[Biker Scout]

Bike's all back together and I just put in the sealed battery. Checked my cool turn signal switch, oohh'd over the new LED glow in the dash. Crossed my fingers held my breath and hit the starter. *WHIIIRRRRR-ClickClickClick* Hmm... that's odd the piston doesn't sound like it's moving up and down. *WHIIIRRRRR-ClickClickClick* Yep... sounds like the starter is turning nothing.

So, I push the bike up and down the street to a part that's kind of an incline into my driveway. Push it pretty good, hop on and click it down into first gear. *SKKIIDD* the rear wheel just grinds me to a halt. OK, maybe first gear was too tall. I'll try second. Same thing. Third same thing.

I push the bike back into my driveway dismayed, trying to ponder my options. Well, I could just take it to the Stealership since I've got a warranty on it. But what if they find something that gets them out of working on it, and I'm stuck with the shop bill? Or I could drive it to some knowledgable MX wrencher's and we can take the bike apart and see what the problem is, perhaps it's a simple cheap fix.

Any ideas?

 

[theotherbigjoe]

Put a wrench on the rotor and try and turn it over by hand.

pull the left cover off and see if something is stuck.

will it (motor) turn over in neutral?

Try turning it clockwise.. and then turn it counterclockwise. does it stop like the piston is hitting a valve?

 

[Biker Scout]

This was last night at about 11... so any suggestions you guys have I'll have to tinker with this afternoon and weekend. I'll have no answers for you guys until Monday.

Joe, I thought you weren't supposed to turn the motor a certain way? (backwards)

 

[theotherbigjoe]

it's locked up now. whats it gonna hurt?.

I mean dont go trying to make complete revolutions... just a simple backwards and then forwards.

if it dont move either way... your going to have to open it up.

 

[Biker Scout]

Gotcha! 8)

 

[DSjunky]

Did I miss something? Did this lockup follow a mere battery change? Or did you do some other work to the beast?

 

[Biker Scout]

The battery was the final culminating piece to the puzzle I called my KLR. I had a spill a while back and getting all the bits and pieces took longer than I wanted. Because I replaced nearly everything with the fancy upgraded aftermarket parts.

But to answer your question, I didn't open the engine and make any changes in there.

 

[Spiderman]

Sounds like the starter motor is turning but not engaging. My Clymer manual suggests a worn or damaged starter clutch or damaged teeth on the starter shaft or gears. I would think that if you had damaged teeth you would hear some clattering. I would suspect the other.

The starter clutch is mounted on the back of the rotor and the starter gears and rotor have to be removed to get to it.
It says here "If troubleshooting the starter clutch, the clutch can be checked for freewheel and lockup without removing the rotor. Turn the clutch gear clockwise. The gear should turn freely and smoothly in that diretion. Attempt to turn the gear counterclockwise. The gear should not turn". If it turns both directions or is always locked up, then that's your problem.
Good luck.

 

[ham!]

It has the sounds of an undercharged battery

 

[DSjunky]

It has the sounds of an undercharged battery

Yep...

 

[theotherbigjoe]

Good call Spidey !.

Yea, the starter gear is on the back of the rotor. if the left cover is off and the small starter gears
are removed. You can reach in and turn the main starter gear by hand to check it. (without removing the rotor.

If he turns it by hand with a wrench clockwise you can hear the gears turning on the starter.
counterclock you wont. Thats normal.
It sounds like the crank is locked up. if the starter 'oneway clutch' (or what ever its called) were stuck. I'd think it would turn over with the starter and then stay engaged and he would deffinatly hear it.

Keep us posted B.S.

 

[theotherbigjoe]

It has the sounds of an undercharged battery

Yep...

I thought that too. but then he says that it wont push start?? :?

I'd hope that was the case anyway.

Maybe he needs to eat a samich? :wink:

 

[Daddyjoe]

I agree with Ham on the battery.

Did the bike run after the crash?

If you think it might be locked up (the motor), just remove the large plastic plug on the right side engine cover and turn the rotor bolt counter clockwise. You will know if it is froze or not!

Push starting the KLR sometimes can be difficult, you have to make sure you get enough weight on the rear wheel. If you were sitting on the very front of the seat it could still slide in third. Try putting a charger on the battery first.

Refresh us on the crash and we will know more about what could be wrong.

 

[Deerhntr]

Biker have you ridden or started your bike sense your spill? What was damaged because of your spill? What have you repaired? I'm not thinking starter myself, if you tried to bump start it in third and it wouldn't turn over it may be something else. Did you do any case damage to it? Some more info for us may help.

 

[Biker Scout]

Hit hard in the right side after a bit of "Air". I recall hearing the motor running while it was on it's side for a minute. I can't remember if it was still running when Yonan came over and hit the kill switch or not. Maybe, by that time he was just moving it out of the way and it had already clutched itself out.

The hardest part of the hit was on the faring and handlebars. The tank never got scratched one bit. My Moose Pegs, and E-Bay Rack asorbed most of the damage. I probably have a blown fork seal, but that obviously won't keep the bike from starting.

 

[Deerhntr]

After you take the plug out on the left side and try to turn the engine over, if it doesn't turn, check your right side case for any damage. I'm sure you've checked but if not you may want to.

 

[Deerhntr]

I just looked at my bike. If you hit hard enough to damage your moose pegs it could have bent the frame into the case at that point. Hopefully it is the starter though.

 

[Biker Scout]

hmmm... so much to look over. Thanks guys! I'll let you know how it turns out.

So, best case scenario here? Something just stuck inside and just needs to be freed up?

Mild tantrum: Need to buy a new starter?

Total Freakout: Engine Seized, button it back up and take it somewhere?

 

[Deerhntr]

Hopefully it's something minor. If not you may be able to handle it without going to the stealership. Good luck to ya.

 

[Biker Scout]

UPDATE:

OK Guys, here's what I found so far... I charged the battery, then I put it back in and cranked the engine. It turned a little. So I removed the plastic rotor cover and turned by hand and it was very resistant and kind of made a grinding crunch sound, but then it moved a little more freely. Hit the starter again, and it wants to turn the flywheel, but something is providing resistance. I can't tell what it is at this point.

So I hope that rules out the starter... it does engage.

So I take off the outter cover a look around carefully. I don't notice anything out of the ordinary... oh, wait what's this? I found a tiny semicircle chunk of metal attached to the inside of the stator cover. It looks like it was resting on the magentic pick-up thingy in the corner. I took a closer look at it, and I immediately recognized what it was... the top half of the Doohicky!

So, I'm kinda relieved that I found it, but on the other hand, I realize that I'll have to take the engine apart further. I'm hoping that when I find all the pieces that it's discovered that they are the culpret in keeping the engine from moving freely. The Doohickey was so broken that I was able to fish it out without having to remove the inner cover. I placed the chunk of metal on the Doohickey to confirm, and I noticed that it's only half of the semi-circle that breaks off. That means that there's another chunk floating around in there.

Now, I've got Eaglemike's Doohicky in my shop, however I don't have the rotor wrench. I figured that I would eventually have it replaced at a Tech Day or with the help of someone with the Rotor Wrench. So, I'm in town right now looking to borrow a wrench from a local guy. (Hopefully he didn't go up to Redding too)

So, I guess my question is... Can a broken Doo actually cause the engine to lock up, sieze or provide resistance to the rotating assembly? (I know the techincal answer is yes, but what I'm getting at is, has this sort of thing happened to anyone else's KLR in the past?) Is it possible that a hit to the right side of the bike have knocked any broken Doo parts into the engine further? Would it be safe to assume that my Doo had been broken and the pieces just got lodged around? Or is it posible that general use, occasaional dropping the bike, trail riding and such be the likely cause of the Doo to break? I'm almost thinking that using the bike for anything other than superslab will yield a broken Doo.

I'll let you guys know more when I do.