Adios amigos…
Hi folks sorry to say I just sold my KLR. A change in my work situation made it clear I needed the money more than I needed a motorcycle this summer. I’ve had lots of good times on KLRs the last 20yrs or so, but I suspect when I get another moto it will be something different. It’s time for something fresh. 🙂
Thanks for reading. I’ll leave this blog up in case it’s useful to folks farkling their KLRs.
I’ve seen folks carry their surfboards on their motos, but I’ve never seen anyone surf their moto! A bit light on the actual wave riding and probably costs you a new moto every session from salt water damage, but cool as a stunt nevertheless. 🙂
Icon in red…
My local Ducati dealer finally got their first few Ducati Scramblers in so I went down to test sit on them. The fit wasn’t as small as I feared it might be. I think with a bit of work to the seat foam to raise the riding position I could be comfortable on one of these.
Icon in yellow…
They only had the Icon model in stock and no test rides yet so the jury is still out on the important details, but the fit and finish is what you’d expect from a $9K bike. It feels quite light and nimble unlike the Triumph Scrambler.
Urban Enduro…
If I were to spend any money on one of these bikes it would be on the Urban Enduro model. So far those haven’t shown up at any North American dealers. I guess my bank account is still safe for a while. 😉
Brand new out of the box from OZ…
I just rec’d a 8.2 gal Safari Tank for my 2010 KLR650 as part of an overhaul I’m planning. Since it’s taking a while longer to get everything together for this project and fit the wrenching work into my schedule I’ll post about the major components I’m adding to the bike to fill the dead air on this blog.
Safari Tank Specs
I ordered this tank from Safari Tanks USA. They took my money and dropped shipped the tank from Australia. From payment to receiving the tank was ~6 weeks. Initially getting updates on my order was a bit slow, but after I called and followed up with some emails they took care of me. I wouldn’t hesitate to order another tank from them.
The tank arrived in Canada from OZ with no taxes or duty owing. It just was delivered by Canada Post to my office like a domestic parcel.
The tank is very large and feels quite robust. All the parts and instructions seem to be included although I have to confirm this when I do the install.
Two issues with this tank you should be aware of:
The AIS system is not required and removing it is fairly simple, but it’s an extra step you need to do before you install the tank.
The placement of the petcocks is driven by the location of the carb vs. the tank. Safari says they’ve tested it and the normal riding motion of the bike sloshes fuel around and gets the gas to the carb. I’ll have to test that out and see how well it works.
I’ll take a picture of all the parts and add it to this post when I am doing the install. I may not get to it for a couple weeks and I don’t want to misplace anything in the meantime.
Checkout a KLR650 riding real singletrack! 🙂
Good thing I don’t have $3K burning a hole in my pocket or I’d be GromADVenturing! 😉
Busted BMW gets shipped home…
Nice to see a KLR rider helping out another motorcyclist in a crisis. 🙂
http://kodyrossspencer.blogspot.ca/2015/03/trans-labrador-highway-part-3.html
Britania Composites Lynx R on a BMW…
I’ve decided to upgrade the KLR650 a little. I’m getting a Britania Composites Lynx R fairing like the one shown above.
Safari Tank…
I’ll be replacing the stock tank with a 31L Safari Tank.
Trail Tech Vapor Dash…
The stock instrument cluster will be replaced by a Trail Tech Vapor dash.
Current configuration…
Once I get the new parts installed I’ll be selling all the bits that come off for 50% of their cost:
Posted this video just for the first 14 seconds of moto + mountain bike rack porn. I’m getting one of these puppies installed on my KLR650 in 2015 to expand its adventure hauling capabilities. 🙂
Off to a business meeting…
I ride my KLR for work whenever I can. It’s often a bit of a pain to show up at a business meeting looking professional when using the bike. Wearing heavy duty pants and boots limits my clothing options without doing a full change at my destination – which is too much hassle to consider. Carrying my computer and paperwork is less elegant on the bike than if I drove my truck and hauled it all in a leather briefcase. Plus I have to deal with my helmet and riding jacket at the meeting which is cumbersome.
So why bother when I have a truck I could use?
I spend enough time working that it only makes sense to use that time to do things I enjoy as much as possible. Getting in a few extra bike rides a week while getting paid to do things at work is a win-win situation. Not to mention it’s easier to find bike parking and cheaper to operate the KLR.
And that’s the bottomline – every KLR ride I can fit into my week is a bonus so I’m going to do it whenever I can.
Not good!
In all my years of riding a KLR I’ve never had an oil leak or an oil burning issue. So when I started to notice my oil level dropping in the sight glass I was not happy. Initially I feared the worst – my bike was an oil burner – which has no easy or cheap fix. Then I noticed some oil on the gravel where I park my bike. I wasn’t sure if it was from the last oil change or if it was a leak so I threw something under the bike to catch any drops and confirmed the bike was leaking quite a bit of oil.
The stock plug…
I had replaced the stock oil plug with a magnetic unit soon after buying the bike. I tried simply tightening the magnetic plug a bit, but while the leak slowed it didn’t stop. So advice from ADVrider.com told me the crush washer was likely toast. I decided to swap the stock plug back in for now and replace the crush washer on the magnetic plug at my leisure.
No more leak!
The stock plug fixed the oil leak. I’ll buy a new crush washer and try the magnetic plug again when I do my next oil change. I’ve got a magnet in my oil filter anyways so having a magnetic oil plug isn’t really necessary.
Use the same tools on the road and at home…
The only way you can be sure you’ll have the tools you need on the road is to use your bike’s tool kit at home. I know that’s a pain because the travelling tools are all nicely bundled up and you’ve got more tools at home that are easier to get to.
Don’t use ’em!
Break out the on bike tool kit and use it for every repair you would want to be able to handle on the road. If you are missing something or your puny wrench won’t break a bolt loose better to find out at home than 50 miles from nowhere.
In the desert…
I’m always looking for the next bike even when there is no next bike coming! 😉 This Husqvarna TR650 Terra looks like a great update on the KLR. I love the video below – sad, but true that’s how my KLR gets ridden. I’m not some hot shot MXer.
There is a dealer up island from me so I may just have to saddle up the KLR and check it out!
In the forest…
I love that orange...
I spotted this bike when I was in Pasadena visiting friends recently. It made me miss my KLR a lot and wish I had a bike to ride down in sunny California.
KLX650 Rally Bike...
I can’t speak Spanish well enough to fully understand this video, but an inmate on ADVrider translated some of the key details and you don’t need to understand Spanish to enjoy the bike in action…=-)
Ortlieb Messenger Bag Pro...
I posted a 3 month review of the Ortlieb Messenger Bag Pro over on my bicycle blog. You can read it by clicking on the image above. I wanted to add a bit of info here for any dualsport motorcyclists looking for a high quality waterproof backpack to wear while riding. This 30L [8 gal] capacity bag is very tough, 100% waterproof and fit very well. It was designed for professional bicycle couriers, but is ideal for riding your KLR650 or other dualsport. It carries enough to be useful without allowing you to go nuts and overload it. The waterproof body means your gear stays dry no matter how hard it rains or if you fall off into a stream!
This bag is a bit big for riding my bicycles so I only take it about 25% of the time for those missions, but when I’m riding my KLR this bag is the perfect size for running errands around town and I like not leaving anything attached to my bike. I just jump off and take care of business.
Ortlieb makes a smaller waterproof backpack called the Velocity which I’ve been using for 3yrs – click on the image above for details. I love it on my bicycles and when walking because it holds enough to be useful, but not too much. It’s nice to be able to throw a laptop into these bags and not worry it will get wet when it’s pouring rain out.
The shoulder straps fit well and are very comfortable. The bottom of the bag sits on the seat behind me when I ride my KLR so I don’t have to carry the weight of the bag on my shoulders while I ride. Ventilation is good, but I don’t live somewhere that gets crazy hot in the summer. I’ve used other Ortlieb saddle bags made from the same tough material on offroad bike tours and crashed at 30kph with only scuffs on my bags to show for it.
Bajaworx Dakar windshield...
The KLR650 has a fairly useless mid-height windshield. Too low to provide good protection and too high to prevent buffeting at the helmet for most riders.
Side view...
My KLR will be on the highway a lot so I wanted something taller than the stock windshield and heard good things about the Bajaworx Dakar windshield. I’ve got one on the way so I’ll report how well it works after I’ve used it a bit.
Front view...
You can see the stock KLR650 windshield below for a comparison.
Stock windshield...
The KLR650 Blog 