Yeah, I was thinking speedo hub too. I'll shut off my engine on long mountain downhills and mine makes a good deal of noise. I don't notice it at lower speeds.

 

Always keep in mind NEVER make the chain TOO TIGHT. That breaks and damages parts. You're better to run too loose than too tight. The chain will not come off.

I run high side, more like 50mm (2") of slack measured at the end of the chain slider:



A good tip was given by a rider here or at the ADVrider forum, make a 50mm (2") piece of 1/4" wood or steel as a gauge to stand up on the arm to check adjustment, like this one:



But again emphasized - not too tight. Think about it, at full compression, too tight a chain what can be damaged besides the chain?

 

dearly noted

 

You can damage your counter shaft, and or that bearing and seal. You do NOT want to stress the counter shaft. I've seen this a lot in my day.

 

Thanks for ALL the replies guys, and that wooden chain tester looks like a must-have

This morning I went for a spin wearing an open-face helmet, in an attempt to locate the squeak... but no squeak?

So I went back home, got my full helmet, went out, up the road.... squeak squeak...

For a second I thought maybe it was my helmet squeaking

I rode into town and it was still squeaking, so went back to the dealer. Bear in mind I ride through the mountains and jungles of Borneo, so the locals are not especially large people. Had to wait awhile, as none of the mechanics could ride it, as the KLX is too tall for 'em...

The head mechanic finally arrived, a big fella, about 300lbs and tall enough. I got the bike so my wife can come on the back, as my little souped-up KLX 150 was too small for that. Seeing the way my 250 just casually rode off with the big guy was reassuring - I don't think it's going to have any trouble with the extra 110lbs of my wife on the back.

Anyway, long story short, I mentioned the speedo drive, he was unsure of that as it's electronic but stripped the front wheel down, said the grease was very dry so regreased everything - and now there's no squeak

Clocked up 170 km before the fuel light came on. I calculate that as 56 miles per gallon, but I was riding back roads and on long straights slowing down to a stop then pulling away again through the gears and generally playing around, rather than just droning at 55 mph or whatever.

I think I could squeeze 70 mpg if riding for economy, but off road, no idea yet.

On the whole I'm liking the bike.

 

Congrats on finding the problem. I'm still running the factory "invisible grease" for now but this is something I (everybody) needs to look at sooner rather than later.

 

Yeah, tomorrow I'm taking it to have a 48 rear sprocket fitted, while there I'll ask them to grease up the rear wheel bearings and the suspension linkage.

She's now done 660 km, or around 400 miles or so

 

What chain are you getting with that?

 

I had the same issue when mine was brand new.

Here's what worked for me.

Freakish whistling sound from front of 09 KLX250 1700 miles. - Page 3 - Kawasaki Forums

 

"What chain are you getting with that?"

I'm in Borneo, so you might not have these locally, it's an O-ring sealed chain from "EK Chain", part number 520SRDS, which came with 114 links. The mechanic removed a few, about 4 I think.

Deffo more torque and power on the ride home - it means the top speed tops out lower but I've never been a fan of high speed on knobblies anyway

Donaldor, just getting the mechanic to check may have been enough to prevent over-torquing the axle, but I'm guessing lubing the speedo drive didn't hurt either

It seems fine now, happily.