Hello my KLR friends. I would like you input on an issue I am having with my ride. The bike is a KLR650 08 with 10,600 miles, I just purchased the bike a few months ago and had no known issues. When hot and only hot the bike backfires out the exhaust or pops in the air box but most troubling is that sometimes it backfires and rotates the motor back the incorrect dirrection it seems. When this happens you can hear the starter spin the motor over and then a violent stop and the starter makes the unmistakeable noise of not being able to turn the engine over. Background-The left engine cover has been off, I asked the last owner why and he said it was pulled to chack and adjust somethnig by the dealer and the carb has been adjusted. So what do you think guys? Valve adjustment, has the "DO" lost its tension, bad plug? I am changing the plug tonight however. When the bike is cool it never acts up, only when hot......Much thanks and have a good one all.

I would check the valves and do the .22 mod to the carb, I was having the same issues with my 09 at around 11000 miles, I took it to my motorcycle guru, and had him do both the valves were tight and the carb was way lean. Problem solved for me, good luck


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Timothys687
More miles and smiles for all!

Check the nuts that hold the header pipe onto the engine. I've lost one of those and when hot the motor backfired.

Don;t know what the dealer would be "adjusting" by removing the left case cover.

Timothys687- Yep the .22 cent mod is on the short list for the weekend just because I feel the need to mod this weekend.

klr4evr- I am with you. I hope the dealer just wrote "check and adjust" on an invoice checking to "DOO". My fear is to pull that cover and find a flat "flat rate special" kind of repair.

Hearing a backfire in the airbox would be from firing with inlet valve open, from spinning backwards, timing to far advanced, or what is called dieseling from carbon build up heating to the point of firing on compression stroke with ignition off. Just some thoughts. Would definitely check valve clearance though.

The 08s had an issue called the deep hole. The starter idler shaft hole is drilled too deep and causes the gear to misalign. That would be my guess as to what's going on.

Backfire probably loose header connection.

While I agree that 08's and some early 09's had the deep hole and it is an issue, I would look at the valves (especially if you haven't checked them yet.)

Yea the valves are tight probably. I was thinking about the weird starter behavior. If the shaft is sloppy in there I could see it moving the gears enough to engage something other than the starter motor.

after much testing I think I have the problem about pinned down. I have found if I turn the gas off and then run the bike for a few seconds before turning it off then when starting the bike waiting to turn the fuel on till after the bike is running I have Zero symptoms. So I am guessing leaking shut off valve, plugged vent line or leaking seat in carb? The shut off valve was on the list for a mod so we will start with it.

If the carb float valve is fully functional, petcock shutoff machts nichts (makes no difference). The absence of the problem when you manipulate the petcock may be coincidental.

Most likely diagnosis, seems to me from symptoms, header air leak compounded when hot (from metal expansion).

Ain't likely ignition timing (geometrically fixed); backfires usually a result of improper air/fuel mixture.

Ever adjust fuel screw? About 1.75 out from a soft bottoming, for a neo-stock engine.