trail to frog lake blackdog 2009

[Mike Brodhead]

After my Gixxer 600 was stolen last month, I'm about to buy a new KLR. Since most of my riding will be on the street-- commuting, short trips, etc --I plan to run Michelin Anakee tires. Looking up the KLR on the Michelin website, they show both "TL" and "TT" variants as fitting the KLR. If Wikipedia is right, that means tubless and tube. Is that actually correct? Do I have a choice between running tubes or not on the KLR? Is so, what are the tradeoffs? Thanks, --mkb

[Thor Lancelot Simon]

On Mon, Nov 06, 2006 at 01:02:00PM -0800, Mike Brodhead wrote:

> After my Gixxer 600 was stolen last month, I'm about to buy a new KLR. > > Since most of my riding will be on the street-- commuting, short > trips, etc --I plan to run Michelin Anakee tires. Looking up the KLR > on the Michelin website, they show both "TL" and "TT" variants as > fitting the KLR. If Wikipedia is right, that means tubless and tube. > > Is that actually correct? Do I have a choice between running tubes > or not on the KLR? Is so, what are the tradeoffs?

No, as on any bike whose rims require tubes, you can, if you like, use tubes in tubeless-type tires. Gives you more options when you shop around, and often the TL tires are available in higher speed ratings. It can be difficult to mount some tubeless tires with tubes because they can have extremely stiff carcasses. Mounting tube-type Gripsters is pretty easy, mounting tubeless ones is really, really unpleasant. But it can certainly be done. You might want to look at the Kenda 761 as a cheaper alternative to the Anakee though it probably won't last as long. The stock tires are also quite good on the street and it is probably worth letting them wear out before you sink time and money into new rubber. In my opinion the only reasons to replace the stock tires right away on a new KLR are if you're either going to be using the bike primarily on dirt, or if you intend to go on a long trip immediately and need a more durable tire like a Distanzia or Tourance.

[Greg Roeder]

I had a 2000 KLR 250 with stock 50/50 type tires and hated the way they felt on the road. I swapped in a pair of Dunlop 607's, which are tubeless, and mounted them with tubes and rimstrips; which you have to use to keep the spokes from puncturing the tubes. The improvement on road was incredible and it really improved the ride. That being said, the 2007 KLR 650 I just bought the Saturday before Halloween feels great onroad with the stock tires and I have no intention to swap out the tires until they wear out. When they do wear out I might put another set of Dunlop 607's on but until then stock is fine. It will depend greatly on what type of riding I end up doing the most because I will also add that the 607's were not very good at all on gravel roads. There a lot of great toys out there for the KLR 650's so money saved on tires could be used much more effectively!!

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Mike Brodhead wrote: > > After my Gixxer 600 was stolen last month, I'm about to buy a new KLR. > > Since most of my riding will be on the street-- commuting, short > trips, etc --I plan to run Michelin Anakee tires. Looking up the KLR > on the Michelin website, they show both "TL" and "TT" variants as > fitting the KLR. If Wikipedia is right, that means tubless and tube. > > Is that actually correct? Do I have a choice between running tubes > or not on the KLR? Is so, what are the tradeoffs? > > Thanks, > > --mkb >

[Thor Lancelot Simon]

On Mon, Nov 06, 2006 at 11:31:04PM -0000, Greg Roeder wrote:

> > I had a 2000 KLR 250 with stock 50/50 type tires and hated the way > they felt on the road.

I find this a little confusing. What 50/50 tire has ever been "stock" on the KLR? As far as I know, very early years came with a Trailwing (which I would not call a 50/50 tire) and everything since has had the current Dunlop (which is more like a 75/25 or 90/10 tire).

>I swapped in a pair of Dunlop 607's, which are >tubeless, and mounted them with tubes and rimstrips; which you have to >use to keep the spokes from puncturing the tubes.

I'm again somewhat confused. Rim strips are standard on the KLR wheels since the KLR comes with tube type tires. Did someone take them out of the wheels on your 2000 model before you got it? Thor

[Greg Roeder]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:

> I find this a little confusing. What 50/50 tire has ever

been "stock"

> on the KLR? As far as I know, very early years came with a

Trailwing

> (which I would not call a 50/50 tire) and everything since has had

the

> current Dunlop (which is more like a 75/25 or 90/10 tire).

Okay I'll clarify again. The KLR 250 (note that says 250 not 650!) that I purchased had Dunlop 606's on it and I was told by the seller that they were original tires. (The bike had 2200 miles on it.) I'll let you look how those are rated yourself. I guess they're more like a 30/70 than a 50/50. So even more dirt oriented than most. So, you can understand why the 607's (90/10) would be a huge improvement. --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:

> I'm again somewhat confused. Rim strips are standard on the KLR

wheels

> since the KLR comes with tube type tires. Did someone take them out > of the wheels on your 2000 model before you got it?

I did not say the rimstrips were missing. I mentioned the rimstrips to clarify that they are something that is absolutely a must to keep the tubes from getting punctured by the inner spokes whether running a tubeless or tube type tire. I actually bought new rimstrips along with my tires and tubes which is a good idea every time you buy a new tire setup. The rimstrips are cheap insurance to make sure your new tubes don't go flat as soon as they are mounted. And as long as we're splitting hairs, I'll go ahead and mention that regardless of what the tire says on the side, KLR wheels have to have tubes because without them the air could leak out of the attachment points where the spokes are threaded into the rims. The point of my post was this: Less agressive tread can feel drastically better on the road and reduce vibration but may sacrifice off road or gravel road safety.

[Spike55]

You are stuck with an inner-tube, always. If you ever have a chance, look at the spoke wheels on a BMW GS (sort of off-road bikes). They run a tubeless tire. The rim is wide and the spoke angle is more straight up & down from the center hub to the rim edge. You can just see the spoke nibble heads along the outside edge of the rim and the tire seats in-board of that. If you check the internet, some companies are using a two-part epoxy to seal the rim around the nibbles, and therefore, allow you to run a tubelss. Don R100, A6F

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Mike Brodhead wrote: > > After my Gixxer 600 was stolen last month, I'm about to buy a new KLR. > > Since most of my riding will be on the street-- commuting, short > trips, etc --I plan to run Michelin Anakee tires. Looking up the KLR > on the Michelin website, they show both "TL" and "TT" variants as > fitting the KLR. If Wikipedia is right, that means tubless and tube. > > Is that actually correct? Do I have a choice between running tubes > or not on the KLR? Is so, what are the tradeoffs? > > Thanks, > > --mkb >

[Ronald Criswell]

Ahh ....... technically you use tubes on a spoke rim ......... but ..... there was an old fella from Mississippi at Moab a few years ago that actually fitted a tubeless on the rear without a tube. How? Lottsa silicone around the bead and spoke nipples. He had ridden his KLR to Prudoe Bay and got eaten up by mosquitos at 2 in the morning fixing a tube tire. he claimed he wasn't going to do that again and the silicone tire was holding air fine. Funny old guy that has since passed on. I think Fred at Arrowhead knows his name. Criswell

On Nov 6, 2006, at 3:02 PM, Mike Brodhead wrote: > After my Gixxer 600 was stolen last month, I'm about to buy a new KLR. > > Since most of my riding will be on the street-- commuting, short > trips, etc --I plan to run Michelin Anakee tires. Looking up the KLR > on the Michelin website, they show both "TL" and "TT" variants as > fitting the KLR. If Wikipedia is right, that means tubless and tube. > > Is that actually correct? Do I have a choice between running tubes > or not on the KLR? Is so, what are the tradeoffs? > > Thanks, > > --mkb > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[fasteddiecopeman]

Mike, A fellow from B.C. converted his KLR to tubeless. After removing the tires and tensioning his spokes, he filled over each nipple INSIDE the rim with blue RV silicone sealant, let it set-up for a few days, then installed the tubeless tires. He told me that they'd been running fine for several years. Ed

[Lloyd Rauschkolb]

I posted this to the list some years back, but herefor those who missed it,That old guy was John Lyle, from Lena, Mississippi. Llght plane pilot, heavy equipment operator, retired rural mail carrier, BMW and KLR motorcycle enthusiast, and long distance rider who loved nature and loved to camp. Could outride anybody I have ever known (not high speed or against the clock), but just ride for the thrill of it. Died of cancer doing what he loved (camping at a motorcycle rally). Never had anything bad to say about anybody.John hated changing flats on his KLR because of having to change or repair the tube. He liked tubeless tires. Missed by many. Lloyd Rauschkolb Gulfport, Mississippi [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[kestrelfal]

Permatex Flowable Silicone Windshield and Glass Sealer may be a good choice also. http://www.permatex.com/documents/tds/automotive/81730.pdf Fred --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "fasteddiecopeman" wrote:

> > Mike, > A fellow from B.C. converted his KLR to tubeless. After removing the

tires and tensioning

> his spokes, he filled over each nipple INSIDE the rim with blue RV

silicone sealant, let it

> set-up for a few days, then installed the tubeless tires. He told me

that they'd been

> running fine for several years. > Ed >