canada / passport

[Guest]

Hi everybody, I just got a A 15 (285 miles) and have a couple of questions. 1 should the tops of the fork tubes be level with the top of the steering head? ( mine sticks out about 2-3 inches from the top) 2 whats the normal running temp of the engine? at hi way speed it stays about 11 o'clock with slow speed(city traffic) it's about 2 o'clock and the fan is on. 3 I'm wanting to do all of my maint. myself. How will this affect the warranty? Thanks Mike (in Augusta GA.) ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.

[Kurt Simpson (Dual Sport News)]

1 should the tops of the fork tubes be level with the top of the steering head? ( mine sticks out about 2-3 inches from the top) _________ yes, they should be flush unless you adjust them otherwise 2 whats the normal running temp of the engine? at hi way speed it stays about 11 o'clock with slow speed(city traffic) it's about 2 o'clock and the fan is on _______________ the slow speed part sounds a bit high...coolant topped off? _____________ 3 I'm wanting to do all of my maint. myself. How will this affect the warranty? _______________ document all that you do...and keep receipts... Kurt

[powermonkey35]

i just bought a 2001 KLR650 with 468 miles on it for $3200.00. did i do good? does anyone have any advice or suggestions for a first time klr owner? i am pretty stoked about the whole thing and just want to do it right. are there any adjustments or changes i should make at the onset or am i good to go as is? seems like things like skid plates and new hand guards could go ahead and be done sooner than later. just plain excited regards bill

[dooden]

Congrats on buying the "BEST" looking year KLR !!!! http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html The above is the FAQ that is on the DSN_klr650 Homepage, Chris and others have put alot of work and time into this, read it, then read it, then read it again.. lots of info in there. At 500 miles the first service is due, this would include a valve adjustment/check, oil & filter at a minimum IMO. You can get filters and valve shims from Fred pretty quick and cheap, in fact Fred is so cheap, you ask how cheap is Fred ? Well I dont know how he can sell the valve shims that cheap. I can't even get the valve shim kits (to get the single shims) at dealer cost though a distributor at work for what Fred sells them for, and would have to buy a whole kit. Oil is your choice, I buy Delvac 15w40 at Wallyworld for less than $6 a gallon, some only use syth. type oil, some only some other M/C branded oil. Bottom line use what you are comfortable with, AFAIK there has no oil related problem that any one type of oil has caused, as long as its changed and made sure there is oil in there. The KLR will burn oil if you run it WFO for extended periods. just make sure its full. Next when checking the oil make sure the bike is level and the oil gets to at least the top of the oil sightglass on the right side again this is a debatable thing, motor calls for 2.5l I think which some have reported exceeding the top of the sightglass, I fill her up till she is at the top of the sightglass or maybe just a tad over the top. Lots of places to buy aftermarket stuff, Fred, Tim, Jake, Mike make or sell alot of things, eBay typically has things listed, there are other websites that list items also. Ride the bike, and add/change what you feel is needed based on your riding needs, example if you do not ride off road, why would you need a metal bash plate ? If you do not ride aggressive why do you need Progressive rate springs, why not just change the fork oil to a bit heavier oil say 10w and try it, it only costs a few bucks a quart for fork oil, im sure they need to be flushed anyway to rid them of the fish oil KHI poured in them. http://klr6500.tripod.com/valves.htm Above is Mark's (ok one of the Mark's) site for doing a valve adjustment, of course if you dont want the lady down waiting even a couple days for shims to arrive, you will have to buy the shim kit, or open it up, take measurements, button up, order parts, ride then when parts come in take it all apart again. Explore this site, he has ALOT of info there. I am not a high milage rider like some on this list, but I love to ride my KLR, only got about 2600 miles on mine, but I have no far places I need to go, I have trails and dirt within a couple miles of my house, I work about a mile away. Took some play riding time off while my grandson stayed with us for a month or so, cause I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could before his mommy made us return him, but my rear tire is to the point I do not like riding offroad, its close to being a slick, plan on dropping Kenda 270's on it they are told to be 50/50 tires and hold up well, even if they might be a bit snakey on the road, thats fine it will get me to not lean so much in corners. Where you hailing from ? http://www.geocities.com/enduraidrally/ --- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "powermonkey35" wrote: > i just bought a 2001 KLR650 with 468 miles on it for $3200.00. did i do good? > > does anyone have any advice or suggestions for a first time klr owner? i am pretty > stoked about the whole thing and just want to do it right. are there any adjustments > or changes i should make at the onset or am i good to go as is? seems like things like > skid plates and new hand guards could go ahead and be done sooner than later. > > just plain excited > > regards > > bill

[Giorgio Trucco]

Hi all, I finally got my new 05 KLR. Question: Altough I had a KLR before, it was such a long time ago, that I consider myself new again to this bike. In the bigcee FAQs there is short note about Dealer screwups that says: "If you buy the bike new, the dealers often leave the forks in the shipping position, with the fork tubes extending about 3" beyond the top of the triple clamp. The tops of the fork tubes should be flush with the top of the triple clamp". I'm not sure I fully understand what to look for, and an image would speak much better than 1000 words. Does anyone here is willing to send me a small picture of what the fork end should look like? You can email me at gtrucco1@... Thanks. giorgio

[dooden]

Imagine the fork tubes. Now follow them up into the clamps at the top, see the air valves on the tippy top that are in the caps ? Ok .... great, the bottom of these caps should be flush with the top surface of these clamps. Maybe its not a 1000 words, but this low-cal version should help. Dooden A15 Green Ape

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Giorgio Trucco" wrote: > Hi all, > I finally got my new 05 KLR. > > Question: > Altough I had a KLR before, it was such a long time ago, that I consider > myself new again to this bike. > > In the bigcee FAQs there is short note about Dealer screwups that says: > > "If you buy the bike new, the dealers often leave the forks in the > shipping position, with the fork tubes extending about 3" beyond the top > of the triple clamp. The tops of the fork tubes should be flush with > the top of the triple clamp". > > I'm not sure I fully understand what to look for, and an image would > speak much better than 1000 words. > > Does anyone here is willing to send me a small picture of what the fork > end should look like? > > You can email me at gtrucco1@i... > > Thanks. > > giorgio

[JJNeet1@aol.com]

Just bought, and rode home, a brand new 2005 KLR650 tonight. It was a cold ride home from Lake City Kawasaki in Seattle, to my home in Bonney Lake arriving about 6:15 pm. I was fighting a very high idle-about 1900 rpm- until I couldn't stand it anymore and pulled over and located the idle adjuster and set it down to about 1250. The ride home was about 45 miles, and I was pretty dam cold when I got to my house. I found the big KLR to be very comfortable in my opinion. The brakes suck-front and rear. I had to try to vary the rpm and keep it under 4000 rpm for break in. I traded in a really clean 2001 KLR250. I'll miss the 250. It was great on the trails,got 65-75 mpg, and could cruise down the freeway at 65 mph and never did the bike complain. But I had recenly sold my big street bike, and the 250 was not a good enough street bike. Also I want to be able to jump on my motorcycle and ride down to see Mount Saint Helens or where ever I want to go whether it be freeway or back roads, and the 250, though it would have done it, it just wasn't really made for that kind of use. So know I can start aganizing on doohickeys and such just like you guys. Jon Neet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Mike Torst]

Glad to hear about your new purchase! Tip - load the rings with WOT runs to 5k rpm on your next ride - seat the rings w/o excess rpm. Also, change the oil ASAP w/ basic dino stuff (JASO MA rated, of course). I would change the oil at 50 miles, but I am/have been the owner of many 100,000 mile motors that don't burn oil, or fail, so what the heck. Also, ride it and let it cool, many times before an extended run. It is new, so the motor is the focus- get it's rings seated, check the chain tension, and audit everything that the dealer did in setting it up. Again, welcome to your fresh KLR650 - after it is broken in, do what most of us do - rough it up, off-road. Mike Torst A16 aka lasvegasrider -----Original Message----- From: JJNeet1@... [mailto:JJNeet1@...] Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 8:27 PM To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] New Owner Just bought, and rode home, a brand new 2005 KLR650 tonight. It was a cold ride home from Lake City Kawasaki in Seattle, to my home in Bonney Lake arriving about 6:15 pm. I was fighting a very high idle-about 1900 rpm- until I couldn't stand it anymore and pulled over and located the idle adjuster and set it down to about 1250. The ride home was about 45 miles, and I was pretty dam cold when I got to my house. I found the big KLR to be very comfortable in my opinion. The brakes suck-front and rear. I had to try to vary the rpm and keep it under 4000 rpm for break in. I traded in a really clean 2001 KLR250. I'll miss the 250. It was great on the trails,got 65-75 mpg, and could cruise down the freeway at 65 mph and never did the bike complain. But I had recenly sold my big street bike, and the 250 was not a good enough street bike. Also I want to be able to jump on my motorcycle and ride down to see Mount Saint Helens or where ever I want to go whether it be freeway or back roads, and the 250, though it would have done it, it just wasn't really made for that kind of use. So know I can start aganizing on doohickeys and such just like you guys. Jon Neet [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] 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

[Keith Saltzer]

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, JJNeet1@a... wrote:

> Just bought, and rode home, a brand new 2005 KLR650 tonight. It

was a

> cold ride home from Lake City Kawasaki in Seattle, to my home in

Bonney Lake

> arriving about 6:15 pm. I was fighting a very high idle-about 1900

rpm- until I

> couldn't stand it anymore and pulled over and located the idle

adjuster and set

> it down to about 1250. The ride home was about 45 miles, and I was

pretty dam

> cold when I got to my house. > I found the big KLR to be very comfortable in my opinion. The

brakes

> suck-front and rear. I had to try to vary the rpm and keep it under

4000 rpm for

> break in. I traded in a really clean 2001 KLR250. I'll miss the

250. It was

> great on the trails,got 65-75 mpg, and could cruise down the

freeway at 65 mph

> and never did the bike complain. But I had recenly sold my big

street bike, and

> the 250 was not a good enough street bike. Also I want to be able

to jump on

> my motorcycle and ride down to see Mount Saint Helens or where ever

I want to

> go whether it be freeway or back roads, and the 250, though it

would have done

> it, it just wasn't really made for that kind of use. > So know I can start aganizing on doohickeys and such just like

you guys.

> > Jon Neet

Cool John, welcome to the list! Two things: 1. I would get on that throttle if I were breaking it in. 2. Don't agonize about the doohickey, just get a new one and install. Piece of pie MrMoose A8 (Barbie and Ken special)

[probertucci]

Hey Gents, I am a new owner of a shiny KLR650. I have never owned a dual sport bike..... I have 2 Hodaka Dirt Bikes, Which I destroy on a regular basis, and just sold my R6. For this rig. Just wanted to say hey to the forum Pete