To KLR or not?

[Guest]

Yes, you should most definitely KLR.

Yes, you should most definitely KLR.

Yes, you should KLR

I bought my Pig (I use that term with the utmost amount of affection) in Feb of 2008. It is an '02, and had a mere 3600 miles on the clocks when I bought it.

ZERO problems, and the bike is pushing 50,000 miles. No oil usage.

MUST FIX issues?

-the "doohickey". Engine balancer lever & spring. Do not buy a kit from anyone other than "Eagle Mike". It costs about $140.00ish for ALL the parts (new lever, spring, gaskets and rotor bolt) and the tools (including rotor wrench and rotor puller). Easily done by yourself in your garage in a couple hours. I recommend the kit which uses the "torsion spring".

See here: http://www.eaglemike.com/Complete-lever-kit-with-torsion-spring-incl-special-tools-clkwts.htm

Eagle Mike has tons of other great KLR bits as well.

If you're gonna do much off road, a good aluminum bashplate and bark busters/hand guards are a must.

-The radiator has no side protection, and is therefore very vulnerable to a left side drop. Several manufacturers make a brace.

A couple months after I purchased my KLR, I set off for Alaska and Canada....10,000 miles and not a hiccup. I left on a fresh oil/filter change, took a spare filter and I changed the oil a couple times in Walmart parking lots along the way. I have ridden my KLR EVERYWHERE.

I prefer the "1st generation" KLRs (pre '08). A bit (roughly 25lbs) lighter, better off road manners than the '08-current bikes. The earlier bikes had some front end stability issues at highway speeds sometimes because the the wonky square front fender. I mounted up a KX450F front fender and voila. Problem solved. I have taken my KLR lots of places I probably shouldn't have, but the Pig ate it up with relative aplomb. Has never left me stranded or stuck.

If you get one for mostly commuting and you'll be running at Interstate speeds for an extended period, I'd recommend a 16 tooth counter sprocket (or drop 3 teeth on the rear sprocket for the same effect.) Keeping the bike below 5K will help reduce oil consumption on long trips.

Playing in the sand of the UP in Michigan for the first time. Took awhile to get the hang of such a heavy bike in the sand.

King's Highway north of Charleston, SC

Zooming along a back road...

Columbia Ice fields, Jasper Nat'l Park in Alberta:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b126/Cassius086/Alaska139.jpg

Poker Creek, AK...northern most Border crossing into the US.

Outskirts of Dawson City, Yukon Territory in Canada

The official theme song for the KLR is "Wherever I May Roam".....

 

[marvinsc]

Watching a nicely farkled one on Ebay now, a few hours away...............

 

[Guest]

Did someone mention the "Top of the World Highway"?













I don't need no stinking KLR.



Ribbing aside. The KLR is in my opinion a very good adventure bike.

In my mind it's like a jeep in 1944. Simple, no nonsenses, adequate strength, can do attitude.

Probably my next bike....I need one that is broken-in, cheap and I have to decide on size....I'll know when I see it.

 

[marvinsc]

The one I was watching sold early, the search continues.....

 

[marvinsc]

The trigger has been pulled. This followed me home today.





2002 with a long list of upgrades.

 

[Baatfam]

Enjoy, Scott!

 

[marvinsc]

The color photographs lighter than it is. It is almost an Army Desert camo Tan in person. It is growing on me...

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I'm buying one this coming year. One of the best jacks of all trades. Few of us can outride our moderate machines anyway.

 

[bwringer]

One of us, one of us, gooble gobble...

One of us, one of us, gooble gobble...

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!

Welcome to the club!

 

[marvinsc]

Went by the Sheriff's office for the $5 inspection and bought 6 month worth of Insurance for $17.30 this afternoon. Perhaps the Courthouse tomorrow to apply for the license. One of these days it will warm up..........

 

[marvinsc]

Also got it off the trailer today, it is tall, really tall as in raised. May have to address that ...

 

[marvinsc]

Licensed and insured, just need a little warmer weather..............

 

[JamesWhut?]

Don't forget you milk crate.

 

[marvinsc]

This one came with an "upgraded" milk crate with a lockable lid. New skid plate and crash bars will be the next additions.

 

[marvinsc]

Better pics.






Looking for suggestions for skid plate/crash bars.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Major envy here.

 

[bwringer]

Looking for suggestions for skid plate/crash bars.

I have repeatedly and seriously abused and can HIGHLY recommend SW-Motech crash bars. Hands-down the best and strongest, period, end of discussion. They're also very well designed for access -- you don't need to remove the bars to work on the engine, exhaust, etc. The one issue is that the left bar makes it a little difficult (but not impossible) to reach the balancer tensioner bolt.
http://www.twistedthrottle.com/sw-motech-crashbars-engine-guards-kawasaki-klr650a-07-klr650-tengai
http://www.whitehorsegear.com/sw-motech-crash-bars-for-klr650-all-years

They also make a skid plate that works with their bars:
http://www.twistedthrottle.com/twis...e-guard-skidplate-kawasaki-klr650-87-07-black
http://www.whitehorsegear.com/sw-motech-skidplates-for-klr650

JNS Engineering also makes a gorgeous skid plate that works with SWM bars and covers a bit more, but it's a good bit more expensive:
http://www.jnsengineering.com/product/1987-2007-klr650-skid-plate/#

Tim and I are using Ricochet aluminum skid plates that were advertised as compatible with SW-Motech crash bars; they're extremely strong, but it took HOURS of cutting (with metal cutting wheels in an angle grinder) and fitting to get the damn things to work with the bars. If I had it to do over again, I'd just get a skid plate designed to fit.

Order now, because there is very little stock in the US, and it sometimes takes a month or two for SW-Motech stuff to reach the US from Germany.

Rocky Mountain ATV/MC also sells a ton of KLR goodies -- they're the only approved reseller of Eagle Mike stuff, so perhaps you can get everything you need at once and save a bit on shipping:
https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/Parts-Finder/48/-/3735/2002-KAWASAKI-KLR650


The other MUST-DO along with the crash bars is an Eagle Mike drill-through subframe bolt kit -- make sure you get the one compatible with SW-Motech crash bars.
http://www.eaglemike.com/Drill-through-subframe-upgrade-kit-DTSUK.htm

Eagle Mike makes lots of other fantastic KLR goodies as well...


The drilling sucks, but go slow, go straight, and use LOTS of lube. I tried to get away without doing the drill-through, and you may remember that the bolts broke in Kentucky... I had to borrow your truck and visit three of the local hardware stores to get it sorted out enough to get home.


And yes, the famous Eagle Mike doohickey with a torsion spring is MANDATORY if it hasn't been done already... broken levers and broken and sagged springs are indeed real. I've done four doohickeys personally. One stock lever was broken, and all the springs were very loose. You can get a kit with everything you need from Eagle Mike:
http://www.eaglemike.com/Complete-lever-kit-with-torsion-spring-incl-special-tools-clkwts.htm

 

[marvinsc]

I had been admiring the SW Motech stuff at twisted throttle, think I will go that way. Re the doohickey the original owner told the guy I bought it from it was done. No way to prove that. I would think that the issue would have come up in 69000 miles if it was going to.

 

[bwringer]

You'd have to remove the side engine cover to verify that the doo's been done. One thing to remember is that it was most likely done long before the torsion spring was available. At some point, it would be worthwhile to pull that cover and see how much tension is left in the coil spring, or just go ahead and install a torsion spring if you really want to make double plus sure. No rush at all, though -- I probably wouldn't bother until I was really bored.


Looks like it's already got decent hand guards and what looks like a Seat Concepts seat, so that's good. Is it wearing any suspension upgrades?

Also, it's quite possible that the drill-through subframe bolt modification has already been done. Instead of two smaller bolts, it'll have a large (10mm shank, 8mm socket head) allen bolt with a nut at the other end. In that case, you could just order the longer Eagle Mike bolt kit that works with the SW-Motech bars and install that when you install the bars.

Does it have a Thermo-Bob already? The older Thermo-Bobs look a lot different -- they use an external thermostat housing that looks more like this. This is certainly optional, but highly worthwhile.


Since I'm just sitting here on the sidelines hooting while watching someone else spend money, I'll also mention upgrading the pitiful front brake.

I'm using the Procycle Warp9 rotor (lots of other cool stuff on that Procycle page too), and Tim is using the EBC rotor. They seem to work exactly the same. There's also a Galfer kit for even more cash. My KLR is also wearing a dual-piston left brake caliper from an SV650 with a custom adaptor bracket, and it is mighty sweet indeed. Even if you keep the stock caliper, a 320mm brake kit (along with a stainless braided brake line, of course) really helps a lot.

 

[marvinsc]

Per the book he gave me suspension upgrades are : Rear shock completely rebuilt including new Nitrogen, new rear spring and new Cogent Dynamics front springs, fork seals , new steering stem bearings. New brake pads all around as well as new fluid and stainless lines, rebuild rear master cylinder and a new rear brake rotor. Other new parts, Clutch and throttle cables, tires, bars and grips.