Wilsons Sandbox

I just picked up a screw in the back tire, and so I have a flat. No biggie. I found the flat in my garage. But... My biggest gripe about the KLR is that it has spoked rims and tubed tires. I use mine exclusively as a streetbike, and I would really like a way to go tubeless. Does anyone have suggestions for going to cast rims on the KLR? Ralph Ralph E. Hanson rhanson40@... 99 KLR 650 http://www.wvu.edu/~journal2/west

>At 8:59 AM -0500 12/12/01, Ralph Hanson wrote: >My biggest gripe about the KLR is that it has spoked rims and tubed tires. >I use mine exclusively as a streetbike, and I would really like a way to go >tubeless. Does anyone have suggestions for going to cast rims on the KLR?

May I suggest getting a street bike? I'm not cutting on you or anything, but for the folks who never go off-road... what's the KLR's appeal for you? I bought my first KLR because I found myself riding on forest roads in sleet on my KZ650 and decided to get something more appropriate. Mark B2 A2 A3

On Wed, Dec 12, 2001 at 08:59:15AM -0500, Ralph Hanson wrote:

> I just picked up a screw in the back tire, and so I have a flat. No > biggie. I found the flat in my garage. > > But... > > My biggest gripe about the KLR is that it has spoked rims and tubed tires. > I use mine exclusively as a streetbike, and I would really like a way to go > tubeless. Does anyone have suggestions for going to cast rims on the KLR?

Did you know your spoked wheels weigh less than cast wheels? And if you have an H-D that you can buy new afermarket cast wheels cheaper than new aftermarket spoked wheels? I presume the same condition holds thruout the motorcycle market. I agree that tubeless tires are a Good Thing. Am sorry Honda didn't have the guts to continue their Comstar composite aluminum wheels from the late 70's. I actually liked the silverish ones best. Am sorry Kawasaki feels they already have their plate full with Great New Ideas and don't have time to copy an oldie but abandonded goodie. -- David Kelly N4HHE, dkelly@... ===================================================================== The human mind ordinarily operates at only ten percent of its capacity -- the rest is overhead for the operating system.

'Cause I like my KLR. It's a great street bike. And I can't afford a new DL1000 or CapoNord. Seriously, I have a very long inseam and find that most lightweight, inexpensive bikes don't fit me. (I really wanted an SV 650, but there was no way I fit. I will probably eventually get a DL or a Concours, but they are much more expensive than my $4000 KLR. Ralph

>May I suggest getting a street bike? I'm not cutting on you or >anything, but for the folks who never go off-road... what's the KLR's >appeal for you? >I bought my first KLR because I found myself riding on forest roads >in sleet on my KZ650 and decided to get something more appropriate. >Mark >B2 >A2 >A3

-------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph E. Hanson, Ph.D Room 308 Martin Hall Associate Professor West Virginia University P.I. Reed School of Journalism Morgantown, WV 26506-6010 rhanson@... (304) 293-3505, ext. 5412 http://www.wvu.edu/~journal2 Office Hours: T/TH 10 a.m-1 p.m. --------------------------------------------------------------------

Tengai650 wrote: [...]

> but for the folks who never go off-road... what's the KLR's > appeal for you?

Light weight, good posture and visibility, soft suspension soaks up lousy suburban roads and makes kerbhopping easy, bike is happy at speed limits etc etc. Mister_T Melbourne Australia

David Kelly wrote: [...]

> I agree that tubeless tires are a Good Thing. Am sorry Honda didn't have > the guts to continue their Comstar composite aluminum wheels from the > late 70's.

[...] I had Comstars on my CBX750FE. They are awful wheels to clean, especially the 16inch front with twin discs. Mister_T Melbourne Australia

It's a good machine. If you haven't explored some of the fire roads and good single track trails before, try it on the KLR SisFiddy and a whole new world will be opened up to you. TK

----- Original Message ----- From: "Ted Palmer" To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 9:34 AM Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] cast rims > Tengai650 wrote: > [...] > > but for the folks who never go off-road... what's the KLR's > > appeal for you? > > Light weight, good posture and visibility, soft suspension soaks up > lousy suburban roads and makes kerbhopping easy, bike is happy at > speed limits etc etc. > > Mister_T > Melbourne Australia > > > > Checkout Dual Sport News at > http://www.dualsportnews.com > Be part of the Adventure! > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > > Post message: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: DSN_klr650-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > Unsubscribe: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > List owner: DSN_klr650-owner@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > >

And the KLR650's long suspension simply does not notice either pot holes or speed bumps. It is the ultumate urban commuter. I can see over the tops of SUVs, vans, and pickup trucks in traffic. 50 miles per gallon or so. Inexpensive insurance (most places). Great torque makes it competive with the sport bikes up to legal speeds. Radiator and fan mean no worries about standing still in traffic on hot summer days. -- Marc Illsley Clarke, Kawasaki KLR650 A12, Loveland, Colorado, USA Tengai650 wrote: [...]

> but for the folks who never go off-road... what's the KLR's > appeal for you?