Wilsons Sandbox

pumpersink wrote:

>I have always had Honda & yamaha off road air cooled dirtbikes and now >want to purchase a 400 to 650 dual purpose. >Is there any more simplicity and reliability to the suzuki 650 dual >purpose air cooled unit vs the kawaski klr with water cooling pumps >etc?? > >

Both appear to be quite reliable. The Suzy will get quite hot (as in, scorch your legs hot) in stop-and-go traffic, but that isn't a problem if you're wearing leathers. If you're wearing perforated gear (because you're someplace that summer weather is *hot*), then your legs will get pretty crispy.

>The klr seat sure is more comfortable than the suzuki seat. but are >there any other benefits to the klr that anyone can share with me >before I make this expensive purchase ?? thanks for any info. > >

Fuel tank size, and weather protection. The KLR has a nice big fuel tank that'll take you well over 200 miles. The Suzy comes with a teensy little fuel tank that needs to be filled up every 100 miles. Even the biggest aftermarket fuel tank will go to reserve at 175 miles or so on the Suzy. The Suzy also lacks a fairing to provide weather protection, though you can add an aftermarket handlebar-mounted windshield like the Slipstreamer CF-30 that will work quite well. Personally, I like the design of the Suzy better than I like the design of the KLR, but the lack of an adequately-sized fuel tank pretty much rules it out for me. A pity. Suzuki wanted to make the DR650 more offroad-capable when they eliminated the fairing and downsized the fuel tank. The fairing, well, I can live without that. The 200+ miles range... Sorry. No can do. Not for the places I ride, where the trailhead is 50 miles from the nearest gas station. -E

I have just recently purchased a 06 KLR650, I have owned two XR650L's in the past kinda like the Suzuki in the fact that they are more dirt worthy air cooled,etc.... I also was always a devoted Honda guy as well. So now I have the KLR and I am very pleased for the most part. Fit and finish is much better on the Honda's compared to the KLR but the overall quality is there! KLR is the cheapest of the DP bikes but you will quickly spend that savings on some needed fixes/upgrades if you read through this board, you will know what I mean. Overall I am very happy with the KLR. It has a longer travel range, more comfy, better in city traffic, huge aftermarket support, can be molded to do whatever you need it to. If your going to spend more than 50% of your time off-road then go for the Suzuki or even the Honda but otherwise you can't go wrong with a KLR. Erik Eric Lee Green wrote: pumpersink wrote:

>I have always had Honda & yamaha off road air cooled dirtbikes and now >want to purchase a 400 to 650 dual purpose. >Is there any more simplicity and reliability to the suzuki 650 dual >purpose air cooled unit vs the kawaski klr with water cooling pumps >etc?? > >

Both appear to be quite reliable. The Suzy will get quite hot (as in, scorch your legs hot) in stop-and-go traffic, but that isn't a problem if you're wearing leathers. If you're wearing perforated gear (because you're someplace that summer weather is *hot*), then your legs will get pretty crispy.

>The klr seat sure is more comfortable than the suzuki seat. but are >there any other benefits to the klr that anyone can share with me >before I make this expensive purchase ?? thanks for any info. > >

Fuel tank size, and weather protection. The KLR has a nice big fuel tank that'll take you well over 200 miles. The Suzy comes with a teensy little fuel tank that needs to be filled up every 100 miles. Even the biggest aftermarket fuel tank will go to reserve at 175 miles or so on the Suzy. The Suzy also lacks a fairing to provide weather protection, though you can add an aftermarket handlebar-mounted windshield like the Slipstreamer CF-30 that will work quite well. Personally, I like the design of the Suzy better than I like the design of the KLR, but the lack of an adequately-sized fuel tank pretty much rules it out for me. A pity. Suzuki wanted to make the DR650 more offroad-capable when they eliminated the fairing and downsized the fuel tank. The fairing, well, I can live without that. The 200+ miles range... Sorry. No can do. Not for the places I ride, where the trailhead is 50 miles from the nearest gas station. -E Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650 Yahoo! Groups Links --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I have just recently purchased a 06 KLR650, I have owned two XR650L's in the past kinda like the Suzuki in the fact that they are more dirt worthy air cooled,etc.... I also was always a devoted Honda guy as well. So now I have the KLR and I am very pleased for the most part. Fit and finish is much better on the Honda's compared to the KLR but the overall quality is there! KLR is the cheapest of the DP bikes but you will quickly spend that savings on some needed fixes/upgrades if you read through this board, you will know what I mean. Overall I am very happy with the KLR. It has a longer travel range, more comfy, better in city traffic, huge aftermarket support, can be molded to do whatever you need it to. If your going to spend more than 50% of your time off-road then go for the Suzuki or even the Honda but otherwise you can't go wrong with a KLR. Erik Eric Lee Green wrote: pumpersink wrote:

>I have always had Honda & yamaha off road air cooled dirtbikes and now >want to purchase a 400 to 650 dual purpose. >Is there any more simplicity and reliability to the suzuki 650 dual >purpose air cooled unit vs the kawaski klr with water cooling pumps >etc?? > >

Both appear to be quite reliable. The Suzy will get quite hot (as in, scorch your legs hot) in stop-and-go traffic, but that isn't a problem if you're wearing leathers. If you're wearing perforated gear (because you're someplace that summer weather is *hot*), then your legs will get pretty crispy.

>The klr seat sure is more comfortable than the suzuki seat. but are >there any other benefits to the klr that anyone can share with me >before I make this expensive purchase ?? thanks for any info. > >

Fuel tank size, and weather protection. The KLR has a nice big fuel tank that'll take you well over 200 miles. The Suzy comes with a teensy little fuel tank that needs to be filled up every 100 miles. Even the biggest aftermarket fuel tank will go to reserve at 175 miles or so on the Suzy. The Suzy also lacks a fairing to provide weather protection, though you can add an aftermarket handlebar-mounted windshield like the Slipstreamer CF-30 that will work quite well. Personally, I like the design of the Suzy better than I like the design of the KLR, but the lack of an adequately-sized fuel tank pretty much rules it out for me. A pity. Suzuki wanted to make the DR650 more offroad-capable when they eliminated the fairing and downsized the fuel tank. The fairing, well, I can live without that. The 200+ miles range... Sorry. No can do. Not for the places I ride, where the trailhead is 50 miles from the nearest gas station. -E Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650 Yahoo! Groups Links --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

got my bags today - they apear to be the hot set up - i posted pic's on my webpage - tommy http://www.picturetrail.com/tomhudson