klr's in cross winds

[Jeff Saline]

On Mon, 09 May 2011 03:05:35 -0000 "\"The Terror\"" writes:

> I am an owner of a 2003 KLR 650.Very soon I will be turning over > 40,000 one owner miles.I want to celebrate the occasion.In roughly 2 > weeks from today is an official Iron Butt event that is beginning in > The Colony,TX. & looping around from Tulsa,OK. I am going to enter > the Saddle Sore 1000 (1ooo miles in one day) & possibly the Bun > Burner 1500.I currently am running 50/50 dual sport > tires.Obviously,they are not the tire of choice for this event.I > really don't have the $300+ dollars to put on a new set of street > tires or 90/10 d/s tires in addition to the other expenses i'm > incurring in preparation.Is there anybody that would be interested > in donating? Not necessarily a new set but a set that has seen it's > better days but still has enough usable tread to safely complete the > event?We can work out any details to get them here. I am in Oklahoma > City.I could return them after the event if you like.I would be > willing to pay a small fee if you would rather sale them.Also > interested in feedback from listers who have experience with > sprocket changes to gear it more towards hiway use.Thanks to all.

<><><><><><> <><><><><><> The Terror, I don't see any reason you can't do the ride on 50/50 tires that are in good shape. I think it was 2005 that I rode from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Rapid City, South Dakota, a distance of just over 800 miles in one day. Still had about 8 hours left if I was doing something in 24 hours. That averages out to about 50mph for the day which is a good Iron Butt speed. That was on Kenda K270s that had close to 5,000 smiles on them which is about 83% used on the rear. My gearing was 16/46 for paved surfaces which is 0.314% shorter than the stock 14/43 combo. If you put a 16 tooth front sprocket on with a 43 tooth rear that would be 6.661% taller than the stock ratio. I rode mostly at 60-65 mph on interstate in New Mexico and mostly excellent secondary roads in Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota. I never felt I needed a higher ratio for maintaining a comfortable speed. Don't forget to check your oil level at every fuel stop. Hope you have a fun and safe ride. Best, 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 . . ____________________________________________________________ Get Free Email with Video Mail & Video Chat! http://www.juno.com/freeemail?refcd=JUTAGOUT1FREM0210

[SM]

Stock is 15/43.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Jeff Saline wrote: > My gearing was 16/46 for paved surfaces which is 0.314% shorter than the > stock 14/43 combo. If you put a 16 tooth front sprocket on with a 43

[Jud]

It is also well-known that many present-day KLRs handle just fine in crosswinds with the stock fender. This leads me to the conclusion that changing the fender may address the symptom, without getting at the cause, insufficient rear preload or too soft a spring.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, eddie mauri wrote: > > Concerning the problems of KLR's in a cross wind; the problem is caused by the > sail on the bow of the bike. As you might be aware, it is a historical fact > that the Nina (Columbus' flagship) had a KLR fender as a jib sail; that was the > first recorded farkle in history. Its true, look it up. It seems that the UFO > fender might reduce the problem. > > > Eddie > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >