another radar lover gone: nklr

[Morgan, Bill]

Hello- With all respect, Dan, nothing could be further from the truth. I have ridden my derestricted XR650R under all dirt and road conditions and have found it to be ultra-reliable, manageable, comfortable, and EXTREMELY powerful and responsive everywhere. I have never owned a more multi-purpose-capable bike, and the list includes an R80 G/S (quite modified for off-road but dualsported for 10 years), an XR350 that I rode into the ground, an IT175 when they first came out, a Bultaco Alpina 348, several Beemers, a Ducati F1A, a modified XT500, an excellent KLX-300 (with suspension work, pumper carb, and yes the jetting took some sorting out), on and on for 30 years. I have ridden many more from AJS to KTM, including KLRs. I am not claiming to be a great rider (I'm not), I just list these to indicate just what I mean by 'multi-purpose-capable'. Pretty broad. The nugget of truth is this: yes, as with ALL waterpumper pure dirt bikes (the DRZ dirter, and the YZ included) there is no rad fan. Not terribly hard to install, but I have not needed it for dualsporting, including waiting at lights at 90 degrees (admittedly not for Los Angeles timespans). ANY waterpumper w/o fan will boil if left still for 5 minutes. A 1.8 rad cap, water wetter, and proper jetting yield acceptable cooling in all but the very slowest conditions (as in Blanca Peak, a gruesome boulder-strewn trail that ate my lunch). I ride dirt and street (not as far on the street as I would a real street bike), 5,000 ft. to 14,000 ft. I am as pleased with this bike under all conditions as only a few I have owned or ridden have pleased me. The DRZ 400 (either one) is a respectable and undoubtedly a reliable, quality bike, good for easy trail riding, and you would not be going wrong to get one, but having ridden one I was left unmoved by the experience. The e-button is nice, but I've never had a problem starting the XR. The DRZ is heavy and underpowered. The XR smokes it. I do not doubt your experience- Drop me a line sometime, I would be happy to assist in getting your jetting straightened out - because there is no reason your bike should not run like the ox it is. One important thing to check is valve clearance, some of your symptoms sound like that could be a problem; another is float level. Basic stuff applicable to any motorcycle, but sometimes hard to isolate. If you visit the XR650R group, you will find that only a very few have the problems of which you speak, and the solutions are simple. Yes, Honda should have done a tad more work, but they had their (EPA) reasons. -Bill Morgan Littleton, CO home: w_morgan@... ************************************************* From: kawboy15@... [SMTP:kawboy15@...] Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2001 6:16 PM To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_klr650] XR 650R vs DRZ 400 vs WRF 426 In regards to the comparison of these three bikes I've seen here,thought I would add my experience with one of them. The XR650R. Iwas one of the first in my area to own one of these, and had problemswith it since day one. Despite jetting changes, of which I mademany!, this bike would never idle cold. Had to stay glued to thethrottle until warmed up. Also had countless boilovers if the bikesat idling warm longer than four or five minutes. (No fan onradiator) This would be a disaster at a long red light. Concerningthe hop-up kit for this bike, although it added more power I couldnever zero in on the correct jetting. Result--lumpy idle, flat spots and/or hesitation. I'd definitely opt for the Suzuki. Electricstart, radiator fan and a full choke circuit. If you check out theXR650 egroup you will see I tell the truth. Dan Bill Morgan Product Mastering Team bill_morgan@... Main: 303.334.4000 Direct: 303.334.1422 Fax: 303.334.1815

[Brian]

I would agree only on a still object. An animal is moving and when you swerve and get that bike leaned over real nice..that is when you will run over the poor critter who dashed into your new path, and wash out the front in a real bad way (at full speed as we didn't brake to swerve.) Nucci Darrel & Deanna wrote:

> My advice is swerve whenever possible to avoid an obstacle rather than > run it over. Be proficient in the swerving technique and NEVER brake > while swerving-- a result similar to highsiding is likely to occur. Either > brake then swerve or swerve then brake depending on the situation. > Swerving is the preferred strategy when braking isn't an option. > > If I sound like a motorcycle safety instructor, it's because I stayed in a > Holiday > Inn Express last night. > > Darrel > A12 Avenger > > ********** > Sorry to all you animal lovers out there, but its the safest strategy > for everyone. A last minute swerve can be disasterous, and often an > animal will change direction at the last minute so swerving doesn't > always mean you'll miss it anyway. I do hit my brakes (not slamming > them on though) for all the critters out here, but I try not to > swerve too much. > > I've seen a pretty large dog take a direct hit from a street bike, > the guy didn't have time to swerve, he just hung on, and he came out > ok, the dog didn't do to good. > > Ed > Roadkill, WA > > Checkout Dual Sport News at > http://www.dualsportnews.com > Be part of the Adventure! > > Visit the KLR650 archives at > http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 > > Post message: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: DSN_klr650-subscribe@yahoogroups.com > Unsubscribe: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > List owner: DSN_klr650-owner@yahoogroups.com > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/