685 Kit information

[Arizona14]

I'm considering the 685 kit for my 07. Every time it is discussed here, the people seem happy with it and no one has said it wasn't worth it. But, I have a couple of questions for those of you who have done it.

Did you have your cylinder ground locally or send it to Cary? If you sent it off to Cary, what was the turn-around time for it?

Did you find that you needed to adjust your carbeuration after the kit was installed? If so, what adjustments did you make?

Did anyone have any negative experiences with this upgrade?

Any information would be helpful, so thanks in advance.
Curtis

[hography]

[RockyMTNRider]

Check this out guys. http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?t=35116
and this http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?t=36004
and this http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?t=35597
Good stuff. Can't wait to get one of my own!!

[tubebender]

Don't know what the turn around time is, but send the cylinder to Cary. You are assured that the piston clearence is gonna be right. He even sets the correct ring gap. Give him a call, and he'll tell you exactly what you need. I've helped install a 703 and a 685, so I've seen his work. You can't go wrong.


CA

[fixer]

send it to Cary. i wouldn't even bother with trying to hunt around locally to find someone else to do it.

i haven't even HEARD a single negative response about the 685 or 703 kits, or the service from Cary and Schnitz Racing.

[FWIW]

I am in the process. I have a local guy who builds race engines on the side that I'm using.

[KLdrumR]

Originally Posted by Arizona14

I'm considering the 685 kit for my 07. Every time it is discussed here, the people seem happy with it and no one has said it wasn't worth it. But, I have a couple of questions for those of you who have done it.

Did you have your cylinder ground locally or send it to Cary? If you sent it off to Cary, what was the turn-around time for it?

Did you find that you needed to adjust your carbeuration after the kit was installed? If so, what adjustments did you make?

Did anyone have any negative experiences with this upgrade?

Any information would be helpful, so thanks in advance.
Curtis

Funny you should ask.

IMO, you can bore the cylinder locally. A good machine shop should be able to do a nice job.

If you buy the kit, with all the gaskets, your turnaround time will only be from when you break down the engine, bore the cylinder and reassemble. Theoretically, you could do it all in a day if you can coordinate with the machine shop.

You do not have to modify exhaust, intake or carb if you install the 685 or 705, only if you do head work.


cb

[Arizona14]

Good info all, and some good points to consider.
This seems to be taking on a life of it's own. Yesterday I was just thinking about it and today I've decided to get the ball rolling. I was reading Patmans' performance article last night (thanks for the link RockyMTNRider ) and my wife came in to make sure I wasn't surfing porn sights or anything. She saw the final power graph and asked what it was all about. When I explained what all the little lines meant, her response was "If you're going to do it, then Do it right."
That falls into the category of an official go-ahead so this project is now on the launch pad.
I'll keep you informed about the progress, if anyone is interested.
Thanks again.

[KLdrumR]

Originally Posted by Arizona14

Good info all, and some good points to consider.
This seems to be taking on a life of it's own. Yesterday I was just thinking about it and today I've decided to get the ball rolling. I was reading Patmans' performance article last night (thanks for the link RockyMTNRider ) and my wife came in to make sure I wasn't surfing porn sights or anything. She saw the final power graph and asked what it was all about. When I explained what all the little lines meant, her response was "If you're going to do it, then Do it right."
That falls into the category of an official go-ahead so this project is now on the launch pad.
I'll keep you informed about the progress, if anyone is interested.
Thanks again.

You and I are apparently in the same boat.

[RockyMTNRider]

Originally Posted by Arizona14

"If you're going to do it, then Do it right."

That's the best advice. I would really recommend sending your stuff off to Schnitz. Why buy all the goodies and have a chance of a problem? I'd stick to your wifes advice if it were me.

[Arizona14]

I sent Cary an e-mail this morning informing him of what I want to do. I assume that he will send me an address to ship the cylinder and head off to.
I guess that I'll be tearing the bike apart this weekend instead of going riding. Oh well, I suppose that in the search for perfection sacrifices must be made.

[Eaglemike]

You can also call Schnitz Racing, too. They are great people.

I have heard several stories of botched bore jobs on the KLR650. It's not the same as a lot of the others. The lower portion of the cylinder is pretty flexible, requiring some special care. Even in the lower cylinder block area the cylinder is retained by o-rings. If the person doing the boring is not familiar with this, there is a chance they might have a "learning experience" with your cylinder. I've bored and honed a bunch of cylinders back in the day, so I'm familiar with this sort of thing. The work from Schnitz is first class, and no worries......

all the best,

Mike

[KLdrumR]

Originally Posted by Eaglemike

You can also call Schnitz Racing, too. They are great people.

I have heard several stories of botched bore jobs on the KLR650. It's not the same as a lot of the others. The lower portion of the cylinder is pretty flexible, requiring some special care. Even in the lower cylinder block area the cylinder is retained by o-rings. If the person doing the boring is not familiar with this, there is a chance they might have a "learning experience" with your cylinder. I've bored and honed a bunch of cylinders back in the day, so I'm familiar with this sort of thing. The work from Schnitz is first class, and no worries......

all the best,

Mike

Mike, thanks for that input. If I do go about this locally, I'll use this info.
I talked to Cary yesterday. It was great to hear the ins and outs straight from the "Source".

cb

[Acacia]

What appears to separate Cary from the rest is that he rides his own products - for many, many thousands of miles. He specifically sources his pistons and other bits. Not just a local job shop.

Getting a few tips off the internet might not contain all the necessary little elements of a great job vs kinda sorta job. Unless your local Joe-bob is a known quantity?

Mike is a machinist and fabricator on the other side of the country with a great reputation here (so has Cary) and tests/uses Cary's work - that endorsement carries weight!

[KLdrumR]

Just to add - I am looking at just doing the piston kit now and leaving any head work until fall or next winter. I am ok with having the cylinder bored locally. I also think I could have the head work done locally, but would most likely send it to Schnitz for reasons mentioned.