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[Szentpeteri Zsolt]

Hi, 1) Changing gear from the first to the second is not as smooth as the others. 2) It is hard to find natural from the second gear (from the first it is fine). 3 Sometimes I can find natural between the third and second gear. Are these above feature of KLR or I should make some adjustments? BR, Zsolt Tengai

[ionutzz]

Hi Zsolt,

>1) Changing gear from the first to the second is not as smooth as

the others. This was happening with 2 brand new KRL's: If you can find the right rpm (>2500 for those two bikes) the change will be better, anyways from what I was talking with others seems to be normal.

>2) It is hard to find natural from the second gear (from the first

it is fine). You have to not push the pedal to strong, it should enter in neutral easy.

>3 Sometimes I can find natural between the third and second gear.

This never happened to me, that is not neutral, there is only one between 1 and two and what you found between 2 and 3 may not be stable. When you change the gears you have to push and pull strong all the way untill you feel a click (more precisely a CLONK) and it should be fine. When entering in neutral you have to make the move more easy.

>Are these above feature of KLR or I should make some adjustments?

I don't think you have to make ajustments, you can check to see if the clutch is adjusted right, when entering in first gear (not for the first time after you started the engine) see if the rpm will change, if yes then you have to adjust the clutch to not have any rpm change when entering first gear. ionut

[Zachariah Mully]

On Fri, 2002-08-16 at 03:02, Szentpeteri Zsolt wrote:

> > Hi, > > 1) Changing gear from the first to the second is not as smooth as the others. > 2) It is hard to find natural from the second gear (from the first it is fine). > 3 Sometimes I can find natural between the third and second gear. > > Are these above feature of KLR or I should make some adjustments? > > BR, > Zsolt > Tengai

Check your shift lever placement, if you're using an aluminum bash plate, the shifter can foul on the mounts and prevent a clean downshift. Also, change your oil and use something nice. Oil, I find, makes a huge difference in shifting feel, each oil feels different. Though some may advocate motorcycle only oils, I use Mobil Delvac 1300 Super with good results. Z DC

[ftw1956]

Just finished a nice little trip. 1,730 miles! Small for most of you, but my longest one to date. It's time for a chain(O or X Ring?)and sprockets(Factory or Aftermarket)? I just clicked over to 13,555K and have read ton's of stuff about gearing. I do use the bike for 80 mile round trips to work and back. 90% is on the road. I think the 15/43 would be fine, but does the 16 make that huge of a differance and who is happy w/ the factor gears and who likes the aftermarket ones? Thanks for the help and info. -Jimi

[rockiedog2]

Jimi I installed 16/43 for an Alaska trip against the advice of some on this list who knew better. I was heavily loaded and climbing mountains against a lot of headwinds and the bike was way overgeared. I regretted having gone to the 16/43. Had to run WFO a lot of the time and speed still fell off. Gas mileage was way down. I am back to the 15/43 right now and like that whether loaded or not. Most of my miles are road miles. Ran the Natchez Trace for 220 miles last weekend at about 60 MPH and got an even 50 mpg...light load no wind flat ground. Joe

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "ftw1956" wrote: > > Just finished a nice little trip. 1,730 miles! Small for most of you, > but my longest one to date. > It's time for a chain(O or X Ring?)and sprockets(Factory or > Aftermarket)? > I just clicked over to 13,555K and have read ton's of stuff about > gearing. I do use the bike for 80 mile round trips to work and back. > 90% is on the road. I think the 15/43 would be fine, but does the 16 > make that huge of a differance and who is happy w/ the factor gears and > who likes the aftermarket ones? > Thanks for the help and info. > > -Jimi >

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "ftw1956" wrote:

> > Just finished a nice little trip. 1,730 miles! Small for most of you, > but my longest one to date. > It's time for a chain(O or X Ring?)and sprockets(Factory or > Aftermarket)? > I just clicked over to 13,555K and have read ton's of stuff about > gearing. I do use the bike for 80 mile round trips to work and back. > 90% is on the road. I think the 15/43 would be fine, but does the 16 > make that huge of a differance and who is happy w/ the factor gears and > who likes the aftermarket ones? > Thanks for the help and info. >

I am a big fan of tall gearing - on bikes with short bars and a slim aero profile. I tried 16/43 on my fully-loaded KLR, thinking it would ease the long ride out to Utah, and i could switch to a 14t once I got off the highway. As it turned out, The 16t did nothing for me: trashed the top gear roll-on, decreased top speed in 5th (my bike would run faster in 4th) and made for a lot of clutch slipping around town. Your experience may vary if your KLR is one of the more powerful ones (stock bikes vary somewhat in power output and fuel economy), or if you can load your bike to keep stuff out of the wind stream.

[rv4flyer]

If you guys send me an email direct, I'll be glad to send you a photo. rv4flyer@... I bought the clutch and brake hand protectors from Mark. I don't remember what brand they are.

[Spike55]

Jimi: I run an aftermarket 44T or the stock 43T, and have switched between the stock 15T and aftermarket 16T on my '06 with 12K+. The 15T/44T combo is about 2% lower than stock. The 16T/44T is about 4% higher than stock. The 16T/43T is almost 7% over. I've been able to jump around between these combos without breaking the chain and using a master-link. I've run these combos on hard roads and dirt / gravel roads in Pennsylvania over the last 2 years. I keep coming back to the 15T/43T or the 15T/44T as my favorites. The 16T with either rear sprocket requires too much clutch-slipping to get going in hilly rough-stuff, I end up going too fast in the dirt/gravel and the washboard logging roads rattle my teeth (softer suspension would help too), and for whatever the reason, I get more handlebar vibration on the hard roads and my hands take a beating. I carry a few pounds of gear in my saddlebars / tankbag. I'm 200+ at 6'3". I always get about 55 MPG +/- and sometimes ride like a nut. Once I need a new chain, I might get a longer one, so I can try a 46T and switch between the 16T (work commutes @ 2% higher than stock) and 15T (dirt road weekends @ 4% lower) but the 15T/43T is still the simplest (fire-n-forget) solution. Don R100, A6F

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "ftw1956" wrote: > > Just finished a nice little trip. 1,730 miles! Small for most of you, > but my longest one to date. > It's time for a chain(O or X Ring?)and sprockets(Factory or > Aftermarket)? > I just clicked over to 13,555K and have read ton's of stuff about > gearing. I do use the bike for 80 mile round trips to work and back. > 90% is on the road. I think the 15/43 would be fine, but does the 16 > make that huge of a differance and who is happy w/ the factor gears and > who likes the aftermarket ones? > Thanks for the help and info. > > -Jimi >

[nakedwaterskier]

16/43 on my loaded KLR is fine. A 650 has enough torque when I am off road with 16/43 and it is much better cruising at 80 than 15/43. If you are going to ride 150 hiway/street miles to ride 50 miles off road, 16/43 works great. I use soft saddlebags and a tank bag. I weigh about 185 lbs. I can see how someone over 200 lbs with hard cases, a tent, sleeping bag, ice chest with 12 pack, stove, extra parts and tools etc. going uphill might not like 16/43 but it has served me well ESP. ON THOSE LONG RIDES BACK HOME LIKE YESTERDAY from San Diego to San Fernando Valley. Jeffrey