Wilsons Sandbox

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, eddie mauri wrote:

> Great Question. I found on the web an upholstery shop in KC that

will recover the stock seat and install a gel pad. Only about $150. Takes about 3 wks. I have the Suzuki gel seat (made by Travelcade) for my V-Strom. My thought on it: The gel was hard as a rock when I got the seat. Harder than the Corbin on my KLR, believe it or not. Now the gel is starting to break down, after about 4,000 miles of sitting under my butt. I have a sneaking suspicion that within another 4,000 miles, it will be just a soggy mess under my butt, at which point I will probably end up taking it to an upholstery shop and having them pop the cover, remove the gel pad, and replace it with a good stiff foam. The only reason this seat is any more comfortable than the stock Suzuki seat for the V-Strom 650 is that it is wider. Still, just being wider is good enough to make the seat comfortable for 500+ mile rides, I rode it from here to Death Valley one day without any comfort problems related to the seat. The stock seat (on either the KLR or the V-Strom), on the other hand, is an atrocity that has me sliding around looking for a comfortable position within a few miles. As mentioned elsewhere, I scored a 2008 KLR seat off of eBay and installed it on my '02 KLR. I only sat on it in my garage before I tore my leg a few weeks ago (non-motorcycle-related) and couldn't ride anymore, but it was significantly taller and stiffer than the stock seat, while not being so blasted wide as the Corbin. My gut feel is that it's a good compromise for when you want to ride long distances but want to ride off-road when you get there. More info once I'm able to use my toes on my left leg again. (Aside from the problem of shifting, I'm on the balls of my feet with the taller-fitting seat, except right now my KLR would take a nap on its left side if I tried that). _E

So here s the ultimate solution... and you can actually enjoy it: At the moment I m in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. It s the southernmost city in the world. I just finished riding from Panama (4 1/2 months). The winds here are usually blowing about 50 mph (but gust higher), but for some reason they always seem to be coming from your side. Predominantly riding south, and the prevailing winds are from the west. So no buffeting, per se... you just have to be ready to ride for thousands of miles on about a 45 degree angle! This tends to wear out the tires, but only on the right side. I expect to use the left side of the tires on the return trip. I m not sure if this actually doubles my tire milage, but I ll let you know. Maybe not the perfect technical solution for those of you in North America, but it sure is a lot of fun! I highly recommend giving it a try. Steve

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, LDHunter wrote: > > KLRistas, > > > > Some of you might remember my complaints about wind buffeting and wind > turbulence noise on my '07 KLR650. I finally went with a tall Kawasaki brand > windshield and a Laminar Lip on top of it and am moderately satisfied but > always looking for ways to reduce wind turbulence noise in my helmet to > protect what little hearing I have left. > > > > Yeah... Yeah.... I know... Wear earplugs but IMO they're a pain in the > posterior and I get sick of fooling with them. > > > > I recently ran across this and thought I'd see if anyone has any experience > with it. > > > > http://www.jacksflaps.com/# http://www.jacksflaps.com/> > > > > Watch the video. > > > > It may not apply to KLRs at all and I can't imagine how I could wear it > outside of one of my riding jackets but my interest is piqued. > > > > Anyone tried one of these or have any observations or ideas? > > > > $bob$ > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >