new tires

[Michael Hightower]

>>VW's aren't much different. Put one next to a Honda and you'll see what

engineering excellence is all about. I'm not a big Honda bike fan but their cars are great. True. Though, I'm personally not a fan of Honda's regular cars, their engines are some of the best. I'd put any Honda engine up against any Tadek Marek or Dallara design anyday. Back to KLRs: What's the general consensus on the quality of Kawasaki's engineering? - Mike

[Chris Shepard]

First, to the toyota comment earlier, I could not agree more with how reliable their vehicles are. I am an original owner of a '98 toyota 4runner with 320,000 miles on it. I did blow a motor at 298,000 but found a used one from japan for $1,800. -----Original Message-----

>From: Mike Peplinski >Sent: Aug 4, 2006 10:55 AM >To: mike@..., DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com >Subject: RE: [DSN_KLR650] Jap Crap vs Harley blow up > >VW's aren't much different. Put one next to a Honda and you'll see what >engineering excellence is all about. I'm not a big Honda bike fan but their >cars are great. > > >>From: "Michael Hightower" >>To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> >>Subject: RE: [DSN_KLR650] Jap Crap vs Harley blow up >>Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 11:36:12 -0500 >> >> >> >> >>You know Don, the Jeep guys have a saying "its a Jeep thing" meaning if >>you have to explain they won't get it anyway. Nuf said.> >>I've theorized that there are three types of motorcycle/car buyers: >> >>1. Social buyers >>2. Personal buyers >>3. Needs-based buyers >> >>The Needs-based buyers simply buy cars (usually) that get them from point A >>to B and they don't really care about what they get. These folks account >>for the vast majority of car purchases. >> >>Personal buyers are dudes that I like to think I'm a part of. They get >>their cars or motorcycles for personal reasons. Usually, quality and >>performance are the main selling points. We define "gotta have it" on our >>own terms and purchase what we want because it fits our ideas of what's >>right. >> >>Social buyers, on the other hand, are less concerned about the actual >>vehicle and are more concerned about what people will think about them. >>Harley owners tend to fit squarely in this category. The bike is far less >>important to them than the -image- of the bike, especially the perceived >>image other people have of them. It doesn't matter that they usually >>require a rebuild after, oh, two miles. Sadly, BMW owners also fit this >>group. Though Bimmers are some of the best handling and performing cars >>around, rarely do folks buy them because of that. They buy them because of >>the supposed image that BMWs project. An image I commonly refer to as >>"being a dick." It's a shame, because BMWs are pretty terrific (though of >>sub-par quality). >> >>I assume you all know that Hog is shorthand for "Maintenance Hog". >> >>While I'm at it: 90% of all Harleys are still on the road. ... The other >>10% made it home. >> >> >>- Mike >> >> >> >> >>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 >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > >

[Matt Knowles]

On Aug 4, 2006, at 10:46 AM, Lloyd Rauschkolb wrote:

> Just think what it would be like if we all had to > buy the same type of bike or car. > > Wonder where we could have a national rally for such > a group? >

Russia? Matt Knowles - Ferndale, CA - http://www.knowlesville.com/matt/motorcycles '99 Sprint ST - for going fast and far (2CZUSA) '01 KLR650 (A15) - for exploring the North Coast backroads '97 KLX300 & '01 Lakota - for playing in the dirt '79 KZ400 - just because it was the first vehicle I ever owned

[Mike Peplinski]

General comment from non-engineer. Honda likes high tech "something new, something different". Look at their approach to a super-tourer, the Gold Wing. Solid engineering with few mistakes. Good design. Committed to doing things their way and not listening to the demands of the market. Fortunately they are usually right. Suzuki and Yamaha make solid designs and seem to be perpetually dukin git out on the race track. Solid machinery, not cutting edge but very solid. Their version of a super tourer is just take a street bike and put a fairing on it. Good stuff though. Kawasaki seems to be the "in the weeds" company. They let someone else prove something then do it better or cheaper. I can't think of anything Kawasaki pioneered from a design standpoint. Kawa finds something good and sticks with it for a very long time. Their lineup has the KLR, the Concours and the 1200 street bike they have been making for 20 years, I can't keep the XYZ's's straight any more. All are 80's designs, proven hardware, rock solid, reliable, repairable and so on. And cheap. The above mentioned bikes are some of the best values out there in motorcycledom. Now the ZX1400 is something else but it isn't really anything new, just a modification of a very good design. Thats my OPINION! How do they compare? I don't think there is a bad one out there.

>From: "Michael Hightower" >To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> >Subject: RE: [DSN_KLR650] Jap Crap vs Harley blow up >Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 13:05:58 -0500 > > > > >>VW's aren't much different. Put one next to a Honda and you'll see what >engineering excellence is all about. I'm not a big Honda bike fan but their >cars are great. > >True. Though, I'm personally not a fan of Honda's regular cars, their >engines are some of the best. I'd put any Honda engine up against any >Tadek >Marek or Dallara design anyday. > >Back to KLRs: What's the general consensus on the quality of Kawasaki's >engineering? > >- Mike > > > > >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 > > > > > > >

[Matt Knowles]

On Aug 4, 2006, at 1:17 PM, Mike Peplinski wrote:

> I can't think of anything Kawasaki pioneered from a > design standpoint.

If you go back in history hardly anything is new, as an example I've seen center hub steering in bikes before 1910. But didn't Kawasaki start the whole one shock is better than two with the GPZ550? I'm sure I'm wrong and that others will correct me. Matt Knowles - Ferndale, CA - http://www.knowlesville.com/matt/motorcycles '99 Sprint ST - for going fast and far (2CZUSA) '01 KLR650 (A15) - for exploring the North Coast backroads '97 KLX300 & '01 Lakota - for playing in the dirt '79 KZ400 - just because it was the first vehicle I ever owned

[Ronald Criswell]

I have an Italian Stallion brother-in-law that drives a Porsche which is the same scenario. He couldn't drive it as fast as it should go because he can't see and can't drive. He couldn't began to work on it if his life depended on it. I am just waiting to catch him on a windey road with me in my Miata. Thing about loud mouthed brother-in- laws is .......... you have to tolerate their BS for peace in the family. Criswell

On Aug 4, 2006, at 10:55 AM, Don S wrote: > I have a brother-in-law wannabe bad-boy biker. You know, the > typical Harley riding type. All show - no go, ass-less chap > wearing, two foot long wallet, six foot dog chain attached to it, > rottweiler owner kind of guy. I generally avoid associating with > him but being married to a family member, sometimes I have to bite > the bullet and bear his presence. When I bought the KLR, his > response was why'd ya buy that Jap crap? I just laughed at him and > advised him that if he was a little brighter, I'd try to explain it > to him. > > So, now comes to good part. I had been away at camp for five days. > In the interim Joe wannabe blew up the engine on his hog. I found > out by way of family connections. I laughed out loud when I heard > about it. Just goes to show, anything can go wrong with any > machine. It's the loud mouth, simple minded types that tend to > denigrate everything not Harley who wear the most egg on their > faces when their garage queens crap out. > > I'll have to cruise by his place on the KLR for a good look. On the > other hand, maybe not. > > > Don > > > > > --------------------------------- > How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger s low PC-to-Phone > call rates. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Mike Frey]

>> I can't think of anything Kawasaki pioneered from a >> design standpoint.

..... Jet Ski

>> But didn't Kawasaki >> start the whole one shock is better than two with the GPZ550?

......Yamaha YZ, 1975 (first seen in 1973) I missed out on whenever the term "Dual Sport" was first used sometime during my 15+ year non-riding hiatus. In the mid 70s, all Yamaha DTs, Kawasaki F-xx, Suzuki TS, and Honda XLs were called "Enduro Bikes" In Pennsylvania, in the late 1970s, it was easy to get a true enduro bike street legal. You needed a speedometer, head and tail light, one mirror and a horn. We used a "Bozo the clown" squeeze bulb horn and a clamp on mirror, which promptly came off as soon as the plate and inspection sticker were on. If the bike came with turn signals, they had to be on and working, but they were also removed promptly. My Ossa 250 Pioneer and KTM Mint 400 were street legal. It's a bit tougher these days, but there are a few street legal KLX-300s and WR-450s around. I've been considering the WR for myself.

[Michael Silverstein]

Yamaha introduced the the "one shock is better than two" (monoshock) idea to modern motorcycling in its motocross bikes in the mid-70's, although this design has been seen from time to time on bikes since the 30's. Mike A18 KLR650 tires page: [www.standoutnet.com/extras/mike/motorcy ... r650/tires] -----Original Message----- From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Matt Knowles Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 4:36 PM To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Jap Crap vs Harley blow up

On Aug 4, 2006, at 1:17 PM, Mike Peplinski wrote: > I can't think of anything Kawasaki pioneered from a > design standpoint. If you go back in history hardly anything is new, as an example I've seen center hub steering in bikes before 1910. But didn't Kawasaki start the whole one shock is better than two with the GPZ550? I'm sure I'm wrong and that others will correct me. Matt Knowles - Ferndale, CA - HYPERLINK "http://www.knowlesville.com/matt/motorcycles"http://www.knowlesv-ille.c om/-matt/motorcycles '99 Sprint ST - for going fast and far (2CZUSA) '01 KLR650 (A15) - for exploring the North Coast backroads '97 KLX300 & '01 Lakota - for playing in the dirt '79 KZ400 - just because it was the first vehicle I ever owned -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.5/407 - Release Date: 8/3/2006 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.5/407 - Release Date: 8/3/2006 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[stevedyer@cox.net]

Next time he mouths off at the family gathering, invite him out to the racetrace for a few timed laps. You know you're going to beat him, but having him spin it off the track a few times may be better for your relationship with the fam than letting him roll it off into a canyon trying to keep up with you in the twisties. Or maybe not... Steve ---- Ronald Criswell wrote: I have an Italian Stallion brother-in-law that drives a Porsche which is the same scenario. He couldn't drive it as fast as it should go because he can't see and can't drive. He couldn't began to work on it if his life depended on it. I am just waiting to catch him on a windey road with me in my Miata. Thing about loud mouthed brother-in- laws is .......... you have to tolerate their BS for peace in the family. Criswell

On Aug 4, 2006, at 10:55 AM, Don S wrote:

[Chris Shepard]

The Kawasaki Jet Ski. The Mule. The Vulcan 2000 with the largest motor ever installed in a production motorcycle with two coffee can size pistons that produce more compression then the ZX10R motor. It is a phenomenal bike as I rode one for 6 months. A quote from a friend of mine regarding the torque and pick up of that motor was like giving an addict a crack pipe. Before that, they came out with the 1600 cc Mean Streak which was a best in class cruiser. The ZXR's are re-engineered every year to remain competitive. The ZX10R and ZX14R are incredible bikes. The KX450F this year, albeit a late entry to the big bore 4 stroke motox for kawi, was an awesome first year entry into this class. They had to de-tune the Bike so Bubba could get better starts. There was also the 700 cc Prarie quad and then the 750 Brute Force. What about the 700 KFX with the automatic transmission that made its debut at an East Coast GNCC that was loved for its handling and power. Mike Pep's examples of the KLR, Concours, etc was correct as old models that have not been improved in a long time. That police cruiser bike was another one. However, their product set continues to improve. There should be some new releases at the dealer show that will be coming up soon. JMHO, Chris -----Original Message-----

>From: Matt Knowles >Sent: Aug 4, 2006 4:35 PM >To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com >Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Jap Crap vs Harley blow up > > >On Aug 4, 2006, at 1:17 PM, Mike Peplinski wrote: > >> I can't think of anything Kawasaki pioneered from a >> design standpoint. > >If you go back in history hardly anything is new, as an example I've >seen center hub steering in bikes before 1910. But didn't Kawasaki >start the whole one shock is better than two with the GPZ550? > >I'm sure I'm wrong and that others will correct me. > >Matt Knowles - Ferndale, CA - >http://www.knowlesville.com/matt/motorcycles > '99 Sprint ST - for going fast and far (2CZUSA) > '01 KLR650 (A15) - for exploring the North Coast backroads > '97 KLX300 & '01 Lakota - for playing in the dirt > '79 KZ400 - just because it was the first vehicle I ever owned >