2008 klr reliability issues?

[excavator nut]

Just joined, have had my klr 08 for 11 months have 10,000 miles, have never had to add oil between oil changes. The motorcycle has proved flawless, 8000 of those miles have been highway ( interstate ) miles. 75-85 mph constant speeds for for hours and not one problem, gets 55 mpg, 6 gallon gas tank, hand protectors that work

[Saleenguy]

Originally Posted by excavator nut

Just joined, have had my klr 08 for 11 months have 10,000 miles, have never had to add oil between oil changes. The motorcycle has proved flawless, 8000 of those miles have been highway ( interstate ) miles. 75-85 mph constant speeds for for hours and not one problem, gets 55 mpg, 6 gallon gas tank, hand protectors that work

My 08 is the second KLR650 I have owned, and its far superior to the earlier model......and in my opinion maybe one of the best bikes ever made.

Mine has been to hell and back, and still runs perfectly.

Glad you like yours as much as I like mine.

I have 17 bikes currently, and have to admit I ride the KLR more than the other 16 combined.

I am going to do a major update on the bike this winter....not sure why as its great as it sits, just want to I guess.

[Vancouver_KLR]

My brother Dad and I just finished a trip to Panama from Vancouver.

I have an 07 and they have 08's. They burned a litre of oil (I think a quart) every couple of days. I use to carry a gallon of oil on my rack for them. Especially since we were in very remote parts of Honduras and Guetemala.

What is more strange then the oil was both 08's had serious fires on the rear muffler side. It destroyed panniers and contents. They were both rideable after, and my brother must be a site as he has a custom saddle from honduras half burnt on the back rack with a bulls skull with horns that the locals just adore. Lots of heat from the military checkpoints, more curiousity though. At this point he's looking pretty rough after 45 days on the road.

I don't have anymore details as we split in Mexico and recieved emails from my brother and Dad seperately on this. One happened in Washington and one happened in southern mexico.

I'll keep you updated when I get more details.

Regardless we put the KLR through everything imaginable and got us out of some very very remote areas. My 07 burned no oil in 18,000 kms.

[Saleenguy]

Originally Posted by Vancouver_KLR

My brother Dad and I just finished a trip to Panama from Vancouver.

I have an 07 and they have 08's. They burned a litre of oil (I think a quart) every couple of days. I use to carry a gallon of oil on my rack for them. Especially since we were in very remote parts of Honduras and Guetemala.

What is more strange then the oil was both 08's had serious fires on the rear muffler side. It destroyed panniers and contents. They were both rideable after, and my brother must be a site as he has a custom saddle from honduras half burnt on the back rack with a bulls skull with horns that the locals just adore. Lots of heat from the military checkpoints, more curiousity though. At this point he's looking pretty rough after 45 days on the road.

I don't have anymore details as we split in Mexico and recieved emails from my brother and Dad seperately on this. One happened in Washington and one happened in southern mexico.

I'll keep you updated when I get more details.

Regardless we put the KLR through everything imaginable and got us out of some very very remote areas. My 07 burned no oil in 18,000 kms.

I never have to add oil between changes on my 08.

And I doubt anyone is rougher on their KLR than me.

Todays ride was boulders, deep water, trails that pounded you bad, several large logs to slam over, and while not huge jumps, I used ever ledge, bump etc. I could find to nail as hard as possible and catch some air.

Simply put its just tough.

[bross]

How do you break your bikes in from new? So many BMW boxers have oil burning issues as well and yet mine never used a drop of oil in 35,000kms. I use this method...
New Motorcycle Check list, Break in

I think a lot of riders with oil burning issues are the by the book, baby it riders and those motors just never "seat". I'm not a ride it like you stole it kind of guy either, but that first breakin is critical and if you do it by the book, you're never going to get it broken in properly.

[Saleenguy]

Originally Posted by bross

How do you break your bikes in from new? So many BMW boxers have oil burning issues as well and yet mine never used a drop of oil in 35,000kms. I use this method...
New Motorcycle Check list, Break in

I think a lot of riders with oil burning issues are the by the book, baby it riders and those motors just never "seat". I'm not a ride it like you stole it kind of guy either, but that first breakin is critical and if you do it by the book, you're never going to get it broken in properly.

I rode my KLR650 right fom the dealers lot....I took it easy for about 1 minute as the temp came up, i started given'r hard.

I rode it like it was stolen, and then changed the crappy kawi oil very early on.

After less than 100 miles it was pulling hard, and felt fairly broken in.
Changed the oil again on day 2 of ownership, and have ridden it normal useage since, it uses NO oil.

I never add a drop, or ven come close to needing to add oil, between oil changes.

Never baby a new motor, and change the oil early on to get the crap out of your bike.

I switched mine to synthetic before 100 miles was on it, and run 20W50 Mobil1 synthetic.

[mrfix]

Originally Posted by herk

Just curious...

Is the doohicky repair still done on the KLR? JMK.

The new balancer lever is better but the aftermarket one is much better, the new spring still needs to be changed.
Mrfix been on a KLR for ever

[mrfix]

The very early 2008 KLR's had an oil ring issue, I heard it's all straightened out. If you have an 08 that uses oil, take it to the dealer and get a new ring set installed. The rest of the 2008 bike is way more fragile than the old style, Kawi made quite a few changes to the bike, not all of for the good of the true KLR riders. If I were to replace my KLR I would buy an 07 and go from there, in fact I may pick up a spare. The old bike had no environmental crap on the carb and no cat in the exhaust. If you drop the 07 or earlier, you have a few scratches, if you drop an 08, get your wallet out. If you stay on the street it's not an issue but if you ride the KLR the way it was designed to be ridden you won't be happy with the new bike.
Mrfix

[Saleenguy]

Originally Posted by mrfix

The new balancer lever is better but the aftermarket one is much better, the new spring still needs to be changed.
Mrfix been on a KLR for ever

And the spring is $5...I make and sell the proper ones for the 08.
The ones from the older models tend to be too short, or too long, none are just right.

If you cannot afford a 5 dollar part to correct the issue, i will send you one free even.

[Saleenguy]

Originally Posted by mrfix

The very early 2008 KLR's had an oil ring issue, I heard it's all straightened out. If you have an 08 that uses oil, take it to the dealer and get a new ring set installed. The rest of the 2008 bike is way more fragile than the old style, Kawi made quite a few changes to the bike, not all of for the good of the true KLR riders. If I were to replace my KLR I would buy an 07 and go from there, in fact I may pick up a spare. The old bike had no environmental crap on the carb and no cat in the exhaust. If you drop the 07 or earlier, you have a few scratches, if you drop an 08, get your wallet out. If you stay on the street it's not an issue but if you ride the KLR the way it was designed to be ridden you won't be happy with the new bike.
Mrfix

HA HA HA I have dropped mine, rolled it, endoed it, and finally cracked a small plastic part....crazy glue had it fixed in 10 minutes....Ride an 08 for a year, then get back to me, as you will be in love with it.

[splatte]

I have an '08 that hesitates at highway speeds usually around 4000 rpm and above. It's intermittent and only lasts for 2-4 minutes then runs fine. It usually happens within 10 minutes or so at those speeds but then goes away and won't happen again for hours (usually). It feels like a fuel starvation problem and I've cleaned the carb, flushed the tank, blew out tank vent lines, changed gas octanes, ran the petcock at open and reserve all to no avail. My shop called Kawasaki and they told them to do the above maintenance (carb, etc..) Unfortunately since the problem is intermittent the shop hasn't been able to replicate the problem and doesn't have any more suggestions. I saw a post mention something about a worn ignition wire. Would that cause the problem I'm having? Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks!

[kawboogie]

My '08 has been trouble-free to date, however, I have two other bikes that I ride, so it doesn't have a bunch of miles. I'm sure I read today in "MC Consumer News" that a recall on those turn signals is coming (I was scanning the mag). I guess is goes to show that when one buys the first year of anything new, bugs are to be expected.

I have no complaints about the bike, other than the fact that it's so cold-blooded and hard-starting at times (thanks, EPA). I have found that cranking with the throttle slightly cracked (hot or cold) helps her fire. It sounds like from the above post regarding the exhaust heat that it may be wise to get rid of the catalyzed muffler. I put a Supertrapp race IDS on mine with only four disks, and it sounds like a thumper should (reminds me of a Rotax flat-tracker). As far as oil consumption, I have had no problems to date.

[northernman]

So far there are 3 recalls for the 2008 KLR650.

1. muffler bolts

2. signal lights

3. main wiring harness.....it can rub thru, and cause the bike to die, due to electrical loss.
It is somewhat common, I have already seen an 08 do it myself, and I fixed it for the customer, prior to the recall being issued.

[bross]

Originally Posted by northernman

So far there are 3 recalls for the 2008 KLR650.

1. muffler bolts

2. signal lights

3. main wiring harness.....it can rub thru, and cause the bike to die, due to electrical loss.
It is somewhat common, I have already seen an 08 do it myself, and I fixed it for the customer, prior to the recall being issued.

Piston rings? for abnormally high oil consumption. I guess technically not a recall

Oil-burning KLR solved - ADVrider

[Trees]

I have 8,000 miles on my 08 and it's been perfect. I ride at speed, around town and on the local dirt roads. No problem to date.

[tumminello123]

My bike is only a few days old, but the previous owner said it doesn't burn a drop of oil. It was manufactured in May 2008 (last month 2008's were manufactured) and the oil burn problem was resolved by then. My temp indicator doesn't even move past cool. Of course, it's only been 80 degrees out here, but still, I expected it to move a little. I guess I shouldn't complain. He did fix the doohickey on mine with the Eagle Mike piece so I don't have to worry about that. The part inside was better than older KLR's, but his spring was worn out. He replaced it with the torsion spring which is the best one anyway.

[ta5ryan]

Originally Posted by taro

Hey gang. I've been occasionally looking into how people are liking the new klrs. I've got wind of some reliability issues. Of the people on this forum that have new klrs, have you had any problems? Inquiring posers want to know

I have 3000 miles and have had no issues. I have heard horror stories about them burning a bunch of oil, but my two other friends who have them (one with 3500 miles and another with 5000 miles) have reported no problems. Hope this helps.

[charlie2744]

12K on mine.
It uses 8 oz of oil every 150-200 miles of high rev
(5.5-6k rpm 70-75 mph) riding.
I mostly ride 55 mph to work and back.
Feels good on dirt/gravel, GREAT on the street.
I changes to "avon gripsters" and hate them in the mud.

[Ricreation]

I bought my 08 KLR650 as a 'get over a divorce' ride. It was working great. This is my 4th KRL/X. The KLR's fit my need really well. When I finished my 1000 ride in 3 days, I was all smiles. The day after, when I started it, I noticed a low r's ticking. The bike was consuming oil at a very unacceptable rate as well. 1 1/2 qt in 1100 miles.
As I was out for a ride on the 4th of July, (Oil new and topped, coolant good as well, no high heat indications), she stopped dead in her tracks. I received less than acceptable help from my local Kawi' dealer. I talked to the next cities Kawi' service manager and received hopeful direction. I was directed (being a good mechanis myself) to investigate.
What I found. The Auto decompressor unit had a bad protuberance (factory defect) on one of its arms Pins. It became sloppy, wore out the spring hook and finally flung wide or open to jam up the exhaust cam. As I pulled the cam, one shaft journal was toast. The bike only has 6100 miles on it. It is currently at the shop. I am being told that Kawasaki might help me... I will return and report. (Oh, by the way, our bikes are not made in Japan) I'm concerned.

[bross]

Originally Posted by Ricreation

I bought my 08 KLR650 as a 'get over a divorce' ride. It was working great. This is my 4th KRL/X. The KLR's fit my need really well. When I finished my 1000 ride in 3 days, I was all smiles. The day after, when I started it, I noticed a low r's ticking. The bike was consuming oil at a very unacceptable rate as well. 1 1/2 qt in 1100 miles.
As I was out for a ride on the 4th of July, (Oil new and topped, coolant good as well, no high heat indications), she stopped dead in her tracks. I received less than acceptable help from my local Kawi' dealer. I talked to the next cities Kawi' service manager and received hopeful direction. I was directed (being a good mechanis myself) to investigate.
What I found. The Auto decompressor unit had a bad protuberance (factory defect) on one of its arms Pins. It became sloppy, wore out the spring hook and finally flung wide or open to jam up the exhaust cam. As I pulled the cam, one shaft journal was toast. The bike only has 6100 miles on it. It is currently at the shop. I am being told that Kawasaki might help me... I will return and report. (Oh, by the way, our bikes are not made in Japan) I'm concerned.

Haven't been since 2001 so I wouldn't be too concerned about where it's built. Sorry for your troubles, hope you get it fixed soon and Kawasaki helps you out.

# 2001(?) Assembly shifts from Japan to Thailand. Hard to say if there are any quality issues, as the parts still seem to be manufactured in Japan.