klr engine mods!

[Michael Squire]

Hi Everybody! I keep on hearing about people that have made some serious engine mods to the KLR 650, from porting and pollishing the heads, to aftermarket camshaft, along with the obvious other mods like K&N air filter, supertrap ids exhaust, dyno-jet kit and a 16 tooth sprocket on the front. They say that it really brings the bike to life and it is like riding a totally different machine capable of reaching a top speed of around 180 km/hr, from the stock 140 km/hr. Is this a reasonable goal from the KLR or is it a pipe dream? How is the engine's reliability affected by all of these mods? Being a person with somewhat of a mechanical background I firmly believe that to get any gains from a stock motor, power that is, there is a trade off..,RELIABILITY!! Does anyone have a sound mechanical opinion on the subject to offer? ps... I have also heard of owners getting 300,000kms+ on their KLR's... I hope to be one of them, 96 KLR 650, 8200 kms...isn't it a great bike!!