questions before i consider buying ?

[Guest]

So I have been eyeing the KLR650's for so many years now. I have almost reached the point of purchase. So of course Ive been doing a great deal of searching and reading etc. And I have come to realize that even though it (to me) seems like a great bike . It, alas! Has its problems eg: a few inferior stock items. So here is my Question: A: How true is this? B: Are these parts breaking because owners are using there bikes as radical MX bikes? C: Or have regular relaxed street and off road riders found problems. D: Should I replace before a part breaks or wait until it does? And if not, what order of replacing would be a good sugestion. I am 6ft2in and weigh 190lbs,I dont see myself doing any MXing but certainly dirt roading , street and highwaying it with my 10yr old son on the back, going camping ,Weekend road trips etc.Thankyou so much for taking the time to read this, I apprechate(sp) your perspective regaring my questions.

[Devon Jarvis]

I do a lot of maintainance and repairs because I subject the bike to fairly rough service. The stock items are "inferior" because they are cheap, because the bike is cheap. Most of the time they're all perfectly serviceable for their design purpose. Your description of your intended riding is MUCH closer to what Kawasaki designed the bike to do. If I were your size, and were counting on occasional light offroading with a passenger, there are a few minor things I'd do. Sort of in order by crash damage cost if you bottom out or crash offroad without them... 1- metal bash plate- lots of people sell them, Arrowheadmotorsports.com, Happy-Trail.com, Dual-Star.com, Dennis Kirk etc. $60 2- Radiator guard bar. Happy-trail.com makes a small, light-duty one that tucks in to the radiator, good for tip-overs. Dual-Star.com makes a heavy-duty one that looks kind of odd but will deal with bigger impacts. I hit trees from time to time, so the Dual-Star one is working out better for me. $25-$50 3- progressive fork springs, and a progressive spring over the stock shock. These will keep you from bottoming so easily, and improve the street ride. When you bottom offroad you tend to dent (aka "Millerize") the stock rims, which are pretty soft. $200 total parts, shock requires special tool another $50 4- Metal reinforced handguards. Either put on $30 bark busters, and zip-tie the stock guards over them, or spend more $$$ for Acerbis rally-pros. Skip any handguards that don't have a full metal bar inside them. A couple of tip-overs and the guards pay for themselves in stuff you didn't break. 5- Think about upgrading the top sub-frame bolts. Kits are available from $15-$40 depending on setup, from people on the list. 6- better tires. Optional at first but the stock tires don't last. They work great on street, OK aired down on fairly hard-pack dirt and gravel. Deep sand and mud are extremely challenging. 7- a stainless-braided front brake hose. The KLR has a pretty weak front brake, you'll want this for street. Devon A15 "endurodan2003 " wrote:

> > So I have been eyeing the KLR650's for so many years now. I have > almost reached the point of purchase. So of course Ive been doing a > great deal of searching and reading etc. And I have come to realize > that even though it (to me) seems like a great bike . It, alas! Has > its problems eg: a few inferior stock items. So here is my Question: > A: How true is this? B: Are these parts breaking because owners are > using there bikes as radical MX bikes? C: Or have regular relaxed > street and off road riders found problems. D: Should I replace before > a part breaks or wait until it does? And if not, what order of > replacing would be a good sugestion. I am 6ft2in and weigh 190lbs,I > dont see myself doing any MXing but certainly dirt roading , street > and highwaying it with my 10yr old son on the back, going > camping ,Weekend road trips etc.Thankyou so much for taking the time > to read this, I apprechate(sp) your perspective regaring my > questions. >

[Rick Baker]

First, you're smart to even consider the KLR. A great bike. Secondly, don't forget that we are here on this list mainly to exchange information about the KLR. It stands to reason that much of that will be problems because frankly, that's when folks need help and advice. It might appear that problems are worse than they really are. Don't use this list as a litmus test for the bikes reliability. Instead use the many reports of fellow adventure riders and world travelers actually riding and relying on the bike. Every bike has its problems, the great thing about the KLR is that they are identified and all have solutions. This is a HUGE benefit over say a DR650, which, IMHO, doesn't have quite the same following. I bought my '03 in September, and all I did was add a skid plate and shift level and both have saved my arse. Shortly after putting on the skid plate, I went trail riding and heard a nice ka-thunk as a rock hit my new skid plate. It's not conclusive that it saved the bike over the plastic one, but a general appreciation for the function of it comes through. The KLR is quite capable right out of the box, especially if you aren't riding it aggressively. Follow the break-in, do the oil changes frequently, and do the valve clearance check and you'll likely be rewarded by a fantastic bike that won't let you down. Don't worry about the doohickey until after your warranty is up, as I'm pretty sure using a non KHI part in something like the balancer assembly will void the factory warranty. What I'm getting at is that at a minimum the stock KLR is fine for off-road riding (and on-road too.) The hard part is figuring out what stuff YOU want to replace. You should buy one, and ride it. Then determine for yourself what needs replacing. For example, steel serrated foot pegs were more important to me than upgrading the front springs. That's because of my riding style, I go slowly, but wet MX boots on a rubber foot pegs means precarious standing, and I wanted to resolve that before beefing up the front. Of course everyone is different, so my advice is just let the mods happen as you need 'em. Each ride will give some more insight on what might be needed. Some things are minor annoyances, and don't need immediate replacing, others demand it right away. Good luck on the choice, I hope you buy the KLR, but I'm biased. -Rickster

[Greg S]

> I am 6ft2in and weigh 190lbs,I > dont see myself doing any MXing but certainly dirt roading , street > and highwaying it with my 10yr old son on the back, going > camping ,Weekend road trips etc.Thankyou so much for taking the time > to read this, I apprechate(sp) your perspective regaring my > questions.

I was in the same boat as you back in the Fall. Researching, reading, etc. Bought a used '01 in Nov. For the type of riding you just described, the KLR really is the best choice. When it comes to big-bore DS bikes, you've got the following: KLR Honda 650 Suzuki 650 (ruling out all the "exotic" models such as: BMW 650, 1100GS (or whatever), Aprilia Pegaso, etc. for pricing reasons) Both the Honda and Suzuki are more capable off-road dirt/trail bikes. Riding the Highways 2 up: the Kawi. I do this with my wife. I'm 6'2" 210 and she's 5'4" 115. The other HUGE selling point was the aftermarket options and support. Most notably: this list. There's more KLR knowledge and expertise on this list than you'll probably find in ANY Kawasaki dealer. There're probably more folks doing round-the-world trips on the KLR than anything else in the choices above (except maybe the beemers). That says a lot. Inferior stock items? Every bike probably has it's weak points for a specific segment or usage. I'm not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but from this list and the wealth of information on web-pages by other listers, I've been able to do a number of little tweaks with good results. Good luck, and just buy it. -Greg

[Werner Schink]

Hey Enduro! You might want to check out this site http://www.adventure-motorcycling.com/reportindex/index.html About 340 adventure trips from all over the world with comments on what they liked and didn't like in their bike, what mods they made & wished they'd made, and what sort of problems they had. KLR650s are quite popular for North & South American tours. I just bought my KLR; looked at BMW but their 650 Dakar weighs in at nearly 100 lb more and it was really evident in my comparison test rides. Werner So I have been eyeing the KLR650's for so many years now. I have almost reached the point of purchase. So of course Ive been doing a great deal of searching and reading etc. And I have come to realize that even though it (to me) seems like a great bike . It, alas! Has its problems eg: a few inferior stock items. So here is my Question: A: How true is this? B: Are these parts breaking because owners are using there bikes as radical MX bikes? C: Or have regular relaxed street and off road riders found problems. D: Should I replace before a part breaks or wait until it does? And if not, what order of replacing would be a good sugestion. I am 6ft2in and weigh 190lbs,I dont see myself doing any MXing but certainly dirt roading , street and highwaying it with my 10yr old son on the back, going camping ,Weekend road trips etc.Thankyou so much for taking the time to read this, I apprechate(sp) your perspective regaring my questions.

[Stuart Mumford]

Hey Greg, the KLR is a great bike and thousands of them have long happy lives bone stock. Don't get caught up in the hype and start replacing everything for no good reason. I think the short list of mandatory mods are: 1) replace gearshift lever. Will fail 2) Progressive fork springs. Nose dive under braking isn't cool. 3) disable kickstand safety switch. Will fail Apart from that, it's all personal preference. What happens when you read this list? You get all kinds of good advice and neat tips and meet good people, but you also hear about all this cool crap that you have to put on your bike. Seeing how you're already on the list you may as well know that I was once a KLR list newbie like you, but after a few "helpful hints" from the list, I became a mod-a-holic. I attached a list of all the mods I did to my A13. Here you go: 99 KLR 650 Year 2000 bodywork and fenders Bored out to 658 cc Stage 2 Dynojetted CVK40 Carb Modded Airbox (no top) K&N filter w/ Filterskin Renthal 666 Desert Bend bars filled with urethane Vista Cruise Cruise control Acerbis Rally Pro handguards w/ spoilers Pro Gel grips Countdown Roll Chart Holder K-9 Fork Brace 55/100W HD Headlamp Bulb Happy Trails Highway pegs IMS gearshift lever IMS Pro Series footpegs RAM mount eMap GPS 12 v weatherproof cigarette lighter outlet Progressive Suspension Larry Roessler Series fork Springs Progressive Suspension 420 Series rear shock Moose Bash plate Sagebrush Engineering custom monogrammed billet balancer chain tensioner idler lever Galfer braided front brake line Russell braided rear brake line Kenda K 270's Big Gun head pipe Laser ProDuro Exhaust can Wolfman Explorer Tankbag Kawasaki Tailbag Cycoactive fenderbag Aerostich Tank Panniers DID Gold X-Ring 106 link chain Custom Nylock chain adjuster nuts "T" modded carb I'm sure that there's some I forgot, but you get the picture. Now that you've read this, you are under the list's power. Resistance is futile. Moo Hoo Haa Haa. Go buy a KLR and enjoy the crap out of it. And don't forget to click on http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com Good luck CA Stu A13 From: "Greg S"

> Subject: RE: Questions before I consider buying ? > > > I am 6ft2in and weigh 190lbs,I > > dont see myself doing any MXing but certainly dirt roading , street > > and highwaying it with my 10yr old son on the back, going > > camping ,Weekend road trips etc.Thankyou so much for taking the time > > to read this, I apprechate(sp) your perspective regaring my > > questions. >

[Al Maurine]

I bought a 2001 KLR650 new off the showroom floor if June of 2001. I did my homework thanks in part to this list and the stupidly high price of BMW's that I had been riding. The first thing I knew was that I was buying a dirt bike - a big dirt bike! I also knew that it had a big stock tank and that there were many aftermarket accessories for it. And it was cheap! The brakes and suspension were made for the dirt so I knew there would have to be changes for what I had in mind - and that was to replace my 1992 BMW R100GS. I put 60K miles on the GS and knew that it wasn't a good road bike - and it wasn't a good dirt bike. The KLR was just a platform with which I could do my work. My 92 R100GS had alot of aftermarket stuff on it as you could imagine. I put a Harrison front brake on it because the stock brake sucked for street riding - Corbin saddle, Works rear shock, Progressive Springs in the front - taller 5th gear in the tranny - Super trap which was replaced with a Staintune because the 'trap' was way to loud - Metzler street tires because I didn't do much dirt riding - Parabellum windshield - And much more, Does this all sound familiar? Yup! Did almost the exact same thing to the KLR but when I was done I was still $1000 less the a BMW F650GS! The KLR can corner like no other bike I have had - just look at my Corbin 'flat' saddle - you will see the pucker marks. I had a friend on a 2002 R1150GS BMW that had all he could do to stay with me on a twisty road - he was amazed that the KLR650 single could give the big Beemer 'fits' - the sorry side to that tune is that I wasn't even pushing the KLR at the time. Wonder what he would have said if I was really pushing it! That big Beemer cost him about $14K. So that's my view of the KLR - I knew what I bought going in thanks to all of you folks out there. I have ordered a new chain and sprockets from Fred and I have a cast iron front rotor to put on. To date I have 18,156 miles on the KLR. I believe in doing business with Fred and Dual Star - all have treated me well and have given me invaluable information that my Kawi dealer just can't supply. I still do business with my Kawi dealer and visit him as often as I can - he loves to show off my KLR - 'Did you ever see anything like this' - and the customers ask the same questions 'You ride that all the way across the USA?' Another fun part is that the Harley crowd always waves to me - they know I'm no 'poser' - no chance of waving to a Honda look-a-like, eh? Take Care All Al Maurine Shoreview, MN A-15