On certain motorcycles, insufficient tightening of the muffler mounting bolts could allow the bolts to loosen.
Engine & cooling
Kawasaki KL650A Engine problems by year
5 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Kawasaki KL650A's engine & cooling. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
Engine complaints by model year
Engine recalls
Latest KL650A engine complaints
Balancer chain began making noise attempted factory recommended adjustments. Concern was unresolved. Removed stator cover found quadrant and tensioner broken. *Tr
On the basis of anecdotal information I replaced the stock balancer chain tensioner on my 2005 kawasaki klr 650 motorcycle. These have been known to have problems in this area, and sure enough the spring that is to tension the balance chain as it wears was broken and inoperative. This meant that if I had not replaced the tensioner adjuster and spring, the chain that runs the balancer would have continued to wear and stretch to the point of possible catastrophic failure. It is nice that americans are making a living making these parts, but how many bikes do not get this repair. I mention this at dealerships and they act like I am speaking a foreign language. *Tr
2006 Kawasaki klr 650 balancer tensioner spring failure. Symptoms loud engine noise and poor engine operation. The failure was caught in time before catastrophic engine failure could take place. I purchased a balancer lever upgrade kit from eagle manufacturing of california. The cost of this kit was approximately $140.00. I also purchased a motorcycle jack to accomplish the repair. My labor was approximately 4 hours, this included removing the left side engine cover from the flywheel and stator. Then...
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removing the inner flywheel side cover to retrieve the broken idler adjuster spring. The main body of the spring was retrieved. The broken piece circulated through the engine, braking off some of the plastic chain tensioners. I recovered a few plastic pieces and the main spring body. The left side spring end was broken off and is somewhere inside the engine. The replacement of the parts and gaskets took approximately 4 hours and cost me several hundred dollars. *Tr
The balance shaft tenisoner and chain broke on my 2004 klr 650 before I had 10,000 miles on it. *Tr
ENGINE LOCKED UP IN TRAFFIC AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *TR
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data