tire choices...

[Mark St.Hilaire, Sr]

> I recently purchased a 2003 KLR and have found this > message board to be invaluable (and rather fun) in > anticipating/fixing/troubleshooting my new bike. > Though I haven't experienced any of the various inate > KLR-isms that seem to be prevalent, I appreciate the > wealth of info from the "elders" and look forward to > posting insights and tips as I come to discover them.

Welcome to the community, and KLRing! Mark All that glitters has a high refractive index. KLR650 Motorcycle Pages: http://klr6500.tripod.com/ HomePage: http://home.adelphia.net/~msaint/index.html My Adelphia Email can be "iffy." If you don't get a response, please try: KLR6500@...

[Jeff McLaughlin]

Hello, Yes, its another one of those "I've been lurking for a while now I finally bought a KLR and so I decided to post" posts. It seems that KLR's are fairly popular in Northern Michigan this year, as when I finally made the decision to get one, I had a hard time finding one. I did a radius search of dealers, and finally found one downstate. The first thing I noticed on my new KLR was the forks sticking up out of the triple clamps. I asked the dealer about this, and he told me they were adjustable, and I should raise them for street use, and lower them for dirt use. Hmm, I said, better go check the FAQ. As I suspected, he was feeding me a line of Bull. Anyway, nice to meet you all, and I hope it will be a long and happy relationship!

[vintageracer88882]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Jeff McLaughlin" wrote:

> Hello, > > Yes, its another one of those "I've been lurking for a while now I > finally bought a KLR and so I decided to post" posts. > > It seems that KLR's are fairly popular in Northern Michigan this > year, as when I finally made the decision to get one, I had a hard > time finding one. I did a radius search of dealers, and finally > found one downstate. > > The first thing I noticed on my new KLR was the forks sticking up > out of the triple clamps. I asked the dealer about this, and he > told me they were adjustable, and I should raise them for street > use, and lower them for dirt use. Hmm, I said, better go check the > FAQ. As I suspected, he was feeding me a line of Bull. > > Anyway, nice to meet you all, and I hope it will be a long and

happy

> relationship!

congrats on the new ride. the forks should be slid down so the top of the tube is even with the top of the tree ( this is actually part of dealer set up ). scott

[dooden]

Welcome to the fold.. Where is "Northern Michigan" ? Troll or Yooper ? Do you live under the bridge ? Do you own multiple Yooper hats ? Ya the dealer just did'nt know. I pointed that out to a dealer here in town and he just gave me a deer in the headlight look. Dooden A15 Green Ape from South Central.. (of the U.P. that is) --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Jeff McLaughlin" wrote:

> Hello, > > Yes, its another one of those "I've been lurking for a while now I > finally bought a KLR and so I decided to post" posts. > > It seems that KLR's are fairly popular in Northern Michigan this > year, as when I finally made the decision to get one, I had a hard > time finding one. I did a radius search of dealers, and finally > found one downstate. > > The first thing I noticed on my new KLR was the forks sticking up > out of the triple clamps. I asked the dealer about this, and he > told me they were adjustable, and I should raise them for street > use, and lower them for dirt use. Hmm, I said, better go check the > FAQ. As I suspected, he was feeding me a line of Bull. > > Anyway, nice to meet you all, and I hope it will be a long and

happy

> relationship!

[John S Harper]

I think the key there is always to talk about an "out the door" price when you're negotiating. Otherwise you agree on a price and then get the mystery fees out the wazoo when you see the final total. If you agree on an out the door price the dealer will be subtracting the mystery fees off the sticker price in order to keep the total right. OTOH, it's just money. Everyone wants to get paid big $$$ but they're scared to death they'll pay someone else an extra dime. on 06/05/2004 08:29:59 AM To: John , DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com cc: Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] Re: new klr owner Yeah, my A-18 had a 4499 sticker, but after tax, shipping, assembly, and a pay off to the Japanese mob it was 5700 out the door. I did however take a roll of toilet paper out of the restroom to make up the difference. I have found bike dealers to be in the same or worse class than car dealers. WHile I did find one saleman to hold integrity, I later found the dealer/service department at Lynnwood (WA) Cycle Barn to be completely untrustworthy, and I am never ever ever ever going back there. --- John wrote:

> I think the MSRP is actually $4995, at least it was > 6 months ago when > I got mine. I paid $5176 out the door with 8.25% > sales tax, title, > license, tags, inspection, (no freight or prep > charges), everything. > That works out to about $4700 for the bike alone, an > A18. There are > about half a dozen dealers around here, only two had > any in stock. > The other guy was selling them for about $5500 (MSRP > + freight + prep) > plus tax, title, etc. It pays to shop around. > > Also, if you didn't know you were paying above MSRP, > that may be a > violation of the law. In most states, a dealer can > charge over > sticker or MSRP only if it is clearly disclosed that > that is what > they are doing. Of course, there could be $1900 of > fees, add ons, > etc. but it still seems kind of high. > > John > > --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "aboyandhisdawg" > wrote: > > $6,900!!! > > > > dang, that's gotta be the highest price for a KLR > i've seen yet! > > > > IIRC, MSRP is $5,500 > > > > fixer > > KLR A1 (paid $675.00 with less than 6kmi) > > Lost Wages, NV > > > > > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at > www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris > Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > > >

__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/ List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[svh11161973]

Hi. I purchased a new KLR a few weeks ago, and just cant stop riding the thing. I was curious to know if there were any other riders in the toronto area that know of any organised rides to take part in? Any info would be much appreciated.

[dwdickersonjr]

Hello all. Just bought a KLR650. Good thing I didn't discover this list first, ya'll might have scared me away from this bike! I've got many years of riding under me, though I haven't owned a chain-drive bike in over 20 years. My last bike was an '83 VF1100 Honda. Sure surprised alot of folks when I bought the KLR. Needed a good commuter bike, decided on the KLR. So far, I'm pretty happy. Enough power, great gas mileage, corners like it's on rails, the fairing actually does a good job. Surprised that the engine vibrates as little as it does. If I complained about anything it's that the sucker is so tall. And I'm 6'0! About the comments someone made about the Kawasaki dealers - I think you're right. My dealer is likely never gonna see this bike again. They did a lousy job of assembly. Good thing I can use tools! I took it back twice to get all the loose nuts and screws tightened. Then did it myself. The two kids in the Service Dept cannot possibly be mechanics. After reading many of the posts on this list, I half scared myself to death. Geez...bad doohickeys, bad frame bolts, lousy brakes, excessive vibration, blocked oil screens, funky carbs. I'll just take the tack that these are known possible failures, watch for them on my bike, and repair when needed. People told me for years that my VF1100 fork brace would dump me in the street. I rode it for 20 years until it died, and have yet to meet someone with a fork brace failure. I'll just treat the Kawa the same way. Ride it, maintain it, don't worry about it. Ya'll have a good one!

[Bogdan Swider]

Welcome, you've got the right attitude. Bogdan

On 5/17/06 12:33 PM, "dwdickersonjr" wrote: > Hello all. Just bought a KLR650. Good thing I didn't discover this > list first, ya'll might have scared me away from this bike! I've got > many years of riding under me, though I haven't owned a chain-drive > bike in over 20 years. My last bike was an '83 VF1100 Honda. Sure > surprised alot of folks when I bought the KLR. > > Needed a good commuter bike, decided on the KLR. So far, I'm pretty > happy. Enough power, great gas mileage, corners like it's on rails, > the fairing actually does a good job. Surprised that the engine > vibrates as little as it does. If I complained about anything it's > that the sucker is so tall. And I'm 6'0! > > About the comments someone made about the Kawasaki dealers - I think > you're right. My dealer is likely never gonna see this bike again. > They did a lousy job of assembly. Good thing I can use tools! I took > it back twice to get all the loose nuts and screws tightened. Then did > it myself. The two kids in the Service Dept cannot possibly be mechanics. > > After reading many of the posts on this list, I half scared myself to > death. Geez...bad doohickeys, bad frame bolts, lousy brakes, excessive > vibration, blocked oil screens, funky carbs. I'll just take the tack > that these are known possible failures, watch for them on my bike, and > repair when needed. People told me for years that my VF1100 fork brace > would dump me in the street. I rode it for 20 years until it died, and > have yet to meet someone with a fork brace failure. I'll just treat > the Kawa the same way. Ride it, maintain it, don't worry about it. > > Ya'll have a good one! > > > > > > > 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 > > > > > > >

[Mike Frey]

Don't worry about your bike! Since the KLR is one of the most reliable bikes made, we find anything that we can that is "wrong" with it, and discuss it. The doohickey is about the only thing. Replace it for peace of mind. There are other "weak" points, but not too bad. Otherwise, welcome to the list. dwdickersonjr wrote:

>Hello all. Just bought a KLR650. Good thing I didn't discover this >list first, ya'll might have scared me away from this bike! I've got >many years of riding under me, though I haven't owned a chain-drive >bike in over 20 years. My last bike was an '83 VF1100 Honda. Sure >surprised alot of folks when I bought the KLR. > >Needed a good commuter bike, decided on the KLR. So far, I'm pretty >happy. Enough power, great gas mileage, corners like it's on rails, >the fairing actually does a good job. Surprised that the engine >vibrates as little as it does. If I complained about anything it's >that the sucker is so tall. And I'm 6'0! > >About the comments someone made about the Kawasaki dealers - I think >you're right. My dealer is likely never gonna see this bike again. >They did a lousy job of assembly. Good thing I can use tools! I took >it back twice to get all the loose nuts and screws tightened. Then did >it myself. The two kids in the Service Dept cannot possibly be mechanics. > >After reading many of the posts on this list, I half scared myself to >death. Geez...bad doohickeys, bad frame bolts, lousy brakes, excessive >vibration, blocked oil screens, funky carbs. I'll just take the tack >that these are known possible failures, watch for them on my bike, and >repair when needed. People told me for years that my VF1100 fork brace >would dump me in the street. I rode it for 20 years until it died, and >have yet to meet someone with a fork brace failure. I'll just treat >the Kawa the same way. Ride it, maintain it, don't worry about it. > >Ya'll have a good one! > > > > > > >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 > > > > > > > > > > >

[Pat Schmid]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "dwdickersonjr" wrote:

> > > After reading many of the posts on this list, I half scared myself to > death. Geez...bad doohickeys, bad frame bolts, lousy brakes, excessive > vibration, blocked oil screens, funky carbs. I'll just take the tack > that these are known possible failures, watch for them on my bike, and > repair when needed. People told me for years that my VF1100 fork brace > would dump me in the street. I rode it for 20 years until it died, and > have yet to meet someone with a fork brace failure. I'll just treat > the Kawa the same way. Ride it, maintain it, don't worry about it. > > Ya'll have a good one! >

You have the right idea. In all honesty, the list doesn't agree on the list of 'known problems', but we've more or less agreed to disagree. Myself, I took your path. Pat G'ville, NV