Wilsons Sandbox

Im seriously shopping for the right rig to carry all of my gear when out thumping around. I would appreciate any input on this rig and/or whatever would top the experienced long haulers wishlist. I don't want to have to upgrade after a few trips. This maker claims that its waterproof. If true, that would be pretty outstanding. http://www.hepco-becker.de/_eng/sportstar.html Alan

klr_thumper wrote:

> Im seriously shopping for the right rig to carry all of my gear when > out thumping around. I would appreciate any input on this rig and/or > whatever would top the experienced long haulers wishlist. I don't > want to have to upgrade after a few trips. This maker claims that its > waterproof. If true, that would be pretty outstanding. > > http://www.hepco-becker.de/_eng/sportstar.html >

Read again. They claim to have a rain cover. Those do not work well in reality. You want something waterproof. Best advice if you want soft bags rather than hard bags: Ortleib dry bags for the sides, a large duffel with a plastic bag liner for the top. Spraying the duffel with camp-dri helps keep it from getting soggy (it'll get wet, but dry quickly). Put the stuff that absolutely, positively cannot be allowed to get wet into the sidebags (also use plastic liners in them), put clothes and etc. into the duffel. Personally, I have Givi E36's on my sides and a Givi E45 on my top. That gives me 75 liters of space. Add a small duffel in front of the topbag, and I have about 100 liters of space, or what the big bag at your URL has. That is more than enough room for weeks-long trips. Indeed, unless I'm going camping and need room for camping equipment, the hard bags are more than enough. -E

Alan, I've been real happy with the bags from Helen Twowheels. Excellent quality stuff, waterproof, reflective, and they cinch down rock solid. Nothing real fancy. I have the Large roll top sack and it holds a generous sized sleeping bag, extra thick thermarest, artic fleece pull-over with room to spare. These bags keep keep my stuff dry. I went thru many other bags before finally using these. Her products can be seen at helen2wheels.com --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "klr_thumper" wrote:

> > Im seriously shopping for the right rig to carry all of my gear when > out thumping around. I would appreciate any input on this rig and/or > whatever would top the experienced long haulers wishlist. I don't > want to have to upgrade after a few trips. This maker claims that

its

> waterproof. If true, that would be pretty outstanding. > > http://www.hepco-becker.de/_eng/sportstar.html > > Alan >

Alan, Here's a rather lengthy post from another site: After much trial and error, here's what has worked well for me on the KLR: I have the Wolfman Explorer Lite. Very happy with it as the bars never touch it and the release for filling gets easier with time. It's second nature now. Nicely visible at night also. I like the Dual Star Tank Panniers better. Although they might not be quite as large as the Wolfmans. They sit farther forward and kinda wrap around the front giving you some extra knee room. Also good reflectors for the night. I tryed making some ATV bags fit, but they ended up on my ATV and work better there. My Jetboil stove fits great in the D.S. panniers along with chain oil, water bladder and munchies. Although a little pricey, IMHO, the Jetboil is a great set-up for the kind of cooking I do while touring - and with the french press, makes some fantastic coffee! The PO installed Happy Trails racks and did a nice job installing Pelican cases. After I priced these cases I liked the deal I got on the bike even better. So far they have never leaked and it's nice to lock some things in a hard case. The Kaw Tail bag functions well for local and overnight trips. I keep regular short run stuff in this bag and is usually on the bike except for camping tours. It's a nice bonus that it happens to fit perfectly inside the Pelicans so I never unpack raingear, extra gloves, face sheild, a change of clothes and toiletries. Even with all that, It will expand enough to carry home 3 2-liter colas and a couple of 12" subways. It's managed OK in light rain but I doubt the inside stuff would be dry for long in any serious precip. The top mesh pocket is nice for air drying things too. For touring, I tryed several tail bag/case setups. I finally found from Helen Twowheels some great bags for sleeping/thermarest and tent/camping gear. They fasten on rock solid and are completely waterproof with good piping for extra visibility. She also has some nice inner bags for the other Pelican. The Gerbing heated jacket liner and heated gloves are great on the road. I carry alot less warm clothing with the gerbing gear. Because of the limited electic power from the KLR, they work best with a heat-troller to keep power comsuption down. I try to to keep any other electic accessories powered by their own batteries to save amps for a brighter headlight and the heated gear. I can't wait to see the KLR loaded up again. Always makes me smile to see her looking like a pack mule! Could this be some kind of sickness? For now, it's winter and time for KLR R&R and a yet more mods. Camo Greg A9 pack mule in michigan. --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "klr_thumper" wrote:

> > Im seriously shopping for the right rig to carry all of my gear

when

> out thumping around. I would appreciate any input on this rig

and/or

> whatever would top the experienced long haulers wishlist. I don't > want to have to upgrade after a few trips. This maker claims that

its

> waterproof. If true, that would be pretty outstanding. > > http://www.hepco-becker.de/_eng/sportstar.html > > Alan >

On Tue, 31 Jan 2006 06:11:55 -0000 "klr_thumper" writes:

> Im seriously shopping for the right rig to carry all of my gear when > out thumping around. I would appreciate any input on this rig > and/or > whatever would top the experienced long haulers wishlist. I don't > want to have to upgrade after a few trips. This maker claims that > its > waterproof. If true, that would be pretty outstanding. > > http://www.hepco-becker.de/_eng/sportstar.html > > Alan

Alan, I'm not impressed with the products shown on that page. I've had very good results using Ortlieb saddlebags. These are the ones Eric suggests you consider. I think his packing method wastes two good plastic bags as if you roll the tops carefully they are float in the water dry. You can see them at: http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/DryBag-Saddlebags-p-16156.html Instead of the duffel bag that isn't water proof I'd suggest considering an Ortlieb bag that has a roll top. I thought Aerostich carried them but don't see them in the on line catalog. I'll contact a friend in NM and see about a model number of the one he used last year. I currently have an Ortlieb duffel like bag with a zipper closure and although it works well... if you stuff it full the zipper is hard to use and often fails. This is the second bag I've seen with this problem. The roll tops are pretty fool proof and sometimes I'm the fool. I agree with Eric that gear using waterproof covers don't work very well. I used the Wolfman Alpha and Beta bags for my first year of touring with the KLR. They aren't waterproof which was an issue a few times. They also need to be stuffed pretty full to hold shape and remain stable. Pulling a few items out of the bags resulted in a floppy loose attachment and I didn't like that. The Ortlieb bags when attached to the bike can be empty or full and still work well. And when you cross a stream or ride in the rain all day the contents remain dry if you've carefully rolled the top closed. I'm using a Wolfman Explorer tank bag and tank panniers. I like both set ups. The waterproof cover for the tank bag is the best I've ever seen. It has velcro on the inside to hold it to the top of the tank bag and velcro on the outside so you can put the map pocket on the outside. The one thing I don't care for with the Explorer is it sticks to the rear a good bit. When I'm standing on the pegs going level or uphill the tankbag meets my thighs and prevents me from leaning my legs as far forward as I'd like. Going downhill it's not a problem. And all in all it really hasn't been a large problem for me as I just adapt to it. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT

Looks nice, but pricey. My guess is that you can do as well with an Alfa or Beta bag from www.wolfmanluggage.com or the Ranger bags from www.moto-sportpanniers.com. Both make good stuff in the USA. __Arden --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "klr_thumper" wrote:

> > Im seriously shopping for the right rig to carry all of my gear when > out thumping around. I would appreciate any input on this rig and/or > whatever would top the experienced long haulers wishlist. I don't > want to have to upgrade after a few trips. This maker claims that

its

> waterproof. If true, that would be pretty outstanding. > > http://www.hepco-becker.de/_eng/sportstar.html > > Alan >

Thanks for the info guys. I didn't get the job finished last Sunday so I'll finish off this weekend and hopefully have a definite answer. The new chain looks just like the old one and fits the sprockets fine. Without counting links I can't tell if the size is different, but it looks right. The old chain was very seriously stretched, so if this 2002 one doesn't fit, I'll have to spring for a new one. I *did* get the doohickey done; took me (a first timer and no mechanical wizard) about 1.5 hours not counting all the other stuff to get to both ends of the camchain. The balancer chain seems to have stretched quite a bit too; I needed to use the shorter spring in the kit (32mm?) and the chain runs worryingly close to the case, but as far as I can tell, *just* clears. The stock doohickey looked OK but had two indentations; one I guess from when I adjusted the balancer last month in attempt to cure the noisy engine; and another which presumably was the factory setting - in which case it's not been touched in 21,000 miles Cheers Phil Krgrife@... wrote:

> > In a message dated 1/28/2006 9:08:14 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, > vansee@... writes: > > should be ok. that's I what I'm banking on in my parts bin. pre 96 and > post 96 motors switch heads. > but if they weren't interchangeable. before I switched heads I'd switch > cam sprockets but that would be futile as I believe the crankshaft > sprocket is not removable.assuming chain pitch is not the same. > But they are I do think. > > Somebody correct me if this is bad info. > > > > I believe that the 96 and later cam chain is heavier so you would need to > match your cam sprockets to the crank sprocket. Your A3 crank sprocket is > replacable, I did it on my A5 but only with the older sprocket, the newer one is > now sold only as part of the crank assembly not as an individual part. > Kurt