[pdwestman]

The only way to truly see if the chain is at the correct tension is by compressing the suspension all the way.

That is incorrect.
One needs to position the swingarm pivot, rear axle & engine sprocket Center-lines Straight in line.
The drive chain Needs to have about a 1/2 inch of easy freeplay at that point.
A TOO Snug drive chain can still be Forced to swing past the center-line. But that is what creates accelerated wear of the chain, sprockets & bearings, everytime you hit a bump!

Disconnecting the bottom suspension link (1 bolt & nut) is the easiest way to set that Center-line.

I will admit that I have not had the opportunity to inspect or service a 2022 KLR650, yet!
But the first half of your second statement is 100% correct.

Too loose is better than too tight

 

[daave]

That is incorrect.
One needs to position the swingarm pivot, rear axle & engine sprocket Center-lines Straight in line.
The drive chain Needs to have about a 1/2 inch of easy freeplay at that point.
A TOO Snug drive chain can still be Forced to swing past the center-line. But that is what creates accelerated wear of the chain, sprockets & bearings, everytime you hit a bump!

Disconnecting the bottom suspension link (1 bolt & nut) is the easiest way to set that Center-line.

I will admit that I have not had the opportunity to inspect or service a 2022 KLR650, yet!
But the first half of your second statement is 100% correct.

You're talking about more than chain tension but whatever bud. You do you.

 

[pdwestman]

You're talking about more than chain tension but whatever bud. You do you.

That is the whole point.
The drive chain should Not have any TENSION at any point during the arc of the swingarm (or during the rotation of the sprockets) when the transmission is in neutral (or the clutch is disengaged) and therefore neither the Engine nor the Rear Wheel is applying any force / tension thru the chain to the sprockets.

The system needs to has some chain Slack at the furthest point of the arc!

 

[2slow05]

Best I can get out of my 22 is 48mpg. I ride it pretty conservatively around the 62-64mph mark. I do have a top box and two soft bag for panniers and I weigh about 240lbs. I am usually down to the last bar or light is flashing at 200 miles and I have never put more than 4.5-4.7 gal in the tank. I am hoping someone comes out with a map/tuner for it and help with the mpg. I do only run 87 octane in it.

 

[pdwestman]

SO, it should make it another 40-60+ miles from the middle of no-where with the total 6.1 gallons consumed.
That is 'about normal' for a KLR650, even with a carburetor.

 

[KLR-Mule]

I'm consistently getting around 55mpg on the new FI KLR with over 2,000mi on the odo. That's 10mpg better than my previous 2018 KLR which is a for me.
My calculations say that I should have another 70mi range when the fuel gauge starts flashing....which puts me around 320mi before the tank is bone dry empty.
I have all the smog crap deleted on my bike, which may account for a small bump in mileage.

 

[2slow05]

I'm consistently getting around 55mpg on the new FI KLR with over 2,000mi on the odo. That's 10mpg better than my previous 2018 KLR which is a for me.
My calculations say that I should have another 70mi range when the fuel gauge starts flashing....which puts me around 320mi before the tank is bone dry empty.
I have all the smog crap deleted on my bike, which may account for a small bump in mileage.

any heads up on what the smog stuff is to remove? What fuel do you run? I can come anywhere close to your mpg on my 2022

 

[KLR-Mule]

any heads up on what the smog stuff is to remove? What fuel do you run? I can come anywhere close to your mpg on my 2022

I’ve removed the air injection system, along with the charcoal canister equipment on my bike. Installed block off plugs on the air injection & canister filter sensors, along with installing the Eagle Mike air injection block-off plate. It’s a little tricky if you’ve never done it before, but doable. I’ve been wrenching on KLR’s for a while now.
I run plain Jane 87 octane fuel. 33 psi in the tires, and don’t run much above 65mph most of the time.

 

[mbstang12]

SO, it should make it another 40-60+ miles from the middle of no-where with the total 6.1 gallons consumed.
That is 'about normal' for a KLR650, even with a carburetor.

I ran my bike until empty on purpose and filled to the bottom of the filler neck and it took 5.45 gallons. The difference is probably the pump and sending unit.

I'm consistently getting around 55mpg on the new FI KLR with over 2,000mi on the odo. That's 10mpg better than my previous 2018 KLR which is a for me.
My calculations say that I should have another 70mi range when the fuel gauge starts flashing....which puts me around 320mi before the tank is bone dry empty.
I have all the smog crap deleted on my bike, which may account for a small bump in mileage.

Page 51 of owners manual states the fuel light blinks @ approx. 1 US gallon of usable fuel. Thats 55 miles of range so you would be pushing the bike the other 15 .

I think I read/heard somewhere prelaunch that the tank was measured @ either 5.25 or 5.45 of "usable" fuel but it net the same range from the bump in economy of dfi.

 

[KLR-Mule]

I ran my bike until empty on purpose and filled to the bottom of the filler neck and it took 5.45 gallons. The difference is probably the pump and sending unit.



Page 51 of owners manual states the fuel light blinks @ approx. 1 US gallon of usable fuel. Thats 55 miles of range so you would be pushing the bike the other 15 .

I think I read/heard somewhere prelaunch that the tank was measured @ either 5.25 or 5.45 of "usable" fuel but it net the same range from the bump in economy of dfi.

Good to know, and glad someone actually ran their bike out of gas for us to find out. Kawasaki states that the bike will draw everything but 1/10 gallon of fuel from the newly re-designed tank. Your saying otherwise, and I believe real life scenarios more than the internet lol.
I may have been a bit optimistic with my fueling calculations

 

[ZZnoTop]

I’ve removed the air injection system, along with the charcoal canister equipment on my bike. Installed block off plugs on the air injection & canister filter sensors, along with installing the Eagle Mike air injection block-off plate. It’s a little tricky if you’ve never done it before, but doable. I’ve been wrenching on KLR’s for a while now.
I run plain Jane 87 octane fuel. 33 psi in the tires, and don’t run much above 65mph most of the time.

My mileage was terrible out of the gate on my 2022 base. 27mpg was my best average. I Listened to advice on forum & Tire air pressure was to blame. I Set pressure at 36psi front & 34psi back. Now I'm getting 45+mpg with tusk medium panniers! Its my little pickup truck😎👍

 

[daave]

I’ve removed the air injection system, along with the charcoal canister equipment on my bike. Installed block off plugs on the air injection & canister filter sensors, along with installing the Eagle Mike air injection block-off plate. It’s a little tricky if you’ve never done it before, but doable. I’ve been wrenching on KLR’s for a while now.
I run plain Jane 87 octane fuel. 33 psi in the tires, and don’t run much above 65mph most of the time.

Do you have any videos that show how to do what you did? Always looking for better milage and horsepower.

 

[KLR-Mule]

Do you have any videos that show how to do what you did? Always looking for better milage and horsepower.

Unfortunately I did not take a video or pics when I removed the charcoal canister & air pump apparatuses. I’ve done it so many times, I never really thought to do so.

if you end up removing them, just make sure that everything is capped off that needs to be plugged.
I had to cap off a small inlet on the throttle body when removing the charcoal canister tubes. A larger rubber plug was needed on the air filter box when removing the air pump plumbing, and the Eagle Mike block off plate was needed to plug up the air inlet on the top of the cylinder head.
I ran a long piece of vacuum tube for the fuel tank vent. That’s the only inlet that needs to stay open so the tank can vent properly.

 

[gus898]

Just did the math and I'm getting 48.79 mpg on my Gen3. I do ride her pretty hard and usually carry quite a bit of weight. My typical highway/interstate speed is around 75mph and do like to accelerate quickly.

I have a total of 1825 miles on her. Actually today is our two month anniversary. Even though it was 14 degrees I took her on a ride to celebrate.

I am curious as to how much my mpg will change once I figure out how to remove the stock front sprocket and put on the 16 tooth sprocket.

 

[ZZnoTop]

Just did the math and I'm getting 48.79 mpg on my Gen3. I do ride her pretty hard and usually carry quite a bit of weight. My typical highway/interstate speed is around 75mph and do like to accelerate quickly.

I have a total of 1825 miles on her. Actually today is our two month anniversary. Even though it was 14 degrees I took her on a ride to celebrate.

I am curious as to how much my mpg will change once I figure out how to remove the stock front sprocket and put on the 16 tooth sprocket.

I just changed my front sprocket to a 16tooth on my gen3. First thing I can tell you is that your speedometer will probably be correct after. Right now its probably showing 10% faster than what you're actually going. Your 75mph might actually be 68.5mph... And your 48.79mpg might really be 43mpg or whatever... If that makes sense? So after the sprocket change Your gas mileage might appear to not change but in actuality might increase 10% because The rpms are reduced & you're actually going the correct speed & the correct distance as measured by your bike. I'm in the middle of testing theory this out 👍

 

[Tom Schmitz]

I would wager that the odometer is spot-on. The speedometer is deliberately optimistic due to the legal ramifications of it reading under-speed. See the ECE Regulation No. 39, and what's good for the goose is good for the gander so we all get the optimistic speedometers rather than just the European Union.

What I will be interested to learn is whether or not the odometer will still be accurate after changing to the 16 tooth sprocket. I remain convinced that this new speed sensor on the countershaft is a hot mess that didn't need to be.

 

[ZZnoTop]

I would wager that the odometer is spot-on. The speedometer is deliberately optimistic due to the legal ramifications of it reading under-speed. See the ECE Regulation No. 39, and what's good for the goose is good for the gander so we all get the optimistic speedometers rather than just the European Union.

What I will be interested to learn is whether or not the odometer will still be accurate after changing to the 16 tooth sprocket. I remain convinced that this new speed sensor on the countershaft is a hot mess that didn't need to be.

With the 16tooth sprocket my Speedo is right on now. I'll be checking the odometer also

 

[PeteK]

Ditto what Tom said. The odometers on both my Gen1 and Gen2 bikes are almost exact. The speedo on my Gen1 is 10% high, and the speedo on my Gen2 is about 5% high. Changing the sprockets on Gen1 and Gen2 bikes makes no difference to the speedo or odo because they are driven by a cable from the front wheel. Only Gen3’s are affected.

 

[ZZnoTop]

Ditto what Tom said. The odometers on both my Gen1 and Gen2 bikes are almost exact. The speedo on my Gen1 is 10% high, and the speedo on my Gen2 is about 5% high. Changing the sprockets on Gen1 and Gen2 bikes makes no difference to the speedo or odo because they are driven by a cable from the front wheel. Only Gen3’s are affected.

The snow is melting here in Texas so I'll be checking my odometer tomorrow. I'm sure you guys are correct about the odometer & I'm curious to see how off it is NOW... & if its showing fewer miles traveled will it E X T E N D my WARRANTY?? J/k 😂👍

 

[2slow05]

My 22 shows 2 mph faster than actually going. Stock gearing