At least for mine.

I know you think this is probably off-topic, but it's really not as much as you might think. Keep reading.

To adjust the valves on my KTM you pop the little valve covers off, pull the compression release lever, put the tranny in 6th gear, and rotate the rear wheel which turns the cam and watch the valves until you see the intake and exhaust valves positioned just so, then take the measurements and adjust. Easy peasy.

So a while back I installed a Rekluse auto-clutch. This clutch engages only when the engine RPMs are high enough. This has so many advantages in many riding conditions, but that discussion is not relevant here. The main point is that now you can't use the rear wheel to turn over the engine and position the cams - the clutch just slips and the wheel spins and the engine does not turn over.

So ... what to do for a valve adjust? Some folks say to use the kick starter to position the cams. I tried this, but there is not much leverage there and small movements of the kickstarter equate to large movements of the cam and it's difficult to get them positioned just right. I just don't trust myself to get them into the correct position where I can check and adjust the valves which need to be correct.

So, I took a page from those clever Japanese and the KLX in particular. I told you it was not off-topic. And it gets even better. Keep reading.

Notice the ignition cover on the KTM is solid, all one piece:




You will note on your KLX that in the center of yours, there's a plug and you remove that to access the flywheel nut. So on the KLX, you put a socket on the flywheel nut and use that to turn the engine over in order to position the cams for a valve adjust.


So that was my bright idea (stolen). Here's what I had done to my ignition cover:




Looks pretty sharp, huh? And, BTW, I spec'd that plug hole using the KLX plug, so that is not only a genuine Kawasaki part that I put in there, that is THE actual part off the KLX250S. How about that!

While I was in there, I went ahead and took this opportunity to upgrade to the Trail Tech higher output stator as well:




Ok, these next photos are going to show the front side of the cover. I have to warn you that it doesn't look so hot. This cover has been on my bike for over 2 years and I ride some pretty rough areas and it takes a lot of abuse. Also, the red coating I used on the inside is called glyptal and it is designed to seal the inside of engines, supposedly for better oil flow and less oil contamination. I used it on this part because it is magnesium and magnesium will corrode if not sealed and protected. And the stock coating was, ahem, accidentally removed by gasket dissolver when I was cleaning up the gasket mating edges. So I had to reseal it. And when I taped off the outside edge, some of it seeped under the tape due to the raised lettering and it doesn't look so hot. So, I hope you can get past that small cosmetic flaw ... I did. I don't care. It's a dirt bike. And the convenience factor of the plug far out weighs the small cosmetic blemish to me. Someday I might come back and touch that up or something. But not right now.

Anyway ... let's see it in action:

Cover installed, plug installed:




Plug removed, 17mm flywheel nut exposed:




17mm socket on the nut ready to turn over the engine:




So ... now that my orange bike is actually a "K(awasaki)TM", you guys be a little nicer, OK and quit raggin' on my orange bike. I just wish I had this done back when it was in BOTM, maybe a few more of you ******* would have voted for it instead of going all "green brotherhood" on me.

Oh, since every KTM in existing has to have all kinds of little orange anodized bits bolted to it, I thought about anodizing it orange. But then I thought Kawasaki green would be more appropriate. Hmm .... I'm real tempted.

 

Geez Brian thats good.
So did you need to weld in the thread?
That red stuff looks so "factory"

I here mixed things about the Rekluse.
You clearly think its a good thing?

 

I love it, it's awesome. I didn't think so when I bought my first one almost 2 years ago so I pulled it out and sold it for what I paid. But as I've been learning and becoming a better rider, I had a retake on its advantages, especially when you are pushing it in the tight woods and doing a lot of accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake. Also, nice that the bike is pretty much unstallable now. Not 100% unstallable, but close.

No welding. There was enough material there to thread it in and chamfer the top to provide a seating surface for the o-ring. Plus, it's made of magnesium. Not sure that is weldable? At least not by mere mortals. I think there are some welding experts on this forum, so maybe they could chime in on that.

The red stuff does look pretty nice, doesn't it. Too bad is looks so nice on the inside, and so crappy on the outside.

 

Neat post Brian. So a stock ktm has no means of moving the flywheel just a wee bit. Interesting

What is the ktm service manual instructions to put her at tdc...they must have a method besides the kicker...no?

 

Good job.

The thing that would put me off the Rekluse is not being able to use the engine as a brake when not running.
For example, if I killed the motor on a steep up hill track, I can't roll the bike back on the engine, you have to use the brakes.
In effect, use the clutch as a rear brake.
Too me thats weird.

 

By turning the rear wheel. You could also remove the whole ignition cover and get at the bolt that way, but you risk destroying the gasket. Even though its only 4 bolts, doing it that way is still a pita, relatively speaking. So that's where the plug is so nice and easy. I remembered that from the KLX and so that's where that idea came from.

Also, on the KTM, if you do the valves "by the book", they have you find the actual TDC which is a little tricky - not easy like the KLX. And once at TDC, you run in a crank lock bolt which keeps the crank from moving. You can only put the bolt in when the crank is at the right position - it goes into a detent in the crank. Its hard to find and involves completely draining the oil, removing the spark plug and using a straw in the cylinder to get it close, then using a flash light, and a mirror to actually visually see the detent in the crank from underneath the motor looking up into about a 1/4 inch hole where the locking screw goes underneath the header at the front bottom of the engine. When you think you see the detent in the shadowy recesses of the engine reflecting in the carefully positioned mirror you are looking at as you turn the rear wheel from behind the bike , you then crawl under the bike and screw in the locking nut. If it goes in all the way, you got it. If it doesn't, you unscrew the bolt, reposition the mirror so you can see in there again, and fiddle with the rear wheel some more. This process generally involves a lot of cussing and saying not so nice things about its mother. Sometimes that helps.

So nobody does it "by the book". There are a couple of methods of positioning the cams even though the position is not at TDC, they can still be adjusted to spec due to the shape and position of the cam lobes on the single overhead cam design of the valve train. It's a neat short cut. If you are really curious and have 9 minutes to spare, here's the procedure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWS9RuEQzc8

I did it "by the book" one time. All other times I've checked and adjusted my valves, I've used the above method. It's very simple and easy. My situation was only complicated by the Rekluse, because then I couldn't turn the engine over with the rear wheel.

 

Yeah, that can happen. If you are doing it on purpose, i.e., to take a break or whatever, just find a spot where it won't roll backwards. But if you are meaning that if it stalls out on a hill, then that's another problem, but remember the bike is pretty much unstallable now because as soon as the RPM's drop, the clutch releases, and the engine still keeps going. So those occasional mid-hill stalls that might happen if you get out of shape or something are far more rare that they would be otherwise.

The other issue is that you can't bump start. Not really an issue when you have both the e-start and kick starter like this bike. But if you don't have a kick starter, if you ran the battery down you would be hosed because now you can't bump it. Must have the kick starter in that case, or a buddy with a battery that you can get a jump from. But that's really a non-issue if you have a kick starter. Rekluse does recommend you loc-tite your kick starter bolt, though. Don't want it to fall off and leave you stranded.

 

no pix

 

Thanks Brian.
I very occasionally kill the motor and use the clautch as a rear break when I need my right foot on the ground. Usually on very very tight, steep and slippery downhills.
Anyway, there isn't one for the KLX so its not something to really think about.

 

Wow great job on the innovation (stolen idea) Maybe you should contact KTM and sell them on the idea that you borrowed. Awesome Brian.