ok so inquirung minds want to know??? how many miles do you have

[d4642205]

Disclaimer--I have no intention to proof this after I write it so I apologize ahead of time for poor grammar, poor spelling and the like. So here it is...In August 2005, without doing much research, I bought my first bike(a klr650 2002 with 7000 miles)from a guy in Alabama for $2800. That day, I put about 100 miles on it. I didn't know the first think about motorcycles, motorcycling or the KLR beyond a few ride reviews about it. I rode it for about another 50 miles then took it to a MSF course. There, one of the guys said it sounded strange so on the way home I stopped at a gas station and checked the oil. Turns out I was down 1.5 quarts--Yeah, I know-- So thats where it begins. From there, I started putting about 2 quarts in per one fillup of gas. I rode it to and from work (30m) each day for 6 months and did a few things to find out why it was burning oil..none were successful. [as a side note, while I was living in charleston, my car and keys were stolen...of course I didn't have a spare key for the bike. I successfully hotwired it (and beat without braking the steering lock) and rode it to work. After work, I went to do it again and succeeded only in burning out the CDI. 600 dollars later, I was back on the road (recovered my crashed car as well) and still burning oil like a champ. I moved to Texas and rode the bike for a while noticing its steadily decreasing performance in steadily increasing oil burn. Finally, one day, I was riding at about 30mph and it sounded like somone dropped a steel box of wrenches into my engine and I screeched to a halt. I was about 200 miles to the nearest kawa dealer so I entrusted my bike to a local. Well, 6 months and $1200 later, I was back on the road with a "rebuilt" engine...still burning oil profusely. They discovered one demolished doohickey and replaced it with another stock one, a mostly siezed cam timing chain, 4 bent valves (only replaced 2 though?!?!?), bad valve seals, totally shot drive chain(I put on a DID), a fried starter and a handful of other crap. I rode on with the bike pretty much exactly in the condition it was when I bought it. I was pretty much done with the bike, I was totally ready to ride it into a river, make a claim on it and buy a triumph tiger 995(I already had a dealer picked out) I then moved to OK for a few months. (By this point I had thoroughly edjumacated myself on the inner and outer workings of the KLR) I rode for about a week and discovered some milky oil. Water in it, and there was oil in my coolant spillover tank. I was out and about and it just quit. I pulled it apart right there in the MALNART parking lot and found one royally fouled spark plug, so I licked and sucked it clean. I reinstalled and put it back together and she started so I immediately rode back to base and as soon as I got home, it quit again. After some more investigation I discovered there was lots and lots of antifreeze in the combustion chamber (like a SuperSoaker when I cranked it without a sparkplug). I found out there was a kawa dealer in town so I dropped it off and said "Fix It", turned around and didnt say anthing else. They called me a week later with the bikes issues. It turns out the guys in TX didn't torque the head down and it loosened up. They also found 2 bad exhaust valves(what a surprise)and a few other things. This time I was going to do it right. I called happy trails and ordered a new dookickey, complete aftermarked gasket set with valve seals, new rings for the piston, new valve guides and a handful of other parts. A few days later, I went into the dealer with a garbage bag full of parts and told them to install everything. Only 3 days later they called me and said the bike was ready. I picked it up and grabbed a pair of kelvar composite grips (which by the way, are awesome) and $740 later I was on my way. I got a box of my old parts to take with me so I eagerly searched through the greasy box looking for my little friend the doohickey. I found it and it was pretty mangled. The guide was bent there were pieces of metal sheared of from adjusting it and judging by the crack, it looked like the weld was about to go...again. That weekend I took a 4 hour ride through the greenest wheatfields the USA has to offer hitting a few switchbacks in the "mountains" out here. Put down about 300 miles and much to my chagrin, I hadn't burned a drop of oil. (I normally would have expected about 3-4 quarts of burn on a ride like that.) The bike rode better than it ever had and it didn't even come close to overheating. Now, about 2 weeks and 1000 miles later I still havent burned a drop nor were there any metal shavings (or large parts of metal) attached to the magnetic oil plug. I have started to trick it out and all thoughts of that Tiger have left my mind. This bike is amazing. I put on a seat cushion, tank bag, waterproof tool kit, new mirror mount(killed the last one real nice) and an aftermarket left side switch. So there ends this act of the play that is my life. I look forward to the next one, which will involve a large portion of my income and lots of upgrades and long rides with my KLR. Price of my first Bike--$2800 Price to fix my broked bike--$2540 (cost of a brand new KLR--$4775) Having a bike that works--PRICELESS Thanks for reading guys...See you on the road. (Anyone in SC?)

[Jim Douglas]

Can you tell me all you are outfitting on the bike? Tenting? Is this your first Alaska trip? I plan on gong next year from Texas. Probably going to end up either selling the bike up there and flying back or shipping it back, only due to time.

> 1999 - 30,000 miles and headed to Alaska the 27 of this month from > Salt Lake City, trailering from FL if anyone would like to join us. 1 > semi-geezer and 2 young bucks. > > We'll be travelling up the Icefield Parkway to Jasper and then NW. The > only "planned" stops are Denali and in/at Laird Hot Springs to conduct > a scientific study regarding the change in density of consumed and > strained Adult Beverages vs the density of the Hot spring Spring itself. > > Wayne > >