roadside assistance

[Mike Huber]

I just got this offer from SPOT for their roadside assistance program for 29.99 a year.... SPOT Assist roadside service includes towing (up to 50 miles per tow), extrication, accident assistance, road service, fluid delivery, tire service, battery service, and lost-key or lockout service, at your GPS location. Includes up to five (5) towing/roadside assistance events annually. Service Exclusions: Must be within 100 meters of a regularly maintained roadway. Service is also not offered in roadless areas regularly not traveled, such as vacant lots, beaches, open fields or other places that are hazardous for tow trucks to reach. I don't think I'll be getting it because I tend to venture a little more than "100 meters of a regularly maintained roadway" !!!! Mike "Guadzilla" Huber 06 Fully Farkled Frog To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com From: phreedeom@... Date: Tue, 5 May 2009 08:03:20 -0700 Subject: [DSN_KLR650] roadside assistance I have it through Progressive Insurance. First time I go to use it, I find out they tow you 15 miles. So now I have to remember to break down near a mechanic. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[bufbooth]

Hello All, Just wanted to thank all for the feedback on the KLR650s over the last few days. My local Honda dealer is also a Kawasaki dealer, so after work today I rode over to see if they had any KLR650s in stock. They did, three of them, one of each color (Blue, Red, and Green), and the bonus was they had a Honda CR650 parked right next to them. The CR650 is definitely out of the picture, this comparsion helped me a lot, even though I knew on paper the Honda is not what I wanted, it helped to see one next to KLR650s. Hard to give up on a brand that has worked well for me over the years. The green color was nice, but I think I am going to go with Red. I think my little Honda XL185s thought she was being traded in, when I was ready to leave, the ball bearing in the kick starter struck, so I could not swing it open to kick start it. Took me a minute to get it unstuck, looks like I got a little groove in the path the ball bearing rides back and forth on. A few more questions if I may: Are the front shocks air adjustable? I read hear that an owner has had several (like 7) electrical issues causing the bike not able to be started with his 2008, is this an isolated issues or have others had the same problem? Does the KLR650 have a 600 or so mile required break-in maintenance, and if so, is it just checking the valves an timing chain? Does the dealer have to do it in order to not void the warranty? What is required to maintain the drive chain, all my past bikes had the non-Oring chain, which required me to lube the chain after a few hundred miles. Do O-Ring chains just need to be kept clean and not lubed? Thanks all, Dennis in Indiana.

[Jeff Khoury]

Dennis, See below: Are the front shocks air adjustable? **No. You can put air in 'em, and a lot of people do, but it's not factory recommended. I personally see it as a way to blow fork seals. I read hear that an owner has had several (like 7) electrical issues causing the bike not able to be started with his 2008, is this an isolated issues or have others had the same problem? **The '08s and '09s had wiring issues. There has been a recall that supposedly fixed the problem(s). I haven't had any problems with my '09. Make sure the recalls are performed on your new bike when they deliver it to you. Does the KLR650 have a 600 or so mile required break-in maintenance, and if so, is it just checking the valves an timing chain? Does the dealer have to do it in order to not void the warranty? **The maintenance is easy and yes, there's a 600-miler... the hardest part is checking the valves. You can perform all maintenance yourself and not void the warranty. The law says so. What is required to maintain the drive chain, all my past bikes had the non-Oring chain, which required me to lube the chain after a few hundred miles. Do O-Ring chains just need to be kept clean and not lubed? **The KLR has an o-ring chain and maintenance is easy compared to non-o-ring chains. This may start a religious war on chain lube, but keep it clean (get the grit out) with something like wd-40, and if it makes you feel better, the factory recommended chain lube is 90wt gear oil at 500-mile intervals. One guy got 30K miles out of wd-40 alone on an o-ring chain (google "the wd-40 experiment"). Once again, YMMV. -Jeff Khoury Astatic Solutions, LLC.

----- Original Message ----- From: "bufbooth" To: "DSN KLR650" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 6:00:29 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Looking to Buy a new KLR650 Hello All, Just wanted to thank all for the feedback on the KLR650s over the last few days. My local Honda dealer is also a Kawasaki dealer, so after work today I rode over to see if they had any KLR650s in stock. They did, three of them, one of each color (Blue, Red, and Green), and the bonus was they had a Honda CR650 parked right next to them. The CR650 is definitely out of the picture, this comparsion helped me a lot, even though I knew on paper the Honda is not what I wanted, it helped to see one next to KLR650s. Hard to give up on a brand that has worked well for me over the years. The green color was nice, but I think I am going to go with Red. I think my little Honda XL185s thought she was being traded in, when I was ready to leave, the ball bearing in the kick starter struck, so I could not swing it open to kick start it. Took me a minute to get it unstuck, looks like I got a little groove in the path the ball bearing rides back and forth on. A few more questions if I may: Are the front shocks air adjustable? I read hear that an owner has had several (like 7) electrical issues causing the bike not able to be started with his 2008, is this an isolated issues or have others had the same problem? Does the KLR650 have a 600 or so mile required break-in maintenance, and if so, is it just checking the valves an timing chain? Does the dealer have to do it in order to not void the warranty? What is required to maintain the drive chain, all my past bikes had the non-Oring chain, which required me to lube the chain after a few hundred miles. Do O-Ring chains just need to be kept clean and not lubed? Thanks all, Dennis in Indiana. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]