solutions to my problems !
Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 8:36 pm
I was struck by a dose...(?)...of inventiveness today and have
solved several of my Very Important KLR Problems ( pause to note
Wife chuckling at her immature hubby )!
First: I was P.O.'d when stopping for a coffee at leaving my "stuff"
unlocked in my tankbag.The solution is a regular plastic toolbox,
sprayed flat black, drilled for the rack bolt locations and mounted
where all those fancy guys put their Givis ! It has two tabs for a
lock and was free, as I had two anyway.
Second: My winter boots are bulkier than my summer ones and without
adjusting the shifter and f'ing the splines etc., I cut an old 27"
racing bike tube ( a 700cc would do ) and put several 1" wide pieces
over the lever end. Now I don't embarass myself with missed shifts
due to the big space between the lever and my light boots.
Third: Footpeg vibes were bugging me, as after a 30 minute ride, my
feet tingle. Curiously enough, my lovely bride has the same effect !
I tried sticking some adhesive backed weather strip foam on the
pegs, but my size 12's ripped 'em up the first ride. So I stuck 2
lenths of foam on the pegs, put 3, 1" rubber bands over them, and
stretched a piece of a 26" mountain bike tube over the works. It
reminded me of the old days trying to work rubber over an object FAR
TOO BIG !
Now the foam is protected and the vibes lessened.
Forth: I'm tired of you guys making fun of my sheepskin seat cover !
You know who you are ! So I took a cheap foam car seat back add on
that has a black cloth cover and put it face down on the seat,
fastened down with two bungees. It looks discreet and protects my
tender butt from that thing Kawasaki put on top of my bike .
Fifth: I fashioned an aluminum plate that bolts under the two rear
skid plate bolts and is angled to protect the drain plug. I doubt
I'll be bashing the beast on big rocks and hate paying all the taxes
and duty on stuff from "Stateside" for an aluminum plate. I guess
I'll find out the hard way if it isn't sufficient.
Sixth: After noting a post about flats recently, I've hung a rubber
flap under the motor, so I'd better not get a rear flat now !
I've enjoyed making a muffler guard, master cylinder guard, soft
bag support and a footpeg/crash bar from scrap. The neat thing I'm
finding about the KLR is that you can make stuff yourself and it
actually looks OK as this sure isn't a chrome loaded Hogley !
Steve in Beautiful British Columbia
(I know that as it says so on my licence plate).
Canada