[Humpty Dumpty]

Just checked the 6th KLR to have had the Eagle Mike Doohicky upgrade...the coil spring was broken...as well... that makes it 6 out of 6, all fitted by a reputable dealer.
Also then found that the roller bearing inside the idler/tensioner sprocket had collapsed???? a very strange thing, unfortunately only able to account for 9 of the missing 11 roller pins after fishing around with a magnet, draining the oil and removing the clutch side casing as well. (had the bike on its side to do the doo without draining oil, easier to work on...hmmmmm).

All that I am putting out there is that all of us thinking all is well inside the engine after we spent money and time doing the Doo, :character00271: Take the time to have it checked out....PLEASE.

If you are in Cape Town, South Africa...I am happy to have a Doo Tech day at my house....just get in touch with me through the Forum and we can set something up....it takes all of 30 minutes.....total. :stickpoke:

 

[650Stew]

So your saying that the actual Eagle Mike springs are breaking? Have you contacted Eagle Mike about this? I'm sure he'd like to know! I have the EM Doohickey and torsion spring in my closet waiting to be installed but now you have me wondering...

 

[desertraider]

ive just got my doo kit from eaglemike , and seeing and been reading more write ups and posts about it than i care to remember ive never herd of an eaglemike parts fail , their was people out their making doo kits and passing them off as his sometime ago , best thing to do is have aword with him

 

[SLO-KLR]

Just checked the 6th KLR to have had the Eagle Mike Doohicky upgrade...the coil spring was broken...as well... that makes it 6 out of 6, all fitted by a reputable dealer.
Also then found that the roller bearing inside the idler/tensioner sprocket had collapsed???? a very strange thing, unfortunately only able to account for 9 of the missing 11 roller pins after fishing around with a magnet, draining the oil and removing the clutch side casing as well. (had the bike on its side to do the doo without draining oil, easier to work on...hmmmmm).

All that I am putting out there is that all of us thinking all is well inside the engine after we spent money and time doing the Doo, :character00271: Take the time to have it checked out....PLEASE.

If you are in Cape Town, South Africa...I am happy to have a Doo Tech day at my house....just get in touch with me through the Forum and we can set something up....it takes all of 30 minutes.....total. :stickpoke:

Please contact Eaglemike and let him know about this.
http://www.eagle-m-e.com/
Either the parts are counterfit or the dealer that installed the parts did not install the spring correctly. Whatever it is Mike needs to know.

 

[PHBiker]

I installed mine right away and have had no issues. That being said, heat treating springs is tricky business and it's not impossible that one of his springs was improperly heat treated. Please contact Mike directly so he can sort things out with his spring vendor. He may need to recall some kits. Are you suggesting you've installed 6 kits and have had six failures?

 

[Humpty Dumpty]

Well, I own three KLR s 05, 06 and an 07 all had the doo done by a reputable dealer, got the stickers and all. took my 06 motor apart for gear problems and discovered the doo spring broken, this lead to opening the other two, all broken, which lead to opening three friends KLR s, these were also broken, one was fitted by the same reputable dealer, the other two fitted by unknown mechanics...just seems a little too coincidental to me that of the six I have checked, all were broken in a similar way, reputable dealer just shakes his head and says...have not had any comebacks..... I emailed Eagle Mike but got no reply...

 

[Humpty Dumpty]

Not sure if that was the images or not, but go to this link and you will see what I found... http://s645.photobucket.com/albums/uu175/doorknob17/Doohickey failure Eagle Mike product/

 

[Hex]

Will be watching this thread to see how this shakes out.

 

[eaglemike1]

Thanks to those that forwarded this link.

I rec'd an email this morning from a person I think is the same as the OP of this thread. I rec'd the email at 11:08, and responded at 11:42, so only 34 minutes passed. So some of the above is misleading..............

I have not had a total of 6 springs break before that I know - this is from the total number produced. This leads me to think there might be an installation issue. Either way, I want to support all the products I sell. There could have been a heat treat issue with the springs, but this cannot be said with certainty. The springs are produced in the US. I do visually examine every spring before it's packaged.

I've said this before, but I think it bears repeating. The torsion spring is a far better setup. The extension type setup is constantly cycling a minute amount while the engine is running. This will contribute to spring fatigue. Even engine revolution the spring cycles 18 times. That's the number of times a link plate passes of a sprocket tooth per revolution. There is some slop in the spring lever to shaft fit and there is also a bit of play in the adjustment lever to shaft fit - although much less in mine than the factory parts.

If the OP wishes, I will send him 6 torsion springs as replacements.

I don't know for certain (at this point) if the original spring were all mine. It doesn't matter - If the op will send me name and address I will ship these USPS International Priority mail, and will post the tracking number here.

 

[Buildit]

I think too many people forget to reset the spring tension screw periodically. This applies for the EM spring and stock spring. It's just good maintenance.

 

[Crazy Jake]

Just want to say,
I need to do the do and Eagle Mike has the parts I will use.

 

[3577]

Hey guys - on an 09 do you have to do the doohicky?

 

[Buildit]

Hey guys - on an 09 do you have to do the doohicky?

You don't HAVE to do anything. Just do inspections every 5,ooo miles, watch for material wear and loss of rebound in the spring. Also as I said earlier reset the tension screw regularly.

It comes down to likeing stamped metal or welded metal. :stickpoke:

 

[3577]

Thanks Buildit - Sorry for the late reply, I work nights. I'll keep an eye out. Just turned over 4,100.
Thanks again & ride on. :character00268:

 

[Damocles]

Hey guys - on an 09 do you have to do the doohicky?

Now you've done it, bw3577!

You've opened the can-of-worms that is the ideological debate of the KLR Century!

Although no, zero, none, ninguna, zed, zip failure in service of the Generation 2 (2008 and later model) doohickeys has been reported in these five model years, a number of aftermarket doohickey fans insist strongly the stock doohickey MUST be replaced; otherwise, engine abuse results.

Even suggesting the Kawasaki factory part (since '08) may be a reliable and durable component is grounds for banning anyone posting this "inconvenient truth" on certain websites.

Even those who acknowledge the current service life maintenance history of the present doohickey (idler shaft lever) insist the better shaft fit and extended adjustment range of the aftermarket part justify its installation.

Yet, no service life compromise, nor catastrophic engine failures have been traced to loose shaft fit, and--I've never seen a stock doohickey run to the limit of its adjustment. Should the limit be reached, might be time to consider replacng balancer chain and/or sprockets.

Better fit and finish? Certainly available in aftermarket parts, but does this mainly cosmetic advantage justify a change? You decide!

Now, observe carefully the following posts on this thread. Judge whether I have described attitudes prevailing about Generation 2 doohickeys accurately!

:29:

 

[Savage]

My bud has an 08 with 15k on it. He's trashed the chain but he has yet to open the engine and replace th doo.

 

[Damocles]

My bud has an 08 with 15k on it. He's trashed the chain but he has yet to open the engine and replace th doo.

Which "chain," Savage?

If the balancer chain, what was the proximate cause of failure? If the OEM doohickey remains intact and serviceable, reckon he considers the part still usable, uninvolved in the failure.

 

[eaglemike1]

I've not heard from the OP, so I can't send him parts yet.

 

[eaglemike1]

I have seen engine damage from 2008/9 stock parts

pic of a 2008 balancer sprocket, all stock parts until the damage. 10,221 miles on the engine at the time. Initials JC, from Little Rock, on a road trip cross-country, actually in SoCal at the time. I replaced the damaged sprocket with a spare and installed my parts. He said it was smoother than new. I gave the damaged sprocket and stock spring (also shown) to Kawasaki. Good sprocket shown for comparison.

The 2 pic's here were taken at Kawasaki Headquarters in Irvine. I took a set of very used 2008 balancer parts (sprockets and chain) up there so they could see the issues. I had fronted the owner a new set of parts and Kawasaki replaced them for my stock. You can see the damage to the chain in one picture. The other picture shows the spring is much too long and the chain is hard-bottomed against the case. A little over 14K miles on these parts. The factory manual doesn't even say to adjust until 15K, and that's in the service manual, not the owner manual.

I never thought I would see one, but I was recently sent a cracked 2009 factory lever. I'll put up a picture when I have time to set it up. I've seen several broken 2008/later factory springs, and Wyman has seen many more than me.

One should ALWAYS do what they think is right for their bike. Educate yourself, and do what you think is right. If that means you don't buy my stuff, that's ok. Be your own guru!

 

[tractorking]

Now, observe carefully the following posts on this thread. Judge whether I have described attitudes prevailing about Generation 2 doohickeys accurately!

Awaiting your reply to determine "described attitudes" given the factual evidence presented.