boot nightmare

[rochudson]

I put some DOT knobbies on my otherwise bone stock 2003 KLR650 and found that it has a very twitchy feel on the highway compared to the stock Dunlops. I don't do much on the highway normally, but do travel back and forth to the dirt. I noticed NOBODY makes a steering stabilizer kit for the KLR650, but there seems to be a billion fork braces out there. Does anyone have experience on taking the highway twitch out of running knobbies? The difference between the fork brace and a damper? Which to try first? Am I just plain dooooomed for a 75MPH tank slapper on a windy day when an 18 wheeler passes me?????????

[Eric L. Green]

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005, rochudson wrote:

> I put some DOT knobbies on my otherwise bone stock 2003 KLR650 and > found that it has a very twitchy feel on the highway compared to the > stock Dunlops. I don't do much on the highway normally, but do travel > back and forth to the dirt.

If it feels twitchy, try a bit more preload in your front forks, either by adding washers or by cutting new spacers out of pvc pipe. The stock springs start sagging fairly rapidly, and the lower the nose sags, the twitchier the bike gets. If a bit more preload in your front forks takes away the twitchiness, upgrade your front springs to the Progressives and count yourself lucky. -E

[ron criswell]

I think you will find the twitch to go away after you put a couple 100 miles or so on them. But the KLR on a windy day surrounded by trucks is where the NO FEAR expression came to be. Or by Mexican spectators for the Baja 100 race. Criswell

On Friday, June 10, 2005, at 02:22 PM, rochudson wrote: > I put some DOT knobbies on my otherwise bone stock 2003 KLR650 and > found that it has a very twitchy feel on the highway compared to the > stock Dunlops. I don't do much on the highway normally, but do travel > back and forth to the dirt. > > I noticed NOBODY makes a steering stabilizer kit for the KLR650, but > there seems to be a billion fork braces out there. > > Does anyone have experience on taking the highway twitch out of running > knobbies? The difference between the fork brace and a damper? Which to > try first? Am I just plain dooooomed for a 75MPH tank slapper on a > windy day when an 18 wheeler passes me????????? > > > > > > > Archive Quicksearch at: > http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > >

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "rochudson" wrote:

> I put some DOT knobbies on my otherwise bone stock 2003 KLR650 and > found that it has a very twitchy feel on the highway compared to the > stock Dunlops. I don't do much on the highway normally, but do travel > back and forth to the dirt. > > I noticed NOBODY makes a steering stabilizer kit for the KLR650, but > there seems to be a billion fork braces out there. > > Does anyone have experience on taking the highway twitch out of running > knobbies? The difference between the fork brace and a damper? Which to > try first? Am I just plain dooooomed for a 75MPH tank slapper on a > windy day when an 18 wheeler passes me?????????

1. Make sure your front end is correctly assembled and torqued. 2. Run sufficient air pressure. Factory spec(22/28) is too low for the highway, try 32/36. Your tires will last longer, too. 3. Align rear wheel correctly. 4. Preload rear spring to around 3" sag. A fork brace may mask deficiencies in one of these areas, but will do more for your bike in sand. A damper might help you go fast on rough ground, but it will just make your bike weave at speed. I don't hink too many riders will push a KLR to where a steering stabilizer is useful.

[Chris]

Front end weirdness in general was fixed for me by; 1) Torquing to spec all the triple clamp bolts, took a number of passes over each too with a torque wrench. 2) Springing my bike to match my weight (260), meaning LR fork springs and also an uprated shock spring. Now the sag is right on, previously the rear was low and the front was spongy, making for a wandering front end at speed on pavement. 3) Realizing that for my size 37" inseam, I had a bad habit of stretching out too much on the seat and winding up too far back with all my bulk...making the bike perfect for a gravel road or sand, but way too light up front to keep it planted on the highway. I try to stay up on the tank more on the highway and it definitely helps keep things steadier. 4) Loosening my grip...still a work of conscious effort as I slip back into the gorilla grip in traffic. Letting the bike take care of itself more and relaxing.

[Rodney Copeland]

Don't forget all new tires are unstable for a hundred miles or more. If you have a tool tube or roadpegs, use them for the highspeed windy runs to get your weight forward best ya can. Rod

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "rochudson" wrote: > I put some DOT knobbies on my otherwise bone stock 2003 KLR650 and > found that it has a very twitchy feel on the highway compared to the > stock Dunlops. I don't do much on the highway normally, but do travel > back and forth to the dirt. > > I noticed NOBODY makes a steering stabilizer kit for the KLR650, but > there seems to be a billion fork braces out there. > > Does anyone have experience on taking the highway twitch out of running > knobbies? The difference between the fork brace and a damper? Which to > try first? Am I just plain dooooomed for a 75MPH tank slapper on a > windy day when an 18 wheeler passes me?????????

[Harry Myhre]

Yes, I bought some steel toe boots at target a while back for like $39.00... They'll probably last me the rest of my life. Basically I only wear them when I'm riding. Pain in the derrier to shift gears with them... Have to put my foot in contortions. I thought about adjusting the shift lever. But I talked about that with the mechanics at my kawi dealer and they talked me out of it. Reason was, if you adjust the shift lever to work with the big old boots then you'll never be able to ride with any other shoe. The gearshift lever on my A19 is perfect for street shoes. I feel fine with those on. --- Harry Myhre - A19 Stevenson Ranch, California

> -----Original Message----- > From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com > [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Matt Smith > Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2005 7:09 AM > To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [DSN_KLR650] boot nightmare > > Ok, so I've been wearing a pair of boots that have a narrow > toe while out riding, just an old pair of fluevogs that have > some visual appeal to them and can actually kick some mud now > and then. But yesterday it was raining out so I decided to > try something different and kicked on my combat/parade boots > and man ... did I have a hell of a time changing gears. I > couldn't feel the foot controls. Anyone else experienced > this? Is it possible to elevate the shift lever so my boot > fits under it better? As it was I had to use the little lip > of sole that ran around my boot to ifshoet up ... > > Anyone else out there riding a klr with big heavy combat style boots? >

[Steve Palmer]

While I haven't see a stabilizer made for a KLR, I have seen one mounted on one. It was a WER and was mounted on a plate that bolts between the bottom triple clamp and the fender. While not a simple bolt on installation, I think the only modification was to drill the proper bolt pattern in the mounting plate. The owner said it worked great and was the best modification he had done to the bike. Steve

----- Original Message ----- From: "rochudson" To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Friday, June 10, 2005 2:22 PM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Steering Damper/stabilizer > I put some DOT knobbies on my otherwise bone stock 2003 KLR650 and > found that it has a very twitchy feel on the highway compared to the > stock Dunlops. I don't do much on the highway normally, but do travel > back and forth to the dirt. > > I noticed NOBODY makes a steering stabilizer kit for the KLR650, but > there seems to be a billion fork braces out there. > > Does anyone have experience on taking the highway twitch out of running > knobbies? The difference between the fork brace and a damper? Which to > try first? Am I just plain dooooomed for a 75MPH tank slapper on a > windy day when an 18 wheeler passes me????????? > > > > > > > Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > >