pitcock on/off when parked ?

[artie]

Blake Sobiloff wrote:

> Frankly, it's tough for most people to stay relaxed enough to not be > affected by unexpected gusts. See how long you can "go with the blow" > before tensing up and getting pushed around.

Yes, this is/was my problem. I literally had not ridden a bike of any kind for almost three years when I bought the KLR in Dallas and was driving it home. The KLR is defintely the lightest, tallest bike I have ever owned*, and it just so happened that my first ride on the KLR was on a very windy day. To compound my problems, the wind was gusting intermittently, and at almost a right angle to my line of travel. The "push"of the wind from my right side was essentially like leaning left for a second or two. In all my miles on two BMWs, I never experienced anything quite that "moving" from the wind. But anyhow. I'm very pleased with my new KLR. I will adapt. What a great bike! Thanks to the group for all the tips and observations. Artie * except for a Honda 160 Dream I had in '67 or so....

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, thomas breedlove wrote:

> > Couldn't agree more with mkb. I would add this; If you know you will have a cross wind on

your ride, top off the tank. My Triumph Trophy is a sail in a cross wind, six gallons of fuel seems to really make a difference.

> If it's really bad (30-40mph) I have to tuck in and hug the tank bag. >

That probably helps, but if the sag is set correctly, or even if your rear preload is somewhere in the right time zone, and if your steering head is properly adjusted, your bike should behave ok. There is a long list of other possible causes, but you ought to be able to keep stock fender and handguards. Changing them may improve things, but will then mask the real problem.

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, THE MIGHTY VEXORG wrote:

> > I find that on my KLR, the wind doesn't bother me much. Although the > bike does behave differently from my VFR in gusts and strong side winds, > it pretty much tracks straight. My girlfriend's KLR however, is a > different story. She had the high speed wobble thing, which seemed to be > cured by putting less aggressive tires and a KTM fender on the bike. Now > when her bike is hit by the same stong wind gusts, instead of wobbling, > it pushes the bike across the lane. At first I thought it was just her > not being used to the bike, so I tried it myself, and sure enough, it > did it to me too. Our bikes are pretty much identical, the only real > differnce being hers is an '05, mine is an '04, she has less aggressive > tires, her fender, and that her bike has been lowered. Anything else I > should check out? We already had her bike's steering head tighted a bit > just to be sure, no luck with that. >

Lowered with links? Bump up the preload.

[Don S]

Don't forget air pressure. Tires improperly inflated will cause some wallow, particularly in curves at speed. Jud Jones wrote: --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, thomas breedlove wrote:

> > Couldn't agree more with mkb. I would add this; If you know you will have a cross wind on

your ride, top off the tank. My Triumph Trophy is a sail in a cross wind, six gallons of fuel seems to really make a difference.

> If it's really bad (30-40mph) I have to tuck in and hug the tank bag. >

That probably helps, but if the sag is set correctly, or even if your rear preload is somewhere in the right time zone, and if your steering head is properly adjusted, your bike should behave ok. There is a long list of other possible causes, but you ought to be able to keep stock fender and handguards. Changing them may improve things, but will then mask the real problem. --------------------------------- Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Randall Marbach]

...and increase the damping.. when my rear shock went bad, damping was shot.... and the bike went from a well handling bike to bucking, wobbling beast.. Rides great now with the Works Performance shock... Randy from Burbank ----- Original Message ---- From: Jud Jones To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, December 8, 2006 12:32:48 PM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: New to KLR650 and the group

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, THE MIGHTY VEXORG wrote: > > I find that on my KLR, the wind doesn't bother me much. Although the > bike does behave differently from my VFR in gusts and strong side winds, > it pretty much tracks straight. My girlfriend's KLR however, is a > different story. She had the high speed wobble thing, which seemed to be > cured by putting less aggressive tires and a KTM fender on the bike. Now > when her bike is hit by the same stong wind gusts, instead of wobbling, > it pushes the bike across the lane. At first I thought it was just her > not being used to the bike, so I tried it myself, and sure enough, it > did it to me too. Our bikes are pretty much identical, the only real > differnce being hers is an '05, mine is an '04, she has less aggressive > tires, her fender, and that her bike has been lowered. Anything else I > should check out? We already had her bike's steering head tighted a bit > just to be sure, no luck with that. > Lowered with links? Bump up the preload. 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 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Have a burning question? Go to www.Answers.yahoo.com and get answers from real people who know.

[Douglas Bouley]

Since we cleaned the carb and threw in some Seafoam, I'm happy to say my KLR is no longer leaking in DC (Not only that, she was quite perky this morning even with the temp down in the 20s). doug in dc, who is heading of "behind the garage" himself

>> Bogdan, who thinks leaking is done mostly in Washington DC >> > > +1 > > Jud, who has two dogs, and thinks leaking is done mostly out behind the garage. > > >

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]