About to buy a KLR650...

[bonehead]

When you get the Wing you can tow the Kawi on a trailer to the mountains and go dirt riding. Need any more urging, let me know. I can help anyone spend money. :lol:

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

The power isn't much different than the GZ.

That's somewhat of an illusion.

The "power" is more than twice the GZ but because of the off-road half of it's "dual purpose" it's geared really low in the lower gears.

It will pull stumps......and when broken in a little it will also throw you off the back and land on top of you REALLY quick .......if you get your weight back a bit and crank it on too hard.

[alanmcorcoran]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

That's somewhat of an illusion.

Agreed - I wasn't speaking from a technical perspective, but more addressing den's possible first time buyer's jitters. I suppose it's possible to do what you say, but the overall feel of the KLR power is that it is very mellow and is unlikely to be a source of anxiety for a newb. (The height of the bike would be a greater source of anxiety, I think.) In general, if the throttle is not abused, the big drawback to a powerful engine is the weight, not the ability to accelerate. The Strat has an enormously powerful engine, but, I couldn't do a wheelie on it in a million years. It will pull two people and all of their crap without complaint, at 80 if you like, but it never feels "too powerful." It is, however, difficult to back up, and, for me anyway, impossible to pick up. Which I think are more significant aspects to consider for potential buyers.

For all of you do it yourself service fans - I think the KLR uses mostly old school bike architecture and is probably one of the better bikes to service if you are a garage mechanic. Except, no center stand. Maybe you can get one as an add-on though.

[dhgeyer]

Congratulations on the new wheels. In response to previous comments:

1. The short windshield and lack of buffeting are not a coincidence. Big windshields like on the Strat create a lot of turbulence. Controlling it so that it doesn't shake your head around at highway speeds frequently takes some tweaking. Lowers help sometimes on cruisers, as do various configurations of vents in the shield to let some air up behind it. There are some other tricks that can be played if it's a problem. On my R1200R, when I installed the big C-Bailey windshield, I had to make some air blockers from an old inner tube. The buffeting on my head was terrible at highway speeds. The blockers solved the problem.

A pretty modest windshield will keep the pressure off your chest without causing the buffeting. Whatever minor buffeting there is will be lower, like on your chest or shoulders where you don't notice it so much. The trade off is that your helmet and upper body are full in the wind. You will have to wear earplugs at highway speeds if you value your hearing. And you do get more of the weather, so you need better gear. In the Summer heat, I prefer less windshield. I have two windshields for the R1200R, which fit on the same mount, so it's four screws to swap them - about 3 minutes. The little one is only about 10" tall, starting at the headlight. The big one is better if it's cool or wet, or if I want to wear a 3/4 helmet, as there is little air movement behind it, and it's quiet. But the little one is way better in the Summer.

2. Depending on your body, and what specific parts limit your endurance, you may be surprised to find that you can actually ride the KLR longer than the Strat. In my case I can't ride any cruiser for long distances comfortably. I need my feet under me, and a little weight on the handlebars. Other people don't have this experience. I have found that the correct basic riding position is a lot more important than a good seat. A sore butt I can stand, and it doesn't build up. After a night's rest, it's reset, and I start the day fresh. If the riding position is wrong I get muscle aches that do accumulate day after day.

3. A single cylinder bike simplifies doing your own maintenance enormously. Less valves, less valve covers (unless the multi is an inline), and no carb/throttle body sync.

4. Getting on and off the high seat, you just have to get used to. Tendons will stretch, muscles will adapt, you will learn technique. It will become a not-problem very quickly. Resist the temptation to mount standing on the peg, as this will likely kill a sidestand fairly quickly. On the Beemer, I've found that it helps to turn the handlebars to the right so that I can position my body farther forward before mounting.

5. Some people camp/tour on motorcycles with almost no luggage. They just pile everything on the seat or luggage rack, and tie or bungee it all down. Not saying I recommend this, but people do it. I like all the lockable luggage on the Beemers, as I can walk away from the bike and not worry about losing my stuff.

6. If that dealer let the bike on the road with 5 pounds of air in the tires, I would avoid ever letting them do service on the bike. That's flat out negligence, and you are lucky it didn't cause serious problems. If you have a way to air your tires back up, letting some pressure out before riding off road is common practice. Not sure about the exact pressures, but you can ask people who ride off road a lot.

Since the KLR is one bike I've never ridden, I'd be quite interested in your impressions after you do a trip or two.

[alanmcorcoran]

Dh - wouldn't qualify it as a trip per se but I did do a 70 miler with some dirt today. No luggage yet so I carried my water and survival gear in a small backpack. I'll post some notes and pictures in the next few replies...

[Water Warrior 2]

Alan, once you get the bags etc you will have someplace to carry a small air pump. Air down for gravel and dirt, air up for asphalt. A small electric air pump and a waterproof plugin is all you need. And of course a reliable pressure gauge that you can trust with your life.

[alanmcorcoran]

One thing that occurred to me as I headed out today... I don't know shit about riding in dirt. Just kind of improvised today using what I could remember from mountain bikes, street techniques and common sense. It's been raining out here for three days so conditions were a little muddy which added to the degree of difficulty. Probably gonna have to read up on dirt ridin'. On the dirt (fire road with gravel, washouts, humps and sand) I kept it in first or second, between 5 and 15 mph. Slid around a bit but kept the wheels on the dirt and my ass on the seat - so I'll call that a win. Have to research best braking technique to keep the brakes and/or engine from overheating on the way down. Settled for a controlled slide today. Not sure I'd want to tackle twenty miles of bad dirt - it's taxing on an old man...

[burkbuilds]

Hey Alan, nice bike and it looks like you aren't wasting any time getting out and trying out the off road abilities of the new bike. Congratulations, hope you continue to enjoy it.

[Water Warrior 2]

Alan, when you get off-road next time and the going gets rough try standing on the pegs and gripping the tank with your legs. Practice on a smooth surface first. It's fun, it's better for control and a smoother ride overall. You will get the hang of it soon enough.

[alanmcorcoran]

E

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

Alan, when you get off-road next time and the going gets rough try standing on the pegs

This is something I borrowed from my bicycle days. Also the 2"x4" exercise in the MSF course (not sure if this is universal but we road over obstacles in ours while on the pegs...) I didn't have front or rear shocks on my early edition (Gary Fisher) "mountain bike" so my knees were my shocks. (One reason I haven't mountain biked in years.)

I found that picking the "line" on the dirt is requires much greater attention and is not unlike skiing moguls/trees. You have to learn to read the little mini-road topography to make sure that your physics forces conspire to keep the bike upright. I have a certain amount of intuition for this, having ridden mountain bikes on dirt for a brief period but, no formal training. I found the mogul technique (skirting the humps, avoiding the troughs) to be somewhat applicable. Also, don't have the bike leaned over in soft stuff - look for hard pack if you need to lean it over, go straight and plow through soft stuff - keep up a steady but manageable speed - be careful about overheating the discs (there's only one disc on the front - but the back also is a disc and it grabs a lot better than the Geezer drum.) It is generally easier to go up than come down. I guess I'll just have to practice more - but it's almost more work than I'm interested in. I am hoping when I go out camping, etc. the roads are less challenging, but, this one really didn't look that bad even though each mile was a trial.

If anybody knows a good book on dirt riding techniques for dual sport riders, please share.