faq sorry for this

[Rich A. Desrosier]

After following the instructions in the manual I believe my Igniter is bad is there a substitute part or system or do you have to go with the stock part for over $290????? Thanks Rich 1995 KLR 650 Just bought 2 weeks ago Part #21119-1272

[Eric L. Green]

On Mon, 6 Sep 2004, Mike Peplinski wrote:

> not to mentio the affordable price and stong backing. I've tried the off > road thing and fell on my ass. It simiply slid out from under me on the > grass. -350 pounds is a lot of weight when you are trying to crawl out from > under it.

You're supposed to be on TOP of the bike, not under it . If you've done a lot of dirt (whether motorized or not), you become good at bailing when you lose it. I usually end up on the side of the bike opposite the side that it fell. The only time I've ever ended up with my mountain bike on top of me is when the #$%#$ quick disconnects on my pedals didn't disconnect. My KLR has no such issues .

> Don't confuse the KLR with a dirt bike

True enough. I flogged my KLR on about 50 miles of what was sometimes only barely better than a goat trail this weekend, and my impression: boy, it takes WORK to flog a KLR through something like that! 350+ pounds is just too darned *heavy* to make dirt the KLR's natural domain. On the other hand, the KLR *will* do it. Just don't expect to go as fast as you would on a "real" dirt bike, expect the rear end to be a bit squirrely compared to what you'd get with real dirt tires (unless you go with dot-knobbies that are barely street legal and barely usable on the street) and if you have the stock gearing, expect to slip the clutch a bit on some of the hairier rock-strewn slopes where picking your line isn't easily done at a speed that works well with the stock gearing. But it'll do it.

> but on the road and gravel, > it is absolutely confidence inspiring. It corners great, is tossable. Winds > are a bitch but you get used to it. Outstanding fuel economy. If that > sounds like your needs go for it. If smoothness is a primary concern, maybe > a multi cylinder bike is for you. Personally, I love the thumper.

Well, this weekend I drove 300 miles on the freeway, 200 miles on twistly two-lane roads, and 50 miles on hairy gravel roads and "goat paths", and did it all in relative comfort. Sure, there are bikes more comfortable in each scenario -- a touring bike would have made the freeway miles effortless, a sport bike would have made the twisties even more of a joy than they were on the KLR (but the KLR is no slacker on the twisties), and a "real" dirt bike would have done the dirt miles with much less effort than the KLR, but name me one other bike in the world that can do all of this without punishing you. Waiting.... still waiting... hmm.... -E