide material.

The doohickey has nothing to do with the cam chain. It is the tension adjust lever for the two chain-driven balance shafts, on a different chain altogether. I don't think we'll know for sure what's in there until someone opens one up.

 

[Cujet]

I don't like the KLR650 "type" of bike all that much, I find them fun and comfy, but slow and heavy for a dirt bike. This new version does nothing to improve my opinion.

I owned the original KLR600 (kickstart only) and I loved it. But it was 200 pounds lighter than a KLR650 and revved to 8000RPM.

 

[02SE]

The doohickey has nothing to do with the cam chain. It is the tension adjust lever for the two chain-driven balance shafts, on a different chain altogether. I don't think we'll know for sure what's in there until someone opens one up.

I've never owned one, but have ridden a few.

I would hope they would finally fix a problem during an extensive update, that has become synonymous with the KLR.

 

[Lyman]

They replaced the doohickey years ago but they could have done better. Back when I had mine the only problem I had was I broke the counter shaft in half. It was replaced under warranty and I never had another issue. I rode it hard too. I was riding it to work M-F and hitting the desert on Saturday. I logged many miles and went through a ton of tires.

 

[electroken1]

Here is "the doohickey" in it's native habitat, circa 2008 at 2000 miles. This is the first year of the "fixed" version of the doo. The shaft on the right is the crankshaft. The shaft on the left is the front counterbalancer, which also drives the water pump at the other end of the shaft. At the bottom is the balancer chain tension adjuster.

The way it's supposed to work is you loosen the bolt at the bottom that passes through the arc-shaped slotted piece, which is the infamous doo itself. Then the spring behind and left of the doo rotates the eccentric shaft the idler sprocket rides on. Then you tighten the bolt at the bottom and you're done with the balancer chain tension adjustment. Earlier versions of the doo were of welded construction and broke often. The springs often broke as well.

Starting in 2008 you can see that the sector is a pretty hefty part but it didn't fit the eccentric shaft well and you can also see that even at 2000 miles that spring is pretty much out of tension. The aftermarket part (Thanks, Eaglemike) fits perfectly, is indexed differently to allow for more adjustment, and comes with an appropriate spring.

If you look closely at the 2022 left side photo the rubber plug that covers the adjustment bolt is visible. I'm betting that whatever lives behind that plug isn't too different from what's shown above.