Shigeta A Regular



Super Cool Since: Aug 2014 Locale: Bay Area, CA Postings: 53 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

Re: Project Saguru: A Comprehensive KLR650 Transformation Quote: AZSpeedfreek Originally Posted by And then?...



Teardown, Refinishing, and Hard Decisions  Part 2.5

Small update to my progress on the build.



Done in this update: (Mostly) Degreased the engine

Drained oil & trace amounts of remaining coolant

Continued stripping the triple clamps

Installed EMIG Racing KX » KLR Steering Stem

Took delivery of some new parts

Took meausrements to deliver to Ian from Britannia Composties to see if there is a fairing that will work with my application

Mocked up the frame, subframe, swingarm, and subframe components for reinforecement prep

Engine Prep

The engine has been sitting in the corner of my garage since I tore down the bike. It was high time to begin getting it sorted. I pulled it out to begin the degreasing process.







First, I wanted to cover up any places I didn't want tons of water getting in. I am currently planning to tear it down all the way so water or other contaminants wouldn't matter, but I felt it was worth a couple seconds of prep if I didn't go that way.







These make pretty decent plugs, albeit not waterproof.





Greasy mess.













Came across this. Can anyone provide insight to the writing? It reminds me of writing from a salvage yard.





Caked on, baked on chain lube. Terrible mess.





This is going to be fun to clean up...





Looking a little cleaner...





Still some baked on stuff I need to attend to, but I ran out of daylight.





I decided to drain the oil from the engine since I am now planning on fully disassembling it. I worked up this strange setup to funnel oil into the pan...





..Then I realized I can just move the engine above the pan! :eek1









No major metal flakes so far, so good.





Goddammit. I forgot about this. I noticed it the last time I changed the oil, but was too busy to attend to it. Typical KLR repair on behalf of the PO. It worked well enough, but it's incredibly ghetto.









More stripping...

This is getting super old. I think I'll have the frame and subframe sandblasted at this rate. I am fine to do the small things, but it is a major pain in the ass...



The brake fluid was an absolute bust.





No difference. Paint is still on there real good.





More spray strip.





To be continued...





Installing EMIG Racing KX » KLR650 Steering Stem

The guys at EMIG are great. While this stem is not listed on their site as of this posting, they will sell it to you if you shoot them a call or email. It is designed to fit the triple clamps of the 2006+ KX250/450 to work with the KLR650 head tube. It also utilizes OEM KLR650 size bearings. :deal



I couldn't strip the last 2% of the OEM paint and I was excited to get the stem into the trees to test fit the forks. I don't have a 20+ ton press, so I had to utilize a little physics (or is it chemistry?) to get it all to work out. According to some law of science, heating metal will expand it and freezing it will shrink it. If something is press fit (Like a steering stem into a triple clamp), freeze the inner piece & heat the outer piece.



Room temp here in NorCal :lol3





Heated this section of the clamp to about 200°F





And the stem sat in my freezer for a few days. Clocked at about 9°F.





Science is the best tool in a toolbox. :deal





Next step: Remove old races (fffuuuuu) and install new bearings. I'll get to that later.









New parts!

Aside from the new steering bearings from All Balls Racing, I received in a package from Trail Tech.







I spent hours researching all of the aftermarket gauges for the build and time after time, I kept coming back to the conclusion that the Trail Tech Vapor was the best option for my needs.







The Vapor is a popular unit, but it is relatively poorly documented online. I aim to use this build thread to provide a bit more info on the usage, installation, etc of this unit. I expect to revisit this after I get the bike to a more complete stage.







Next post: Frame Reinforcements I need your advice!