Wilsons Sandbox

Yep, I've been cutting my teeth, so to speak, on the rough and gnarly stuff of late as well. It has been a real blast at times, but I have deinfitely put a few dings in the beast, and with my mod list as long as it is, I don't like the thought of adding to it with bent or broken things...I pretty much trashed my highway pegs last time, although they probably did save my water pump... The KLR really can handle some crazy shite, if you're willing and able to take it there (and don't mind dropping it a couple times. What really made a difference for me was putting on some Cheng Shin 858s. They are a 50-50 style with some semi-aggessive knobs. So cheap that you can't really go wrong giving them a shot, IM. The difference off road from stockers was night and day. I remember having some serious pucker moments going down very steep loose & rocky inclines with the stock tires. I felt I could barely use the back brake at all without sliding all over the place, and not being able to brake had me moving too fast for comfort on such a big pig of a bike in that kind of terrain. It's not a very good feeling being on the very edge of losing control, especially when you're not a very experienced rider...and surrounded by cactus, sharp rocks, and steep drop-offs... Anyway, with the Shins I felt meuch more secure going down, and was also able to power my way up through stuff I never would have thought possible. Cornering on harpack/gravel was also worlds better than with stocker tires. The Shins do OK on pavement, but they are deinfintely not as planted as stock. The rear will lock up easy if you step on the pedal too hard coming up fast on a stale green light turning yellow at that perfect moment that tests your power braking skills (ask me how I know this And I'm defnitely NOT going to be pushing hard in the twisties with these treads. I have no desire to have a date with the guardrail (or oncoming traffic) anytime soon...But I have done straight away and light twisty highway speeds of 80-85 indicated, and they felt fine, if a little bit squirrely. Like all dual sport tires, it's a trade-off. Great off road, so-so on pavement. I think I will try a little more street oriented tire next time, maybe some MEFOs if I can get my hands on a pair. The off-roading stuff is great fun, but I am realizing that I'm just not into beating to crap out of the bike quite so much. I think I need a second bike for the gnarly dirt, maybe a DR...or XR...or a second off-road modified KLR...someday... Gabe A19

> > I also did my first off-road ride this past weekend. And I was > > surprised at > > how well the bike did with the OEM tires. But I wasnt in

sand....Just

> > dirt, > > gravel and mud. > > So what would you guys consider the OEM tires as far as % off

road / on

> > road...50/50? > > Im thinking I may want something a little more off-road > > orientated..But that > > isnt too bad for street riding. Any suggestions? > > > > Bill > > 05 KLR 650 > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > 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 > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Joe Delumen wrote:

>The instrument cluster on my 2000 KLR650 only lights the speedo and >temp gauge. The tach remains dark. The Clymer manual makes no >reference to the illumination of the instruments or how to (easily) >change the lightbulbs. Any suggestions? > >

Typical failure mode. Remove the plastic protector thingy behind the speedo. Once that is out, turn the handlebar to the left or right all the way (whichever way makes the back of the speedo cluster more visible) and you'll see wires going into little rubber grommets on the back. These little rubber grommets are actually the bulb sockets, they are long rubber things with several ridges on them to keep water out. The bulbs can be pulled out by pulling *firmly* on their little rubber "sockets", a pair of fine needle-nose pliars may help, if all else fails you can fish them out with a pointy pick (because they're so long, putting a little hole in the top with the pick won't hurt the water protection). The correct bulb size is available at the FAQ (see the bottom of this message). The bulb simply pulls out of the socket, then put a new one in. Or you can go to http://www.totallywiredcycles.com and get Tammy's LED dashboard kit, and never have to worry about dashboard bulbs burning out ever again. -E