Wilsons Sandbox

I have always had street bikes (mostly Kawi's up to ninja 1200, but also a couple triumphs) and dirt bikes. (favorite was the elsinore, but I loved the combat wombat, and persang) My brother had a nearly fatal accident on his Ninja (lost leg, major internal damage, 3 years rehab.)and after that my whole family gave up the street. Well, this year I decided I was going back to the street. Of course I looked at the Ducati first, and Kawi's. And then I thought, man, I live in the middle of the greatest forested area on earth, how about a dirt bike? I spent about 6 months studying all Dual Sports. I really liked the Beemer, but, the price is just stupid, and having owned a Beemer car, and waiting weeks for the most basic parts, and then paying stupid prices for them, I soon left the Beemer dealer alone. My bro is still into motorcycles, and he knows more than anyone I know, and I asked him about the KLR, and he said 18 years of production, how could you ask for better. When I think of the hundreds of thousands of miles I put on street bikes, passing dirt road after dirt road, it makes me sick. While my Ninja could take the twisties faster than my KLR, due to the low center of gravity of the Ninja, the thrill was not as great as it is on my KLR, Heck, my head must be 6' off the ground while leaning thumper, the gravity is twice as extreme. Then I get it off road. Yikes, a bit heavy, but very very nimble (I'm pretty big and strong so its not too heavy). And the best part of owning my KLR is the fact I was not robbed. And while I have not had to work on it yet, it looks pretty simple to me. And if I wreck it? Im out a couple bills max. When I wrecked my Bonneville, if I had even been able to find the parts it would have cost twice what a KLR costs to repair it. Now, why do cat's buy Harleys? Simple, they want to be cool. They dont care about things like torque, handling, cost, mileage, they just want to be cool. And hey thats cool, but it's not really a motorcycle, it's a cool cycle. Funny though, being an old man and all, Harley Riders when I was growing up were bad guys that hurt people for fun, and now for some reason they are cool? Go figure...... --- Steve Hersant wrote:

> I've read the posts about other bike groups not > liking the KLR. So > here's a question...why does anyone buy an 18 year > old bike with all > the choices ? I've noticed a few common > characteristics in my brief > time on this list and started questioning my > purchase recently. I > saw a guy with one in front of a local bakery ( he > later told me he > was in the liquor store) last fall and thought it > had to be the > neatest bike I'd ever seen. I still go down to the > garage and look > at mine ! My wife thinks I'm senile. > So why does one guy have a hog with leather tassles > on his jacket, > and another a KLR with a lump of sewer pipe holding > his tools ? > Steve 6'2"( and maybe that's why ?) > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at > www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris > Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > >

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> So why does one guy have a hog with leather tassles on his jacket, > and another a KLR with a lump of sewer pipe holding his tools ? > Steve 6'2"( and maybe that's why ?)

If I had money falling out of my rear-end I'd probably have a Harley in the garage. As it is, I wanted the Swiss Army knife of the motorcycle world. This KLR is bike #14 for me, not many by some standards I know. They've been a pretty even mix of street and dirt bikes, one year street, the next year dirt, etc. After my last bike, a 1986 Goldwing Aspencade died, I decided to try and find a dual sport that I could live with. One on which I could comfortably travel the pavement, and then pull off the pavement to follow a trail or logging road. The Honda was too tall and not water cooled and the Suzuki seat almost gave me hemorrhoids in the 5 or 10 minutes I spent sitting on it in the dealership. Of those 14 bikes, 13 were Honda's and one was a Yamaha. I had to think about it for a bit, but I finally decided to give the Kawasaki a try. It's been a love affair ever since... Some of the Harley types are on those machines because to them it's all about American iron, and I can certainly respect that. The others, the poseur boutique crowd, are probably making up for anatomical shortcomings, or some other lack. I'm not out to impress the chicks, or to prove anything to my neighbors or the world. For me, it's about the utility of the machine. It's about the ride, not the destination. (God, that sounds like a bad commercial.) The sewer pipe works for me! (Grinning) BTW: because it may have some relevance, I'm 49. Mark --------------------------------------- KLR650 Motorcycle Website: http://klr6500.tripod.com/ Firefox - Browse Faster and Safer http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

If it makes you feel any better Mark, I feel the same way and I'm only 33. Sean Smith Louisiana '04 R1150RT (For Sale) '03 KLR650

On Jun 22, 2004, at 7:46 PM, Mark St.Hilaire, Sr wrote: >> So why does one guy have a hog with leather tassles on his jacket, >> and another a KLR with a lump of sewer pipe holding his tools ? >> Steve 6'2"( and maybe that's why ?) > > It's about the ride, not the destination. (God, that sounds like a bad > commercial.) The sewer pipe works for me! (Grinning) > > BTW: because it may have some relevance, I'm 49. > > Mark > --------------------------------------- > KLR650 Motorcycle Website: > http://klr6500.tripod.com/ > >

from the enlightened KLR of Harry Seifert bseifert71@... ................... previously.........................

> [Original Message] > From: > To: Steve Hersant ; DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> > Date: 6/22/04 5:37:22 PM > Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] NKLR: is there a KLR personality type ? > Now, why do cat's buy Harleys? Simple, they want to be > cool. They dont care about things like torque, > handling, cost, mileage, they just want to be cool. > And hey thats cool, but it's not really a motorcycle, > it's a cool cycle. Funny though, being an old man and > all, Harley Riders when I was growing up were bad guys > that hurt people for fun, and now for some reason they > are cool? Go figure......

I just bought a '76 Electra Glide, to go with my assorted other bikes. Or I should say I bought a 'Glide motor, frame, wheels and several boxes of parts. I can get parts from about 200 different vendors and build this thing any way I want it. Not a chopper, not a cruiser, not a tourer.........when I'm done, it's going to look like a 40's bob job. except with a swing arm and reliable electrics. BTW, it's a Dago '88 reject. And why am I doing this? I've done all the Ricky Racer stuff on two wheels that I want to do. I still have my Strom and a couple of TZ's if I feel the need for speed. If I want to canyon carve and sucker bet all the crotch-rocketeers that visit Julian on the weekends, I've got my KLR, NT650 or Ducati 450 to choose from. Distance riding, the Strom is the bike of choice. So I thought I'd try a Hardly. Can't vibrate ay more than my '72 650 Thunderbolt or my brothers DBD34. Can't leak any more than they do either. My KLR is Number One in the fun quotient and is my #1 bike. I've never owned a Hardly and the price was right. $1,500. It's big, it has a presence and I wanted one before I got too old to give a damn. And what's the problem with being cool????? Buddy

I never said there was anything wroong with being cool! --- Harry Seifert wrote:

> from the enlightened KLR of Harry Seifert > bseifert71@... > .................... > previously......................... > > [Original Message] > > From: > > To: Steve Hersant ; > DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> > > Date: 6/22/04 5:37:22 PM > > Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] NKLR: is there a KLR > personality type ? > > Now, why do cat's buy Harleys? Simple, they want > to be > > cool. They dont care about things like torque, > > handling, cost, mileage, they just want to be > cool. > > And hey thats cool, but it's not really a > motorcycle, > > it's a cool cycle. Funny though, being an old man > and > > all, Harley Riders when I was growing up were bad > guys > > that hurt people for fun, and now for some reason > they > > are cool? Go figure...... > > I just bought a '76 Electra Glide, to go with my > assorted other bikes. Or > I should say I bought a 'Glide motor, frame, wheels > and several boxes of > parts. I can get parts from about 200 different > vendors and build this > thing any way I want it. Not a chopper, not a > cruiser, not a > tourer.........when I'm done, it's going to look > like a 40's bob job. > except with a swing arm and reliable electrics. > BTW, it's a Dago '88 > reject. > > And why am I doing this? I've done all the Ricky > Racer stuff on two > wheels that I want to do. I still have my Strom and > a couple of TZ's if I > feel the need for speed. If I want to canyon carve > and sucker bet all the > crotch-rocketeers that visit Julian on the weekends, > I've got my KLR, NT650 > or Ducati 450 to choose from. Distance riding, the > Strom is the bike of > choice. So I thought I'd try a Hardly. Can't > vibrate ay more than my '72 > 650 Thunderbolt or my brothers DBD34. Can't leak > any more than they do > either. > > My KLR is Number One in the fun quotient and is my > #1 bike. I've never > owned a Hardly and the price was right. $1,500. > It's big, it has a > presence and I wanted one before I got too old to > give a damn. > > And what's the problem with being cool????? > > Buddy > > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at > www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris > Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > > >

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msaint@... wrote:

> >If I had money falling out of my rear-end I'd probably have a Harley in the >garage. >

Yeah, so would I. An XR750 flattracker with a joke of a headlight, and a license plate off one of my other bikes, wearing a set of race slicks. The other bikes they make seem sort of crappy by comparison. Except for the newest Buells. That seems lilke a decent place to put a big V-twin motor. Devon

In a message dated 2004-06-22 5:12:50 PM Pacific Daylight Time, shersant2003@... writes:

> > I've read the posts about other bike groups not liking the KLR. So > here's a question...why does anyone buy an 18 year old bike with all > the choices ? I've noticed a few common characteristics in my brief > time on this list and started questioning my purchase recently. I > saw a guy with one in front of a local bakery ( he later told me he > was in the liquor store) last fall and thought it had to be the > neatest bike I'd ever seen. I still go down to the garage and look > at mine ! My wife thinks I'm senile. > So why does one guy have a hog with leather tassles on his jacket, > and another a KLR with a lump of sewer pipe holding his tools ? > Steve 6'2"( and maybe that's why ?) > >

I own a KLR because when I was looking for a bike to fill the gap between my big Suzuki 1150 and my KDX200, after much pondering, research and questioning, no matter how I cut it the road worthy aspect and its reputation as a fire road king - yes even Dirt Bike rated the KLR as the best fire roader of all the big dualies in the early 90s - always had the KLR bubbling to the top of my list. I wanted a bike capable of going just about anywhere in Nevada. The love affair started with the very first ride. The stability of her chassis is what first won my heart. In short order I learned to trust my KLR had now evil habits, that it would let me be all I could be, it gave me the confidence that I could push my own limits and she would be there for me. Adventuring off road the only limitation I found was its weight, but like my first bike, a Honda 90 Trail, as long as I could get traction I could get my KLR anywhere I wanted to deal with a 350 pound dirt bike. Then I discovered my KLR was capable of extended touring and that despite its painful saddle, touring the KLR was less painful than riding the Six Days of Michigan on my KDX. At the end of that first year, despite sharing recreation time with a Hobie Cat and snow skis she had logged over 15,000 miles. As I continued to ride I discovered I got one heck of a kick out other folk's reaction to what I was doing with my KLR. When I did my first 1000 mile Blue Butt in 16 hours the Blue Knights, professional motorcyclist, where standing there with dropped jaws. I'd pull into a campground after a 700 mile day and when the other bikers got to asking how far I'd come suddenly all eyes would turn to my KLR attempting to comprehend how this toy bike could do it and then they would go back to their friends and then their friends would start looking. Best day was last year on my Colorado tour. I came roaring out of a dirt road and parked next to a group of HD riders taking a break. Most of them came over and started talking about how much fun it must be to have a bike like a KLR. They were pointing out to each other all the after market goodies I'd added and you would have been surprised how knowledgeable a couple of those guys were, even spotting the after market shock. And if it hadn't been for my toy KLR a couple of Beemer riders wouldn't have bragged about me to Malcolm Smith and I might never have had the chance to meet the MAN. And the one time my picture has been above the fold on the front page of any newspaper I was riding my KLR. For me, my KLR gives me the freedom to explore life and that is why I preach the KLR gospel. As Auntie Mame would say, Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are riding a Harley. Pat G'ville, Nv [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> Some of the Harley types are on those machines because to them it's all > about American iron, and I can certainly respect that. The others, the > poseur boutique crowd, are probably making up for anatomical shortcomings, > or some other lack.

To be fair, there's also a third group: those who appreciate the Harley as a piece of rolling performance art, for whom neither posing nor handling nor acceleration are the point, but, rather, the entire experience. Mind you, that doesn't make a Harley a good motorcycle for any definition of "good" that KLR owners would understand. But as a piece of art, a Harley is quite easy to appreciate. -E

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Eric L. Green" wrote:

> > > Mind you, that doesn't make a Harley a good motorcycle for any definition > of "good" that KLR owners would understand. But as a piece of art, a > Harley is quite easy to appreciate.

Art, or kitsch?