'08 KLR650 Starting Issues - clug, clug, clug, CLUNK

1031 Views 40 Replies 13 Participants Last post by pdwestman, 7 d ago

Jaredbot

Discussion Starter · 19 d ago

I am having some issues with my 2008 KLR, pretty much stock mechanically.

Late last year I was riding my bike to work when it stalled when coming to a stop. It would not start up again and sounded like a battery issue - indeed I was able to get it to start with a battery jumper. It drove for about another 1/2 mile before stalling again at the next stop sign. This time it would no longer start even when encouraged by the jumper. The video linked at the bottom does a decent job showing the behavior when attempting to start. One thing to note that is a little hard to pick up on in the video is that when the "clunk" happens it appears to kill all electrical for a brief moment.

I have attempted to scour the web, including this forum, for something that sounded the same but came up empty handed. The bike sat all winter and the only changes have been purchasing a new battery. The closest results that I have found seem to hint towards a possible compression issue. I have not carried out any compression testing...I have never done one before and it intimidates me to be honest. Other than that, it seems like it could be a whole host of things that I found in other threads...but as I mentioned they don't seem to exactly match my symptoms.

I am pretty much a noob when it comes to this stuff and am throwing myself at the mercy of some of you experts out there.

Let me know if I am missing any background information that would be helpful in diagnosing.

Thanks in advance.

The site doesn't like my link for embedding the video, not sure why. Here is the link: YouTube Link

21 - 40 of 41 Posts

Six8five

· #21 · 17 d ago

Sea foam works well but I wouldn’t let it sit with it in it, don’t put in more than your gonna burn up quickly.
If you don’t ride often non ethanol fuel only!
Spray around the plug with some brake cleaner it will run out the weep hole on the side of the head.
The plug hole collects crap and it will fall into the engine when you remove it, so clean it first.

Reactions: 1

fotoguzzi

· #22 · 17 d ago

Showing voltage means nothing if it can’t produce the amount of amperage for starting. You need to load test the battery. That battery store will do it for free or most auto parts stores can too.
a bad battery can show 12.5+ and still be bad when a load is applied
that should be the very first thing you do.

Reactions: 2

Jaredbot

Discussion Starter · #23 · 16 d ago

Well I've done the fuel, spark plug, and just had the battery tested (it appears to be good). Still no joy. Any suggestions on next steps? Pull/clean carb?

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banditcilik

· #24 · 16 d ago

Jaredbot said:
Well I've done the fuel

Meaning there's fuel flowing to the carb bowl? How about from carb bowl to the intake? Or you can test with starter fluid

SirMarksAllot

· #25 · 16 d ago

Jaredbot said:
The battery appears to take and hold a full charge at 13.2 VDC, but I have not yet had it professionally tested.

The oil hit a low point once shortly after I bought it. I checked it after an extended highway commute, and it was below the sight glass. I have kept an eye on it since and it appears to slowly lose oil, but not at an alarming rate.

I drained the fuel last night and was going to do the spark plug until I realized it requires a thin wall socket. Ran over to ProCycle today and picked one up along with a new plug. Hopefully I can manage the time to knock that out tonight. Do you recommend any additives for the fuel to help clean up the carb. since it was sitting for the last several months?

If the gas had ethanol in it, you might need to give the carb a good cleaning. The CVK40 carb does not like extended time with corn fuel in its bowels. When draining the old gas you can check the vacuum petcock. Remove fuel line to the carb and attach a piece of hose into an empty gas can. Then remove the smaller (vacuum) hose on the petcock and put it under vacuum. @pdwestman advises that a small Visine or similar dropper bottle that’s empty can be squeezed then plugged into the small hose at the back of the petcock. Release the bottle and it should “suck” enough vacuum for fuel to flow and drain the tank. You can also use a syringe with the needle removed (like you give kids liquid meds with).

Getting a fresh plug in it will also rule out a fouled plug.

Most auto parts stores have a battery tester and will do it for free.

Keep us posted and good luck!

Br549rick

· #26 · 15 d ago

In my opinion, based on the fact that you ran it low on oil and then let it sit over winter. You need to pull the carb and clean it then pull your cam/valve cover and check you’re cam bearings. Your engine sounds a little more than “tight” to my ears. Good luck sir.

terry_g

· #27 · 15 d ago

Have you established that there is fuel getting to the carb?

Jaredbot

Discussion Starter · #28 · 15 d ago

terry_g said:
Have you established that there is fuel getting to the carb?

Yes, I pulled the fuel line and verified that it was flowing while turning over.

Jaredbot

Discussion Starter · #29 · 15 d ago

I stumbled across this post today that sounds very similar to the issues I am having: KLR Not Starting

Has anyone else experienced issues with their CDI/Igniter Unit? Are my symptoms consistent with a CDI/Igniter failure? Any easy way to rule it out?

scrabble

· #30 · 15 d ago

Hey Jared,
Just want to establish the facts here... like Coumbo.
In your original post, you stated that this problem arose "late last year". What month was that? That's HUGELY important. Even late December to mid May is a LONG time to not start a carbureted bike.
And then you let it sit all winter and just recently started trying to resurrect the bike.
Maybe the battery was originally the problem. I don't know whether you bought the new battery "late last year" or just recently.
But, maybe you have a different problem now which is just a very common problem of "my motorcycle sat too long over the winter and now the carb needs to be cleaned".
You get what I'm saying?
You've got multiple symptoms in the mix, but maybe you've got two different problems. One problem from "late last year" and then a second problem from mid-May. The first being "spark" and the second being "fuel".

Jaredbot

Discussion Starter · #31 · 15 d ago

scrabble said:
Hey Jared,
Just want to establish the facts here... like Coumbo.
In your original post, you stated that this problem arose "late last year". What month was that? That's HUGELY important. Even late December to mid May is a LONG time to not start a carbureted bike.
And then you let it sit all winter and just recently started trying to resurrect the bike.
Maybe the battery was originally the problem. I don't know whether you bought the new battery "late last year" or just recently.
But, maybe you have a different problem now which is just a very common problem of "my motorcycle sat too long over the winter and now the carb needs to be cleaned".
You get what I'm saying?
You've got multiple symptoms in the mix, but maybe you've got two different problems. One problem from "late last year" and then a second problem from mid-May. The first being "spark" and the second being "fuel".

It was around October of last year that the initial issue arose. Battery was purchased that same month and tested to no avail.

It sounds like a good carb cleaning would be a good idea regardless of if it is the root of the problem based on the down time of the bike.

For anyone who stores their bike during winter - is it common to drain the fuel from the carb as well as the tank to keep things happy and clean?

terry_g

· #32 · 15 d ago

When the end of the season comes I always fill my bikes with ethanol free gas and start the engine with the fuel shut off and run the carb dry then open the drain screw in the float bowl and drain the last little bit. I have never had a problem doing that.

Reactions: 3

pdwestman

· #33 · 15 d ago

Jaredbot said:
Yes, I pulled the fuel line and verified that it was flowing while turning over.

But have you drained the carb and then verified that a steady stream flows THRU the carb with the drain screw open while turning over?
Just because the fuel tap operates doesn't prove that the float needle Isn't Stuck Closed.

Reactions: 1

Jaredbot

Discussion Starter · #34 · 10 d ago

Ok, quick update. At this point, I have confirmed the battery is good, drained the fuel and replaced with supreme, replaced and verified spark plug, pulled and cleaned the carb. Still no starty. I am not sure what steps to take next.

Br549rick

· #35 · 10 d ago

Next pull valve cover to inspect valve clearances and Chk right hand exhaust cam lobe and bearing surface for galling/scoring when you ran it low on oil. And Chk all cam bearing surfaces and caps. Good luck

scrabble

· #36 · 10 d ago

You're doing a great job of checking off the likely culprits. I've read on some other posts on here that the sidestand safety switch can interfere with ignition and cause symptoms that mimic fuel problems. See post below. I'd look into bypassing the safety switch just to test the theory. That feels like low hanging fruit since it's a known issue on these bikes and lots of other bikes.
Link here for reference.

Reactions: 1

Jaredbot

Discussion Starter · #37 · 10 d ago

Br549rick said:
Next pull valve cover to inspect valve clearances and Chk right hand exhaust cam lobe and bearing surface for galling/scoring when you ran it low on oil. And Chk all cam bearing surfaces and caps. Good luck

These issues might very well be present in the bike. However, would it be likely that they would have presented in such a dramatic instantaneous death of a bike that was otherwise running "well" a whole year + after the low oil event? Again, I am no expert, I just don't want to dive into secondary issues if I have not solved the primary issue yet.

scrabble said:
You're doing a great job of checking off the likely culprits. I've read on some other posts on here that the sidestand safety switch can interfere with ignition and cause symptoms that mimic fuel problems. See post below. I'd look into bypassing the safety switch just to test the theory. That feels like low hanging fruit since it's a known issue on these bikes and lots of other bikes.
Link here for reference.

Thanks for the feedback. I also thought it might be the side stand switch. But it was my understanding that the side stand switch would inhibit the spark plug from firing. If that is the case, then I think we can rule out the switch.

Br549rick

· #38 · 9 d ago

well i would think that a low oil event won't get better only worse if any damage was incurred at the event. just my thoughts.

Jaredbot

Discussion Starter · #39 · 8 d ago

Br549rick said:
well i would think that a low oil event won't get better only worse if any damage was incurred at the event. just my thoughts.

That makes sense. I will see what I can find. Thanks for the advice.

Reactions: 1

PeteK

· #40 · 8 d ago (Edited)

Jared, if the engine was still running for a year, and presumably thousands of miles, after your "low oil" I think you can pretty much rule out damaged cam bearings. The engine can hold about 2.5 quarts of oil, and it can get down below 1 quart before you damage the bearings. That's so far below the sight gauge that you have to lean the bike WAY over to the right to see the oil in the sight window. You can also rule out side stand and clutch safety switches, because it does crank and try to start.

Back to your no-start: Pay attention to what Paul Westman said about the battery condition. Your jumper box was almost starting the engine, until it ran low on charge. That tells me that your battery is not good, because the two of them together should crank that engine for a long time, say at least four 10-second starting attempts. In fact, it did start briefly and then died. Are you sure your jumper box is good? I don't know how you determined that your battery is "good" but the indications I see tell me that it does not hold enough charge. Use a known good car battery to jump it (just like you would jump another car), and make sure you get good solid connections with your jumper cables!

If it still doesn't start, then squirt starter fluid into the intake (remove the air filter to do this). If it starts and runs for a second or so, then you know it will start and run, but isn't getting enough fuel. Then you will have to focus on the carb. As Scatter and several others mentioned, ethanol contaminated fuel goes to crap and clogs the jets if you let it sit for roughly a couple months or more. I'm guessing that's the likely problem here. That's why there is a drain valve at the bottom of the carb bowl. Always drain the bowl before putting it away for the winter, or any other time it will be sitting for several weeks.

After you do this test, report back your findings, otherwise we are just speculating.
-------------------------

Looking ahead, one thing that WILL make it hard to start is too tight valves. If you have not checked the valve clearances in thousands of miles, you should do that sometime soon. Then, while you have the cover off, pull off the cam bearing caps and inspect them. You will have to do that anyway to adjust the valve clearances.

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