turn signal failure

[dnmwilhite@earthlink.net]

Has anyone measured the center to center hole distance on the 1.5" lowering links? How about the shortened side stand? I am looking to make a set out of aluminum. I have taken some rough measurements, and it looks like about 5.5" would drop it about 1.5". I appreciate any info. Thanks

[Andrus Chesley]

Andrus said: When installing the lowering links you are gonna run into a few other problems this will cause. Rear spring too weak and rear inner fender hitting the tire. So Now you have to change to a stronger rear spring ( not a bad Idea andway ) and chop some fender off and mount you're licience plate just under the tail light. My KLR has been lowered and I don't have any problems with fenders or shocks. New lowering links with stock spring, push the forks up in the tubes about 1.5 inches, ride. The links only drop the bike less than 2 inches so you shouldn't have any problems. Am I missing something here? Ronnie Lyons Well , I don't know. I weight 230 lbs. and hit bumps rather hard even at 60 years old. I chewed the bottom of the fender up a bit with the spring at the highest setting. Probably if you either drove slow over sharp bumps, didn't jump, don't be fat like me , etc ::: you probably would not need all this extra stuff. Andy Louisiana

[Lenny Sambotz]

do 1 inch low links really only lower 1 inch? I have a 29 inch inseam and I was told that with 1 inch links I would be able to put my heals on the ground (I have an 07). But right now, I have not installed them and my heals are more than 3 inches off the ground. Should I exchange my 1 inch links for longer ones? [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Richard Bessey]

Lenny, I would not go any more then the one inch lowering if you plan to do any offroading. I tried 3 inch lowering, WAY too much. I put the stock ones back one. Regards, Richard Bessey Lenny Sambotz wrote:

> > > do 1 inch low links really only lower 1 inch? > > I have a 29 inch inseam and I was told that with 1 inch links I would > be able to put my heals on the ground (I have an 07). But right now, I > have not installed them and my heals are more than 3 inches off the > ground. Should I exchange my 1 inch links for longer ones? > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > >

[Rick]

If you want to flat foot, 1 inch links won't do for you. If you want to spend more time riding more gnarly stuff, 1 inch will be ok. No matter what, with your short inseam, your KLR will be top heavy and hard to control when it starts going over.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Richard Bessey wrote: > > Lenny, > I would not go any more then the one inch lowering if you plan to do any > offroading. I tried 3 inch lowering, WAY too much. I put the stock ones > back one. > > Regards, > > Richard Bessey > > Lenny Sambotz wrote: > > > > > > do 1 inch low links really only lower 1 inch? > > > > I have a 29 inch inseam and I was told that with 1 inch links I would > > be able to put my heals on the ground (I have an 07). But right now, I > > have not installed them and my heals are more than 3 inches off the > > ground. Should I exchange my 1 inch links for longer ones? > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > >

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Lenny Sambotz wrote:

> > > do 1 inch low links really only lower 1 inch? > > I have a 29 inch inseam and I was told that with 1 inch links I would be able to put my

heals on the ground (I have an 07). But right now, I have not installed them and my heals are more than 3 inches off the ground. Should I exchange my 1 inch links for longer ones?

> >

If your heels are 3" off the ground, you are getting both toes down. If you just put one foot down, you can flat-foot (at least I can with my 28" inseam). If you are not comfortable with that, a 1-inch link will bring your heels more than an inch closer, unless you increase your preload to maintain the desired sag. Why not try the 1-inchers to see how you like them. The swap is easy to do and takes about 10 minutes.

[revmaaatin]

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

> > If you want to flat foot, 1 inch links won't do for you. If you want > to spend more time riding more gnarly stuff, 1 inch will be ok. No > matter what, with your short inseam, your KLR will be top heavy and > hard to control when it starts going over. >

And to build on what Rick has just said, (experience built with tears) 1. When the bike is going over--get out from under it! QUICK! 1.1 Don't park a KLR near a plate glass window. 2. Do not hang on to the handle bars when it goes through 89degrees Angle of bank. 3. Riding in Difficult places by yourself could hurt real bad--when you fail to do #1. 4. Ride with stout young men that can pick your bike up when you have mutilated yourself in remote places. revmaaatin.

[smthng else]

On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 7:01 PM, Lenny Sambotz wrote:

> I have a 29 inch inseam and I was told that with 1 inch links I would be able > to put my heals on the ground (I have an 07).

One thing I haven't seen others mention yet is that there's not really a need to get your heels down. I always try to ensure I can get the balls of my feel solidly on the ground. That gives enough leverage to be able to back the bike in/out of parking spots, enables me to safely hold the bike up while a passenger mounts/dismounts, and gives me a little bit of a safety zone if I land a foot in smthng slippery at a stop light. Being able to get both heels down won't really help you manage the bike any better. The KLR has such a high seat height that lowering it enough to "flat foot" it would basically turn it into a low rider and I imagine the handling would be terrible. My recommendation... Use the one inch links (you'll probably have to cut or change the kickstand to match) and see how it is. If you're still really uncomfortable with it, start working on a dished out seat next... that will lower you without affecting the bike handling any more. There are custom seats available (I know Corbin has a lowered seat), or if you're brave or have a spare seat, just start cutting some foam out to narrow and lower it. --Jonathan "smthng" Kalmes Springfield, VA 2005 Yamaha FJR1300ABS - "Blue Bayou" 2006 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon - "Teflon" 2008 Kawasaki KLR 650 - It's here, but it hasn't earned a name yet. http://smthng.info "If I'd known it was harmless, I would have killed it myself."

[Bogdan Swider]

Rick's post below somehow went to me and not to the list. I'll post it as I've had similar experiences in similar places. I agree with his conclusion. This is always one of my favorite topics as I and my wife are very experienced with our lowered KLRS. Between us we have 47,000 miles in the last 3 years with 26,000 miles being 6 foreign countries north and south of the United States. We are inseam challenged. We do some offroad riding with the KLR's. We are former offroad only dirt bike riders with lots and lots of experience in the mountains of Colorado and the deserts of Utah, mainly around Moab. We know how much fun a light offroad 200cc motorcycle is. Now that we have KLR's we also know how much work and not fun the these bikes are offroad in some of these same situations. KLR's are pigs. My favorite saying "KLR's fly like and angel and land like a tank". That said, we use our bikes more for touring and not offroading. We certainly do offroad 4 wheel drive roads, such as this past weekend. We traveled over 11,000' Hagerman pass ( a dirt, somewhat rough road) in Colorado from Basalt to Leadville and back over the paved 12,000' road into Aspen and home. A casual 180 mile day. We also put on 13 tooth front sprockets which really helps the KLR's climb without having to keep the rpm's high. When we go south of the border, we are fully loaded for 3 month trips. In our situation, I would disagree that the balls of the feet are enough to stabilize the bikes. Our bikes are very heavy and the more stability we can get holding them up the better. My wife has bigger balls than most men as she's been south of the border on her KLR for 3 months. She is short and little. Giving her all the stability she wants is paramount to keeping her happy on adventures like this. You guys who ride in north America locally or nationally, may not be traveling as heavy as we are. So congratulations on riding the non lowered KLR's. For us, we needed step ladders to get on our bikes when we first got them.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "smthng else" wrote: > > On Mon, Aug 25, 2008 at 7:01 PM, Lenny Sambotz wrote: > > I have a 29 inch inseam and I was told that with 1 inch links I would be able > > to put my heals on the ground (I have an 07). > > One thing I haven't seen others mention yet is that there's not really > a need to get your heels down. I always try to ensure I can get the > balls of my feel solidly on the ground. That gives enough leverage to > be able to back the bike in/out of parking spots, enables me to safely > hold the bike up while a passenger mounts/dismounts, and gives me a > little bit of a safety zone if I land a foot in smthng slippery at a > stop light. Being able to get both heels down won't really help you > manage the bike any better. > > The KLR has such a high seat height that lowering it enough to "flat > foot" it would basically turn it into a low rider and I imagine the > handling would be terrible. > > My recommendation... Use the one inch links (you'll probably have to > cut or change the kickstand to match) and see how it is. If you're > still really uncomfortable with it, start working on a dished out seat > next... that will lower you without affecting the bike handling any > more. There are custom seats available (I know Corbin has a lowered > seat), or if you're brave or have a spare seat, just start cutting > some foam out to narrow and lower it. > > --Jonathan "smthng" Kalmes > Springfield, VA > 2005 Yamaha FJR1300ABS - "Blue Bayou" > 2006 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon - "Teflon" > 2008 Kawasaki KLR 650 - It's here, but it hasn't earned a name yet. > http://smthng.info > > "If I'd known it was harmless, I would have killed it myself." > ------ End of Forwarded Message

[sylvain gilbert]

From experience, specially if you are going to ride off road, I would strongly recommend a lower seat instead of compromizing the mortorcycle ground clearance and handling. I tried tried them both and teh lower seat is the way to go ! Sylvain 1972 Honda SL70 1976 Honda XL100 1977 Can-Am 175 Qualifier 1985 Honda CT70 2000 Suzuki Hayabusa Turbo 2008 Kawasaki KLR 650 ( Blue)

--- On Tue, 8/26/08, Jud Jones wrote: From: Jud Jones Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: lower links To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Received: Tuesday, August 26, 2008, 3:07 AM --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com, Lenny Sambotz wrote: > > > do 1 inch low links really only lower 1 inch? > > I have a 29 inch inseam and I was told that with 1 inch links I would be able to put my heals on the ground (I have an 07). But right now, I have not installed them and my heals are more than 3 inches off the ground. Should I exchange my 1 inch links for longer ones? > > If your heels are 3" off the ground, you are getting both toes down. If you just put one foot down, you can flat-foot (at least I can with my 28" inseam). If you are not comfortable with that, a 1-inch link will bring your heels more than an inch closer, unless you increase your preload to maintain the desired sag. Why not try the 1-inchers to see how you like them. The swap is easy to do and takes about 10 minutes. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]