trip report: oakland, ca to guatemala and back.

[gregory_lewis60304]

I am considering the purchase of a KLR 650, but am a little conerned about the seatheight. I intend to use the bike primarity for road (paved & unpaved) touring. I would be interested in hearing of any methods of lowering the bike. Thanks!

[Judson D. Jones]

Just how short are you? Lowering links can be had from a number of sources to bring the rear down as much as 3", and the front end can be lowered by sliding the fork tubes up in the triple clamps. Progressive also makes a shorter shock. But I'm 5'8" with a 28" inseam, and I don't find my stock-height KLR at all difficult to manage. I can just get two toes down, or plant a foot if I slide a cheek off the seat. Lowering costs valuable suspension travel, and requires that you shorten the sidestand. Lowering might be necessary for you, but I would try it for a while at stock height to see if you can manage it. In any case, the option is there if you need it, so don't let seat height deter your purchase.

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "gregory_lewis60304" wrote: > I am considering the purchase of a KLR 650, but am a little conerned > about the seatheight. I intend to use the bike primarity for road > (paved & unpaved) touring. I would be interested in hearing of any > methods of lowering the bike. Thanks!

[Mark]

Gregory, Unless you're seriously inseam challenged, you should be able to dial in the beast to fit you. Reduce the front by 1 - 1.5 inches (raise the fork tubes in the triple clamps). Reduce the rear by 1 - 1.5 inches with a lowered dog-bone. Then you can get about two inches by switching to a Corbin dipped seat (or custom Russell, Mayer, etc). I measured two 97 KLRs, one stocker at 36in, and one with a dipped Corbin -34in, both with NO rider (springs sag another inch or so). At 195lbs and 33in inseam, I can flatfoot either one of them, even without my stilleto heels. Mark A11

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "gregory_lewis60304" wrote: > I am considering the purchase of a KLR 650, but am a little conerned > about the seatheight. I intend to use the bike primarity for road > (paved & unpaved) touring. I would be interested in hearing of any > methods of lowering the bike. Thanks!

[Bogdan Swider]

> ---------- > > > I am considering the purchase of a KLR 650, but am a little conerned > about the seatheight. I intend to use the bike primarity for road > (paved & unpaved) touring. I would be interested in hearing of any > methods of lowering the bike. Thanks! > > >

Greg, getcha some lowering links. They lower the bike about 1.5" You get them from Quality Engine R&D. I don't have their number but I'm sure other listers do. My favorite lowering devise however, is cutting 2" of foam off the top of the seat and inserting a gel bladder making sure there's a little foam on the top & bottom of the bladder. This seat has perched me royally on many 400-600 mile days. I'm 5' 8" 155lbs ( true ) of solid muscle ( ok that's a lie ) and sport a small butt. Bogdan

[bitsurfer001]

Trip Overview: 2002 KLR, purchased new. 7 month ride from Oakland Ca, to Guatemala from April 9th, 2002 to November 17th, 2002. 14,200 miles total. Countries visited: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize (one I can't mention) and El Salvador. Trip Purpose: Do I have to have one? Very leisurely schedule, I rented an apartment in Antigua Guatemala for 2 months and took Spanish classes, other places I only stayed 1 day. Motorcycle Problems (all minor): Lower steering head bearing fully seated itself after hitting a softball size rock at about 50mph. I simply tightened it up at the next stop. Fan cooling circuit mysteriously came on during the night and drained the battery. Suspect faulty sensor, have not confirmed this is the cause. Would not start after riding 2 hours in the heavy rain. Sparkplug drain hole in head was plugged with debris, cleaned it out and had no more problems. Flat front tire NOT due to puncture. Failure occurred where the valve stem is fastened to the tube, making repair impossible. Could have occurred when I hit the above rock, but failure was at least 4 months after that. Not sure why this happened, but replaced the tube. I also lost a few of the nuts/screws from the front plastic radiator shrouds and side covers. Despite the fact I made sure they were all tight before I left, they still rattled out. I suggest loctite on all these screws. I also lost 3 bolts from the muffler, one for the drain, and the other 2 were on the backside of the muffler, closest to the rear wheel. Luckily, I had some spares that fit. Brought these spares for my pannier rack. Border Crossing: U.S. to Mexico- I purchased this bike new a week before I left. I did not have the title, plates or registration when I crossed in Tijuana. I did have the bill of sale and temporary registration provided by the dealer, and Mexican Insurance purchased before the border, and of course my passport and drivers license. I was able to get my TVIP (Temporary Vehicle Import Permit) with these documents. When the plates, title and registration did arrive in the mail 2 weeks later, I had my friend bring them down with him to Baja. This was planned. Otherwise my roommate would have mailed them to me before I took the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan. Mexico to Belize: No problem, insurance required. Belize to Guatemala: No problem, no insurance required. Guatemala to El Salvador: I was crossing this border simply to leave Guatemala so that I cold renew my Guatemalan motorcycle permit (they only give 30days). The intent was simply to cross and come back right away. I exited Guatemala and cancelled my MC permit and entered myself into El Salvador and stood in line to obtain the permit for the MC, but got tired of waiting and thought, well I'll just go back to Guatemala. So I did. When I got back to Guatemala they asked me for the motorcycle paperwork from El Salvador. Well I never got it, so according to their system, my motorcycle appeared from "no mans land" in between the border. It was confusing at first, but there are many men at the border selling their services to help you thru the lines and paperwork. They really helped me and it took a few hours to clear up, but we finally got it resolved. But hiring the guides was well worth it, about $5U.S. If you need to renew, simply tell the customs officials on the Guatemalan side what you would like to do, and they will re-issue a permit. Wish I knew this before hand!! Guatemala to Mexico: Some problems, they insisted I have the original title. But it depends on which customs agent you talk to. I was able to make it with a copy of the title and a lot smiling. Never piss them off you will never get what you want. Had to get another permit, as my other one had expired. Spare parts carried: Clutch cable and shift lever, neither needed. Tool Kit: This would be a long list, but the basics are metric socket set, wrenches, misc. nuts, bolts, springs, washers, locktite, multi-meter, tire repair kit, etc I feel pretty comfortable around these bikes, as they are all I have ever owned and I have done everything except transmission work. Trip Highlights: Other than the lobster, crab, Cuban cigars, rum, deserted islands, amazing star-lit southern skies, women, beer, hammocks, amazing beaches, spectacular roads thru the highlands, cheap Guatemalan rent, fishing, music, turtles laying eggs on the beach, women, beer, thatched roof cabanas on the beach, fish tacos, beef tacos, ceviche, riding wheelies out of Military Checkpoints while they give you the "thumbs up" sign, spectacular ocean vistas and Lago De Atitlan, not really much happened. I have pictures on my website at www.razzor-x.com. But there are no picture descriptions, and the pictures are somewhat out of order. Still need to work on this. Please e-mail if you have any specific questions. Pete