When Kawasaki introduced the 2022 KLR650, a lot of people were very excited—nobody really expected the KLR to make a comeback after Kawi canceled the lineup in 2019. They were even more excited when it appeared that Kawasaki had finally gotten around to addressing the “Doohickey” issue. Now, a couple of years into production, some owners are now saying that new KLR buyers should still address this problem, even on the new bikes.
What’s a Doohickey?
The Doohickey is just a common name for the KLR650’s idler shaft lever. This is a stamped piece of metal that helps keep tension on the counter-balancer chain mechanism with the help of a spring. This assembly has been an issue for many owners over the KLR’s 35-year-run. On first-generation KLRs, this part was especially weak, and when it broke, things got pretty messy inside the engine cases. Owners said the parts were weak. Kawasaki said that with proper maintenance (there is a tightening procedure for this assembly), there would be no issue with the design. Many owners disagreed and replaced the part with an aftermarket substitute (some owners never touched the Doohickey, and their bikes ran a long time with no issues).
On second-generation bikes (from 2008 through 2019), it seemed to be less of a problem, but the aftermarket still made replacement parts and owners still bought them. Kawasaki said the design was fine, but many owners had issue with springs breaking in the assembly.
With a new part number indicating a re-design, owners hoped those problems were gone in the 2022-and-up models.
Aftermarket replacement kits
However, the aftermarket has once again stepped in with replacement kits to help owners “do the Doo.” Once again, it seems many owners are distrustful of the spring in Kawasaki’s idler shaft lever assembly, despite the re-design. Eagle Mike once again stepped in, now offering a complete rebuild kit for the assembly for $147.95 (seehere).
See Big Rock Moto’s take below:
Is the replacement needed on new bikes? Realistically, it’s probably too early to tell, but a lot of that question depends on whether or not your bike is under warranty, and whether you’re scared after hearing stories about Doohickey failures on the current model. After puttinga few thousand kilometerson a ’22 model, I certainly saw no reason to be worried, and I’ve heard of nobody else breaking one yet, but I’m sure you’ll see some discontented customers in the forumsphere—but what bike is that not true of? And for many owners, having a bit of added peace of mind is reason enough to do the upgrade, whether or not it proves to be necessary in the long run.
