On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:08:40 -0500 Nate Matthews
writes:
> Hi. I m an editor for Field & Stream, live in Manhattan, and am
> setting up a
> trip in which I and one of the magazine s photographers will be
> fishing/touring Baja on KLR 650s for an article to appear sometime
> later
> this year.
SNIP
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Nate,
Jeff Saline here from Rapid City, South Dakota. I've done a few tours on
my KLR650 so know what works for me. : ) Here are a couple of
suggestions for your consideration. I think you can google search to get
websites I don't provide.
- Wolfman Luggage. Contact Eric (sp) the owner in Colorado about a
Wolfman Explorer Tankbag and also tank panniers. Get the larger pockets
for the Explorer tankbag. And make sure you get a rain cover for the
tankbag. It's the best tank bag I've ever used. The panniers aren't
waterproof but they work well for holding spare tubes, a small air
compressor, tire repair supplies, and a 1st aid kit and WD-40 for chain
lube.
- Saddle Bags I really like Ortlieb Dry saddlebags as they are easy on
and off and very waterproof and durable. They are also softbags which I
think is important if you are riding off road as they might be the
difference between a broken leg and a bruised leg. I have experience
with this on two trips. One was Canada to Mexico on the continental
divide and the other was called De Tour which was a six state tour last
summer and mostly on dirt. You can get the Ortlieb Dry Saddlebags from
Riders Warehouse in Deluth, MN.
www.aerostich.com I made my own rack to
help keep the bags from touching the exhaust on the right side and also
to keep both bags from flopping like wings.
- Roll Top Duffel Bag Get it from Sierra Trading Post in Cheyenne, WY.
Phone is 1 800 713-4534
www.sierratradingpost.com
Item number is 77153. There is also a larger one but this seems to work
well for me and doesn't hang over the sides of my Ortlieb Dry Saddle
Bags. Cost in April of last year was $39.95 with $8.00 shipping and
handling. This works well for storing a sleeping bag and air mattress in
a really dry environment.
- Straps Maybe contact Helen Two Wheels for some of her straps. She's a
guru of motorcycle luggage systems and travels all over the country
selling her products. Her straps are the best for holding your junk on
the bike.
www.helen2wheels.com
- Sleeping bag I'd get something from Wiggys. They're in Grand
Junction, CO if I recall correctly. Probably their summer bag for about
$100 would fit the bill. Same stuff the US Military Special
Forces/Operations use. Enough said about that.
- Sprockets I think I'd get a 45 tooth rear sprocket from Fred at
www.arrowheadmotorsports.com and that'll mean a 108 tooth chain too.
Then I'd add a 14 tooth front sprocket and I think that would be best for
the speeds and country you'll be in. I currently use a 14/46 combo on my
KLR and guys comment often how I have better control of the bike at slow
speeds when compared to a bike with stock sprockets. As long as you
aren't planning on traveling faster than maybe 70 mph this will work very
well and give you the low end grunt missing with the stock sprockets
(15/43).
-GPS Contact Garmin for a GPSMAP 76CSx with maps and a larger memory
card. Then save each days track to the memory card and review it or
share it later on. Get the RAM cradle and mounts for it and also an
automotive power adapter from
www.cycoactive.com . You can add a
cigarette type power outlet easily to just power the GPS by hooking into
the city lights wires near the right front turn signal behind the
fairing. Don't plan on powering anything that takes much current from
these wires though. If I was doing this just for a short trip I'd make a
power outlet on a cord that would plug into the city lights wires and
then route it to the tank bag. I'd keep the power outlet and GPS
automotive power adapter in the tank bag for weather protection which
would also eliminate a need to protect them from vibration.
- Air Filter I really like the No Toil air filter and filter maintenance
products. Get a No Toil filter for each bike and carry the filter
maintenance products with you. They are environmentally friendly and
very easy to use. Using No Toil products you can clean the air filters
in a zip lock bag if you need to. And No Toil products are sold under
the Kawasaki label so Kawasaki should be ok with using it. Tell Lura at
No Toil I said hi. She probably won't remember me but... : )
- Tires I like Kenda K270 tires but haven't used them much in deep sand.
I like the 3.00 x 21 front and 5.10 x 17 rear. For really sandy
conditions a 3.25 x 21 front might be a better choice but I think it will
slow the steering on hard surfaces. I put ultra heavy duty tubes in the
tires which is like putting a tire into a tire. You can get the tubes
from Fred at
www.arrowheadmotorsports.com . I think I get my Kenda tires
at
www.rockymountainatv.com . I run 32 psi front and 36 psi rear on
pavement. Off road or in dirt I drop to maybe 22-24 front and 28 or so
rear. I get about 10,000 smiles from a front and over 6,000 smiles from
the rear. Some guys think the rear is squirrely on pavement but I have
over 15,000 smiles on Kendas and can keep up with others. Many guys are
impressed with the Kendas off road.
- Footpegs I'd put Suzuki DR650 footpegs on to replace the stock pegs.
Kawasaki might not like this but it works well. Suzuki part numbers you
need are:
09448-15008 Springs need 2 ea.
For the pegs the numbers are:
43560-44B10-019 Left need 1 ea.
43550-44B10-019 Right need 1 ea.
It takes about 60 seconds per side to install these and they make a world
of difference.
- Skid Plate I'd ask Fred at Arrowhead which one he's selling and use
it.
- Bark Busters I like Moose Barkbusters as I've tested them on asphalt
and dirt and they hold up well. Cost is about $40 last time I checked.
That's probably enough for now.
If you haven't seen the movie "Running Down the Man" from Felt Soul Media
www.feltsoulmedia.com it is really worth seeing. I saw a partial cut of
it when the Fly Fishing Film Tour was in Rapid last month.
www.flyfishingfilmtour.com . The movie explores the arcane pursuit of
fly-fishing for Rooster fish from the beaches of Baja, Mexico and the
zealotry and commitment that it takes to successfully catch them. You
will really laugh alot while watching this movie.
Best of luck with this trip. Keep us on the list informed of progress
and problems. 7,000 members can't be wrong.
Jeff Saline
ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal
Airheads Beemer Club
www.airheads.org
The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota
75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT
