[dsn_klr650] valve adjustment / shadow 750 review (long) (nklr)
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- Posts: 188
- Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2000 7:35 am
[dsn_klr650] valve adjustment / shadow 750 review (long) (nklr)
Hey folks!
Just did my very first valve check at 5,100 miles on my A13 and with Eldon
Carl's article and the manuals it was truly a piece of cake. Took me 2 and a
half hours because I had to stop a couple of times for phone calls, lunch
etc. It is really nice to have y'all around to lay things out and give a guy
a little confidence. Feels really good to take a bike a part and put it back
together and have it fire right up... Thanks from my very bottom...
---
On friday night I had a friend call me to say he just purchased a 2001 Honda
Shadow ACE 750 Deluxe. He hasn't ridden a bike in 20 years and kept seeing
me on my KLR so he decided to take the plunge. Where did I go wrong that he
saw me then went and bought a monster like that???
Anyway, he didn't feel comfortable about riding it home so he asked me to...
It had 1 mile on it. It now has about 25. My impressions of this bike are
based on riding an XR350R and my A13 KLR:
First thought when they pulled it up was "Is that a bike or a train?" I
asked what this thing weighs: 500+ dry. Yikes. I think I insulted the guy
who was checking me out.. I asked "Who put this together?" Why? "Because I
don't want something falling off on the way home." He didn't see any humor
in that at all. So we take off with me following Mike in his Grand Cherokee.
With the big fat tire in front it actually feels much more stable than the
Suzi Intruder 800 I rode a few weeks back. Second impression: "Is this a
bike or a train?" If felt so long. First time that's ever happened to me
(*smirk*). I check my mirrors as we accelerate to 55. Holy smokes! So that's
what it looks like to have only one image of everything behind you! No
vibration at all. Amazing! The sound is very nice. I wish my KLR sounded
like this. Quiet and very basey. Mellow.
Every time we took off from a light I wanted to put my feet directly down on
the foot pegs. Every time I set my feet back on the ground for an instant
because there were no pegs there. Way out in front, that's where the pegs
are. Ick for me but everybody to his own I guess. The seat was nice and
comfy though. The engine is super smooth and I didn't get into it at all but
from 55 when I rolled the throttle open I swear my KLR pulls better. Might
be my gearing though as I have no idea what kind of revs I was doing on this
thing. I keep thinking it must be nice to design an engine with a max speed
of 4000 RPM.
The road we took from the dealership is one I am very familiar with since it
passes my girlfriends place and my work. There is a man-hole-cover on the
street with a sizeable bump to it. On my bike it's normally absorbed so I
never knew how bad this bump was. With about 2 inches of suspension travel,
it is a really exciting jump... My first thought was "SH%T!!!" My first word
was "AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!!!!!" No kidding I yelled and hurt my ears inside my
helmet. The bike went up and down and I went up and splattered back into the
seat. All in a nice easy left turn with the lamp posts 8 inches off the side
of the street. The good news is that a full faced helmet act very much like
a paper bag when you hyperventilate.
City traffic made me very uneasy since I was sitting much lower than on my
KLR. I couldn't see squat and couldn't stand up on the pegs since I was in
the lazy-boy position. Brakes are nice and smooth with no grabbiness. They
felt firm and stable. I wouldn't want to have to lean this baby too much and
I'd be way out of my element with a locked up front or rear tire.
So in the final analysis: It feels like a 747. It handles like a train. I
can't sit on it comfortably. I costs 2500 more than my bike. It looks pretty
slick in black and chrome. It sounds awesome. I now know for sure why HD
riders don't wave. They can't. If they hit a bump they are airborn with no
suspension. I wouldn't take my hands off the controls either.
By the way, I must have looked like an idiot. Nobody waved to me. Here I am
on a shiny new cruiser in my red full-face helmet and green/black Darien...
"Hey Bubba!! What the H$LL was THAT!?!?!"
Take care all,
Jim Jackson II
A13 (thankfully)
83 XR350R
South Carolina
P.S.
By the way, I've named my bike. Put it on it's sidestand with the wheel
pointing straight ahead. Look straight at it from the side. Now think of the
kind of eccentric folks most of us are to ride this thing on the highway AND
through the mud. Think of the humor on this list and some of the crazy
lengths we go to to have fun.
Now my bike he be christened "Gonzo"
Anybody already have this one?
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