[Sauce]

It's a 1992 KLE 500 with 33.5K on the clock; no matter how open the throttle is, when letting out the clutch lever the engine stalls as soon as it reaches the biting point. Although the engine seems to be running fine while in neutral/clutch disengaged, it's like there's no power output at all.

Any ideas?

The bike was running fine when I first got it a couple weeks ago; then I gave everything a good clean, changed the air filter and dropped the bike :redface: (this problem occurred before the drop, but at that point the front calliper pistons had stuck - I dropped the bike while trying to force the wheel to turn... the wheel now turns freely so it's not the brakes that are causing the problem anymore). Now it won't go anywhere

I've not touched the engine or carbs since getting it.

 

[99bubf]

Check the kick stand switch.

 

[QKENUF4U]

i concur kickstand switch
and
if your front brake was locked up you might want to investigate that also. how/what happened to make the brakes lock up ?

 

[Sauce]

Doh!

To be fair that was the first thing I checked, but I thought it worked on the sidestand making/breaking a circuit just through contact rather than physically actuating the switch.

But yeah, the switch is stuck in the 'sidestand down' position - bike works fine if the switch is pulled out with pliers but just doesn't actuate automatically.

Oh well, another thing to add to my next parts order. Thanks for the help.


EDIT:

As for the brake I thought it was just because the pistons were caked in crap; lots of WD 40 and I managed to force them back in the calliper. It does seem like they still not fully retreating after releasing the brake lever though as if the bike is left for a few days, the brake has stuck on again - more WD-40 and brute force is the temporary fix but a better solution would be appreciated? I need a new brake lever before more troubleshooting though (broke with the drop!)

 

[sfair]

If WD-40 touches ANY brake part, even dust boots, you can consider them ruined. A complete caliper overhaul is required with all new rubber parts. It is a safety issue and your life depends on correctly operating brake system!

 

[QKENUF4U]

If WD-40 touches ANY brake part, even dust boots, you can consider them ruined. A complete caliper overhaul is required with all new rubber parts. It is a safety issue and your life depends on correctly operating brake system!

i wouldnt say ANY brake parts..... wd-40 wont hurt the brake seals ,hard parts but it would jack with the pads ... all the other parts can be soaked with simple green/purple power etc. and scrubed/washed down to get rid of the wd....

now if youre just spraying the wd40 all over the place and prying the pads back then yes youve more than likely jacked the pads...

it could also be the master is gunked up and needs cleaned/rebuilt. there as two small ports at bottom of master. on is a return pressure hole. if its gunked/blocked then the pistons wont retract as needed and as you ride it will lock the front brakes tight , heat from brakes builds pressure in lines, if port is blocked it cant push fluid to master, it will build pressure behind pistons and clamp down pads....

i would def. agree its time to pull the calipers off and either clean the heck out of them or rebuild them and master...

may even have a bad brake line...

 

[sfair]

Wd-40 will make dust boots swell. When trying to help over the internet, instead of specifying which parts are OK and which are not, to avoid confusion I always state "any" part. Cannot go wrong that way.

 

[QKENUF4U]

have never had a problem with wd40 on anything my entire riding/bike tech career but if you say so.... (u afraid of using it on your chain too ?)

 

[sfair]

Chain not made of EPDM, but spray away if you wish.

 

[MAX900]

I would add a brake caliper rebuilt kit for all your brakes,on that parts list. (front and back) very simple fix and not very expensive either.
usually only two bolts hold them together, separate them from the rotors split apart while still conetted to the lines "SLOWLY" actuate the lever till the piston comes off (I wrap it in a rag or wash towel to keep the mess to a minimum) take them off the lines at this point and clean them well with soap and water(dish washing soap works well) If the piston and inside of calliper looks or feels kind o whitish or a little pitted give them a little scrubing with some fine steel wool or copper scrubb pad to smooth it out some,drain old fluids out, wipe some new fluid on all your parts and new rubber parts and reassemble. Add new fluid in, bleed the lines till no air bubbles are visible in the fluid any more and you'll be good to go, after replacing that lever and the kickstand switch that is.
P.S.while you do all that, if they are in good shape and don't need to be replaced let your pads soak in soapy water to clean the oils off them, and rince with clean water and pat dry before putting back on. Good luck. post your outcome.

 

[QKENUF4U]

Chain not made of EPDM, but spray away if you wish.

in my case i use PURPLE POWER to scrub my caliper down .... i know better than to use anything like WD near brakes..... :mrgreen: ... it does work awesome to clean my white rims though.... :-D

MAX pretty much gave the whole low down on the front brakes... only thing i do different is i disconnect the calipers and use AIR to blow the pistons out w/ a peice of wood between them (not your fingers :shock: ) and not sure if hes saying to split the caliper halves or not... i DONT DO THAT.... no reason to since you can clean them perfectly fine w/ just blowing the pistons out..