klx vs klr again

[April Neave & Norm Keller]

6,000 km (3500 miles) no real issues. It is well to keep in mind the large number of members on this list which represents even more KLR's. The problems are minor and tend to be the main focus of this list because (IMO) the technical aspects are interesting to most of us and are primarily what we have in common. Read the FAQ as this has all been beaten over and over. Do the T mod. Lube and oil re the manual, valve adjustments, loctite and check, don't over tighten the chain, replace the doohickey (seems good insurance), think of adding a safety switch bypass, ride it... FWIW Norm

[Michael T]

MarkB, you are an excellent rider - as to breaking your own body parts, well, I just consider that you are in need of medication - before and after the events you discussed (Love ya Mark!!) For guys that don't know MarkB, He rides the KLRs in his stable like many wish they could. I missed riding with MarkB, CaStu and the crew of KLR abusers they assembled at DVD X as I was busy modifying my rims in various rock gardens, smashing my fork brace into my front fender and re-arranging my cowling in the ice on the Saline Exit south. Twice. (argh). These KLRs we ride are freaking durable..! Oh, just so that neewbies get it - MarkB and the rest of us only test the KLR survivability on a selective basis. He and most of us only dismount at speed to test the KLRs crash durability. We never Crash unless it is scheduled for testing. Oh, and entering a mine entrance at speed? Just a test of the new 'bars' on my A16. It really did look wider than it proved to be. Michael T A16 lasvegasrider -----Original Message----- From: dumbazz_650 [mailto:dumbazz_650@...] Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2005 7:06 PM To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: KLR Question

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Jerry" wrote: > > A few rambling ADHD thoughts on problems I've had with my KLRs: Once had an oil leak just after an oil change, (I pinched the o-ring on the filter cover). Fixed it on the road and finished the ride. Broke the little plastic mounting tabs on the shrouds and fixed them on with zip ties. Break a zip tie every time I drop the bike, or ever time I ride, whichever comes first. Damn zip ties. My brother got a flat tire once (IRC-GP110). Damn tires. Broke my hip once in 70mph highside riding my '89 KLR. Had to replace the handlebars, a mirror, and the front rim. Damn hip. Threw my '95 down about a hunnerd times, including once in the gravel at 45+mph, snapped the brake mount bracket. Repaced it no problem. It's at 28k miles now, and though I wail on it, the thing is solid. Chewed through the last D606 set in about 2,800 miles, including the LA-B-V dualsport ride and a trip through Death Valley. Dusted a few posers on sportbikes in the tight twisties too. I ride it like a dirt bike, or a sport bike, depending on the surface, or mood. They are easy to work on and fun to ride. You can carry a weeks worth of crap. If you're easy with the throttle you can get 50+ mpg, and with the 5.7gal tank, that's a long ways. (somewhat less mileage if you drive it agressively 8-(. It's rugged and simple and the few weaknesses are well documented and easy to fix. Internet support is the best of all dualsports, maybe all motorcycles. You cannot beat this price / performance comb. The accessories and mods available for the KLR can help you adapt it to make it better at some things than other. It will rarely keep up with liter bikes when sprinting on the interstate, and rarely keep up with the air-cooled lightweights racing on singletrack. But you can beat hell out of it and still ride home. In the LA-B-V ride, we only saw two GS bikes start the ride, and I think only one actually finished. But the truly amazing thing to see was the number of KTMs, in the back of pickup trucks, as we rode back from Vegas to LA. MarkB ** MarkB's unabashed DS Quailifier Scores (tm) ** GS11/1200 Very heavy, mostly street oriented, $$$$$ KTM950 Heavy, very good all rounder, $$$$ DL1000 Heavy, mostly street oriented, $$$ KLR650 Less heavy, good all rounder, $$ XRxxx Lighter, fair all rounder/ dirt bias, $$ DRxxx Lighter, fair all rounder/ dirt bias, $$ 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 Yahoo! Groups Links

[Mike Peplinski]

No problems, zero, nada-second year riding. Replaced doohickey-original was OK; reset idle pilot screw-big improvement. 6,000 miles

>From: "Jerry" >To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com >Subject: [DSN_KLR650] KLR Question >Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 19:40:33 -0000 > > > >So many people claim that the KLR is one of the Best Adventure Tour >bikes, yet it seems from my readings that the bike is riddled with >problems. As outlined on sites like >http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html#knownissues. So, I have to ask, >How many are having these problems? I do mean beyound the "T" valve >for rainy times & the side stand switch. > >What problems are You having? > >Did you find the problems easy to fix? > >Were dealers willing to Help? > >Do you find the electrical switches cheap? > >Are these problems common or rare? > > > > > >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 > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > >

[Doug Herr]

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005, Mike Peplinski wrote:

> No problems, zero, nada-second year riding. Replaced doohickey-original was > OK; reset idle pilot screw-big improvement. 6,000 miles

About the same here for two 2002 KLRs (Wife and I have matching bikes). Did the idle pilot screw on mine, not on hers, both seem fine. Did the doohicks on both, neither were broken when we did the upgrade. Did the T-mod, tho did have a problem. My headlight fuse did blow, replace both of ours. The safeties did have trouble but this was only due to my messing up the setting when I installed brush guards. Just reset them and did not bypass. No trouble since. The gas tank thing is not even a problem since this has a larger tank then most bikes. Reading over that problem list and knowing the bike, I would say that if read carefully it just shows that this *is* a pretty darn reliable bike. The type of things that are listed as "problems" include some pretty simple fixes. I am sure that the list for *any* bike would be similar or worse. -- Doug Herr doug@...

[Michael Silverstein]

I agree. In researching several known-to-be-very-reliable bikes on my wish list, I've found that every single one of them has weaknesses. The longer the bike has been around the more well documented the weaknesses are. For example, the Honda ST1100 is supposed to be a great, reliable, long-distance mount that regularly exceeds the 100K mile barrier, yet a visit to www.st1100.org will reveal a list of problems common to many instances of the model. Its just the nature of trying to engineer something with cost and weight constraints. Mike A18

> -----Original Message----- > From: Keith Saltzer [mailto:k.saltzer@...] > > Keep in mind, EVERY bike in existence has it's flaws, so it's not > > just a KLR issue -- someone just took the time to compile a list > and > > post it. > > Yea, what he said. When you read the FAQ, and this very thorough > board, you will find MANY "problems" about the KLR that will be > talked about or addressed. All bikes have problems, but this bike > has been around so damn long, is ridden by so many people (and they > actually ride them) and has been found to be such a great "do it all" > motorcycle that won't break the bank, that a lot of them ended up > here to talk about anything and everything that we can do to make > them as close to perfect for each rider.

-- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 265.8.8 - Release Date: 2/14/2005

[Randy Phillips]

Mike The only reason why Kawa most likely dropped their KLX650 was due to not selling enough in the US market. The KLX was a whole different beast. I had a cherry 93 KLX650. It did have some nice performance features over the KLR. Large front forks, different engine, exhaust, etc., but it had a small gas tank and was pretty similar to the Honda http://powersports.honda.com/motorcycles/off-road/model.asp?ModelName=XR650L &ModelYear=2005&ModelId=XR650L5 which most likely out sold the Kawa KLX. The KLX needs off road tires for aggressive dirt riding. Trust me. All in all - the KLX650 is very similar to the Honda. Honda won. The KLR can be ridden as aggressive in the dirt as the KLX with a few upgrades. KLR - larger tank, more comfortable on longer stretches, parts availability.... etc. I like my A17 much better all around than my 93 KLX650 and I primarily ride in the dirt as much as possible. Yes, I absolutely agree - would have been nice to pull a few of those goodies off the KLX and have a new KLR version. I can't help but think that as the KLR "influence" continues to grow that Kawa won't make some changes in time. The dual sport market is growing/changing which could stimulate that. I do computer work for a couple of motorcycle shops. KTM is bringing back a modified "European" version of the 640 Adventure to the US, although they allocated them and so we won't see many around. Over all - the KTM 640 Adventure has some very nice features over the KLR, but you pay for that and parts, etc., are more difficult to come by. The KTM was a dream in the dirt over the KLR. Increased hp was really nice as well. Reliability wasn't so great for the aggressive riders. The KLR is pretty rock solid if maintained properly. Overall, you can't beat a KLR. The nice thing about it is - the older technology allows most of us to do the majority of the work on the bike. I like that. Relaxing. Sorry for the rambling! Randy A17 - Idaho =============================== I've been following the KLX group threads and those folks are as loyal to their bikes as we are to ours. I still wonder why Kawasaki dropped the KLX-650 and kept the KLR-650, instead of combining the two into one better model. As a manufacturer, the "more expensive to produce the KLX" does not quite make sense to me. Design, tooling, and engineering would have already been complete - and therefore paid for - since the KLX was an actual production bike. If the good features - the actual components themselves - of the KLX are more expensive, I doubt if they are MUCH more expensive. Moving them to the KLR platform would not add much cost either. So, why did they not take the desirable features of each bike and put them together? That sounds logical to me, since I hear a lot of people on the KLR list wishing for the upside down forks, better handling, etc. of the KLX - without sacrificing the comforts of the KLR. Mike 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 Yahoo! Groups Links