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new klr owner in sw ohio, 75-80mph
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2001 1:19 pm
by Tom Witt
Welp... I finally got my KLR Tuesday evening. Have only put about 35+
miles on it so far and unfortunately no opportunity to take it off
road just yet.
My first impressions:
- I love the agility and easy manuverability, feels much lighter than
expected. I have to "tippy-toe" in order to touch the ground, but
it's not that difficult to keep under control and I'm learning the
tricks of sliding to one side and dropping a foot when I really need
to.
- The "Lawnmower" sound that I get from the thumper exhaust is
difficult for me to get used to. How much of a change can you get
from an aftermarket setup? This has got to be my biggest hangup to
date. The thumper vibrations really don't bother me too much (kinda
reminds me of my Harley, hehe).
- The green paint scheme isn't as bad as I originally expected and it
indeed is starting to grow on me.
- When turning the handlebars to the far left, the throttle and brake
cables push up against the fairing. Is this normal? My KLR only has
about 1000 miles on it and it's like new. I see no evidence of any
mishaps and the fairing "looks" straight. Is this the case for anyone
else?
- I had the KLR up to about 80mph the first day I had it (BTW, what
is a realistic "top end"?). I was expecting some bad vibes or
disturbed handling due to some of the content I've seen with this
subject. I was surprised (again) to find that it was quite smooth at
those speeds. I'm also impressed with the highway-speed handling
ability of this bike.
Overall, as I expected, this is quite a different world than what I'm
used to. When I step off this bike and onto my Triumph Trophy, it
takes me a while to re-adjust and recalibrate my thinking. The Trophy
feels like it weighs a TON when I first get on it!! I also need to
learn that this isn't a sportbike and I can't simply blow by slower
moving traffic, well.. not as easy anyway.
Thanks,
Tom (Southwestern Ohio)
2000 Kawasaki KLR650
1996 Triumph Trophy 900
1993 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
1976 Honda GL1000 Goldwing
--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Tom Witt" wrote:
> I hope I don't ginx it by posting this too soon, but I am soon to
be a new KLR owner. Picking up the bike next Tuesday in trade for my
Ninja 600R (and a couple other small items). I'm a member, moderator,
and owner of several other ONElist, err. eGroups, err.. I mean Yahoo!
Groups motorcycle related communities and am looking forward to
jumping into the saddle and becoming an active member of this group
too. The KLR will be a big change for me personally and an entirely
new experience. The bulk of my experience has been with street bikes.
I've owned several bikes over the past few years, favoring Kawasaki a
bit over the others, but this one will be totally different and I
look forward to having the ability to keep on going once the road
ends.
>
> I've already done some poking around and see that this is a well
established group and loaded with great resources. The member/bike
pics have already given me a few ideas of what I might like to do
with my own KLR once I get it in my grasp (such as hard saddlebags,
aftermarket seat and windshield, etc). I'm also not real fond of the
green color scheme just yet (please forgive me! Hehe), although I do
tend to won green bikes, so a custom paint job may be a possibility
in the future as well. Who knows, maybe it'll grow on me. Anyway, in
the event that I don't use this bike "offroad" as much I as I should,
I may consider more of a street tire setup as well. Has anyone done
this with their KLR (I'm assuming yes)?
>
> Please forgive the plug, but feel free to checkout one of my other
groups (over 500 users) if you have any interest:
>
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Motorcycle_Classifieds
>
> Tom (Southwestern Ohio)
> 2000 Kawasaki KLR650 (Hopefully here soon!)
> 1998 Suzuki TL1000S (Sold it late last season)
> 1996 Triumph Trophy 900
> 1996 Harley XLH Hugger (Recently departed)
> 1993 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
> 1993 Kawasaki ZX600 Ninja R (Will be leaving soon)
> 1992 Suzuki GSX600FN Katana (Recently departed)
> 1982 Yamaha Virago 750 (Sold it last year)
> 1979 Suzuki GS850 (Recently departed)
> 1976 Honda GL1000 Goldwing
> 1976 Honda CB550 (Sold!)
> 1974 Honda TL125 Trials (Sold!)
> 1972 Honda CB500 (Sold!)
new klr owner in sw ohio, 75-80mph
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2001 1:49 pm
by Dale_Johnson@ahm.honda.com
--snip
> - I had the KLR up to about 80mph the first day I had it (BTW, what
> is a realistic "top end"?). I was expecting some bad vibes or
--Snip
I have had mine up to 100MPH (read on my GPS) speedo was a little
higher than 110.. and have been speedo reading higher that 115 so i
am guessing I have been around 105-110 on it..
Dale
So-Cal
new klr owner in sw ohio, 75-80mph
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2001 3:20 pm
by Tom Witt
I was guessing it could achieve at least 100mph, but wasn't sure.
Since I'm somewhat inexperienced on a bike of this type, I didn't
think it was a very good idea for me to try to find out anytime real
soon!
Thanks Dale!
Tom (Southwestern Ohio)
2000 Kawasaki KLR650
--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Dale_Johnson@a... wrote:
> --snip
> > - I had the KLR up to about 80mph the first day I had it (BTW,
what
> > is a realistic "top end"?). I was expecting some bad vibes or
> --Snip
>
> I have had mine up to 100MPH (read on my GPS) speedo was a little
> higher than 110.. and have been speedo reading higher that 115 so
i
> am guessing I have been around 105-110 on it..
>
> Dale
> So-Cal
new klr owner in sw ohio, 75-80mph
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2001 6:12 pm
by Susan Moorhead
Tom,
Congrats on the new machine. Hope you get as much enjoyment from your KLR
as I do from my KLX.
Marshall in Afton, Ok
'95 KLXC3
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Witt
To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2001 1:19 PM
Subject: [DSN_klr650] Re: New KLR Owner in SW Ohio, 75-80mph
> Welp... I finally got my KLR Tuesday evening. Have only put about 35+
> miles on it so far and unfortunately no opportunity to take it off
> road just yet.
>
> My first impressions:
>
> - I love the agility and easy manuverability, feels much lighter than
> expected. I have to "tippy-toe" in order to touch the ground, but
> it's not that difficult to keep under control and I'm learning the
> tricks of sliding to one side and dropping a foot when I really need
> to.
>
> - The "Lawnmower" sound that I get from the thumper exhaust is
> difficult for me to get used to. How much of a change can you get
> from an aftermarket setup? This has got to be my biggest hangup to
> date. The thumper vibrations really don't bother me too much (kinda
> reminds me of my Harley, hehe).
>
> - The green paint scheme isn't as bad as I originally expected and it
> indeed is starting to grow on me.
>
> - When turning the handlebars to the far left, the throttle and brake
> cables push up against the fairing. Is this normal? My KLR only has
> about 1000 miles on it and it's like new. I see no evidence of any
> mishaps and the fairing "looks" straight. Is this the case for anyone
> else?
>
> - I had the KLR up to about 80mph the first day I had it (BTW, what
> is a realistic "top end"?). I was expecting some bad vibes or
> disturbed handling due to some of the content I've seen with this
> subject. I was surprised (again) to find that it was quite smooth at
> those speeds. I'm also impressed with the highway-speed handling
> ability of this bike.
>
> Overall, as I expected, this is quite a different world than what I'm
> used to. When I step off this bike and onto my Triumph Trophy, it
> takes me a while to re-adjust and recalibrate my thinking. The Trophy
> feels like it weighs a TON when I first get on it!! I also need to
> learn that this isn't a sportbike and I can't simply blow by slower
> moving traffic, well.. not as easy anyway.
>
> Thanks,
> Tom (Southwestern Ohio)
> 2000 Kawasaki KLR650
> 1996 Triumph Trophy 900
> 1993 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
> 1976 Honda GL1000 Goldwing
>
new klr owner in sw ohio, 75-80mph
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2001 6:16 pm
by Susan Moorhead
And why do you need to ride any bike on the street at 100 + MPH? My Avon
Gripsters aren't speed rated anywhere near those kind of numbers.
Just my .02 worth.
Marshall in Afton, Ok
'95 KLXC3
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Witt
To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2001 3:20 PM
Subject: [DSN_klr650] Re: New KLR Owner in SW Ohio, 75-80mph
> I was guessing it could achieve at least 100mph, but wasn't sure.
> Since I'm somewhat inexperienced on a bike of this type, I didn't
> think it was a very good idea for me to try to find out anytime real
> soon!
> Thanks Dale!
> Tom (Southwestern Ohio)
> 2000 Kawasaki KLR650
>
> --- In DSN_klr650@y..., Dale_Johnson@a... wrote:
> > --snip
> > > - I had the KLR up to about 80mph the first day I had it (BTW,
> what
> > > is a realistic "top end"?). I was expecting some bad vibes or
> > --Snip
> >
> > I have had mine up to 100MPH (read on my GPS) speedo was a little
> > higher than 110.. and have been speedo reading higher that 115 so
> i
> > am guessing I have been around 105-110 on it..
> >
> > Dale
> > So-Cal
>
>
> Visit the KLR650 archives at
>
http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650
>
> Post message:
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>
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>
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>
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>
new klr owner in sw ohio, 75-80mph
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2001 6:35 pm
by Dale Johnson
:
> And why do you need to ride any bike on the street at 100 + MPH?
My Avon
> Gripsters aren't speed rated anywhere near those kind of numbers.
>
> Just my .02 worth.
Because I can?? I am not sure exactily WHY I did it, it felt like
the thing to do at the time.. Yes it was a risk, and a risk that I
lived through.. It is also risky to just get on the KLR and ride to
work 75 miles one way but I do it..
new klr owner in sw ohio, 75-80mph
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2001 10:13 pm
by Andy Cohen
Message: 14
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 23:35:55 -0000
From: "Dale Johnson"
Subject: Re: New KLR Owner in SW Ohio, 75-80mph
:
> And why do you need to ride any bike on the street at 100 + MPH?
My Avon
> Gripsters aren't speed rated anywhere near those kind of numbers.
>
> Just my .02 worth.
Because I can?? I am not sure exactily WHY I did it, it felt like
the thing to do at the time.. Yes it was a risk, and a risk that I
lived through.. It is also risky to just get on the KLR and ride to
work 75 miles one way but I do it..
Hell yeah!! it was fun and i love it!! the faster the better. Shit, i pull
out of my driveway at 75.
Just my .02 worth.
Andy Cohen
Finishlinewest
Home of the 470 HP "Quake"
Kawasaki KLR 650 Police Special
www.finishlinewest.com
"our vehicles don't compete with other vehicles, they compete with sex"
short money for a symax
Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2001 10:08 am
by got2klr@yahoo.com
Point your browser to
http://www.motodepot.com Symax in soid colors
go for $179. The store is in Southern California and the people were
good to deal with. Other sites, such as Helmet Harbor, failed to
return important (to me) email and did not list a phone number so you
can talk to a real person before sending off the retirement fund in
exchange for some helmets.
Jon Zink
Boston
01 KLR 650
new klr owner in sw ohio, 75-80mph
Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2001 11:16 am
by Gord Hunt
I ride 150Kms everyday on the highway on my 84 KLR 600. I normally ride at
85-95mph for 30 minutes at at time and I'm running a 14 tooth sprocket on
the front. Maybe its not politically correct but it sure is fun
I
regularly pull wheelies in traffic as well.
Later, Gord
1984 KLR 600
1977 KZ750Twin (bored to 883)
1979 CanAm 400 (widowmaker)
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