tool care on the bike

[benhua4]

I would like to take this opportunity to say hello to the KLR650 group. I have been following the posts on this forum for the last several weeks and have learned a lot. I wish I had found this group before I bought my bike. Then again maybe it is a good thing I didn't know as much about the KLR before I bought it as I do now ;o) My very limited experience with the KLR has been outstanding but there are a lot of horror stories on the various forums, but such is the nature of the beast (the internet not the KLR). There are a lot of KLRs and they have been around a loooong time. So I guess that means that a big data base of good and bad experiences exist. The bad tends to get a lot more play than the good, after all these forums exist in part so the poor soul that is having trouble with his bike can get some help. Am I rambling? When I finally narrowed my bike hunting down to a KLR I really had a hard time trying to decide whether to get a new 07 at a discount price or the new 08 at MSRP (shoot, the dealer here in town wanted 600 over list +TTL! Forget That!). Can you imagine going to the store picking up a big screen TV, taking it to the check out counter and having the cashier charge you an extra $200 for shipping and $300 to take it out of the box? I don't want anything bad enough to pay over list price. Oh ya, and he wouldn't let me ride the 08 before I paid for it. Needless to say I didn't buy my bike locally. I drove to the next town where they treated me right. Opps, sorry for the rant. Anyway, I have never ridden a pre 08 KLR and don't know anyone that has one, so all I had to go on to compare the two bikes was what I could find on the internet. As it turns out I am glad I spent the extra bucks to get the 08. I bought an 08 about a month ago after being away from the Motorcycle scene for many years. All things considered I really like the bike so far. I just passed the 1000 mile mark last week on a ride from Traverse City, Michigan up M22 to North Port, MI and back. The bike is very smooth for a single cylinder, at least compared to the old thumpers I remember. Heck, it's smoother than the twins I used to ride. Based on my limited experience the bike is fairly light, fast, nimble on paved roads and has wonderful range due to the big tank and a 50mpg appetite. I love the bike for exploring and for just running into town on business or grocery trips. I have a big military surplus aluminum case on the back that will hold a weeks worth of groceries no kidding! This bike is a fantastic two wheel pick up truck. I bought the bike for what I guessed would be 80 or 90% paved road riding and so far it has turned out to be 95% road and 5% off and it is a good thing. The bike is no problem on gravel/dirt roads but I do NOT like the bike for off road here in Michigan. It is too top heavy and squirrelly in the soft sand that makes up most of Northern Michigan. After a rain when the ground is damp the sand is not bad but in soft dry sand --- forget it! I haven't dropped it but I have come too damn close several times. The plastic, radiator and other stuff is too exposed, flimsy and cost too much to replace. I just don't enjoy ridding the KLR in situations that I know will one day lead to a broken radiator ($600) or what ever. I have a trail bike for that! I guess my KLR will be my conservative adventure touring/ exploring bike. So far it has been just fine for that. I broke the bike in pretty much as per the Kawasaki Owners Manual (such as it is). I changed the oil and filter at 300 and 900 miles. So far the bike has not used any abnormal quantities of oil, but it is too early to tell if that will remain the case. I haven't run the bike at high power settings for long distances yet. The 08 balancer system lever looks to be much better made than the earlier ones so I am going to wait a few miles and watch---and listen---and feel before I do the doo. We'll see, I remain pessimistically optimistic. I am an old pilot. The bike was setup correctly by the dealer except for one problem, the battery was way over full. I haven't found any loose or missing fasteners, misrouted cables or wires or any of the other problems that seem to be so prevalent on the forums. So far I am satisfied with the dealer, but it is a big shop and one never knows who will be working on ones bike. These bikes are maintenance hogs and I know I will have to do most if not all of the work. Fortunately I have the tools and a place to work, if not the desire. Life is getting short and I would rather ride than turn wrenches. We'll see how it goes. Well I guess that is enough for now. If any one in the Northern Michigan area wants to get together let me know. Best regards, Bob

[dooden]

Top posted cause.. well I prefer it.. Bob Bob Bob.... Whatta mean hard to ride in soft sand ? I have an 01, and even with stock tires found riding in Michigan sugar sand to be quite easy, to me the 650 makes ample power for sand surfing, get on the pegs find a happy gear, lean back some so the front end is not plowing so much, twist the throttle and toss rooster tails !!! Thing that took me a while (ok once to learn) was that the 650 makes alot more power than the 80cc/90cc/125cc I grew up riding and climbing hills, it does not require a good run and full throttle as did the bikes I learned on, hence after launching like a Delta-5 off a hill and landing smoothly like a M1-A1 Abrams, I learned to adjust my hill climbing style. But did note if I went playing offroad, I could actually see the amount of wear on the rear tire after a ride (stock tires) have since been running Kenda 270 on the rear, and pretty happy with it for the cost/performance, last set I put a K270 on the rear and ended up putting a Dunlop D-606 on the front, and with almost all road miles on then sofar like the combo, but the Kenda rear will develop a flat profile after some miles, but I managed to get less than 3000 miles outta the stock tires, got bit over 7000 on the Kenda's. (I admit I ran them pretty soft most of the time however. Airing down/Airing up just did'nt seem worth it to me, up in Upper Michigan to offroad was just about anywhere, so to be ready I ran them about 22~24 PSI and just left them there. Have Fun Dooden A15 Green Ape

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "benhua4" wrote: > > I would like to take this opportunity to say hello to the KLR650 > group. > > I have been following the posts on this forum for the last several > weeks and have learned a lot. I wish I had found this group before I > bought my bike. Then again maybe it is a good thing I didn't know as > much about the KLR before I bought it as I do now ;o) > > My very limited experience with the KLR has been outstanding but > there are a lot of horror stories on the various forums, but such is > the nature of the beast (the internet not the KLR). There are a lot > of KLRs and they have been around a loooong time. So I guess that > means that a big data base of good and bad experiences exist. The bad > tends to get a lot more play than the good, after all these forums > exist in part so the poor soul that is having trouble with his bike > can get some help. Am I rambling? > > When I finally narrowed my bike hunting down to a KLR I really had a > hard time trying to decide whether to get a new 07 at a discount > price or the new 08 at MSRP (shoot, the dealer here in town wanted > 600 over list +TTL! Forget That!). Can you imagine going to the store > picking up a big screen TV, taking it to the check out counter and > having the cashier charge you an extra $200 for shipping and $300 to > take it out of the box? I don't want anything bad enough to pay over > list price. Oh ya, and he wouldn't let me ride the 08 before I paid > for it. Needless to say I didn't buy my bike locally. I drove to the > next town where they treated me right. Opps, sorry for the rant. > Anyway, I have never ridden a pre 08 KLR and don't know anyone that > has one, so all I had to go on to compare the two bikes was what I > could find on the internet. As it turns out I am glad I spent the > extra bucks to get the 08. > > I bought an 08 about a month ago after being away from the Motorcycle > scene for many years. All things considered I really like the bike so > far. I just passed the 1000 mile mark last week on a ride from > Traverse City, Michigan up M22 to North Port, MI and back. The bike > is very smooth for a single cylinder, at least compared to the old > thumpers I remember. Heck, it's smoother than the twins I used to > ride. Based on my limited experience the bike is fairly light, fast, > nimble on paved roads and has wonderful range due to the big tank and > a 50mpg appetite. I love the bike for exploring and for just running > into town on business or grocery trips. I have a big military surplus > aluminum case on the back that will hold a weeks worth of groceries > no kidding! This bike is a fantastic two wheel pick up truck. > > I bought the bike for what I guessed would be 80 or 90% paved road > riding and so far it has turned out to be 95% road and 5% off and it > is a good thing. The bike is no problem on gravel/dirt roads but I do > NOT like the bike for off road here in Michigan. It is too top heavy > and squirrelly in the soft sand that makes up most of Northern > Michigan. After a rain when the ground is damp the sand is not bad > but in soft dry sand --- forget it! I haven't dropped it but I have > come too damn close several times. The plastic, radiator and other > stuff is too exposed, flimsy and cost too much to replace. I just > don't enjoy ridding the KLR in situations that I know will one day > lead to a broken radiator ($600) or what ever. I have a trail bike > for that! I guess my KLR will be my conservative adventure touring/ > exploring bike. So far it has been just fine for that. > > I broke the bike in pretty much as per the Kawasaki Owners Manual > (such as it is). I changed the oil and filter at 300 and 900 miles. > So far the bike has not used any abnormal quantities of oil, but it > is too early to tell if that will remain the case. I haven't run the > bike at high power settings for long distances yet. The 08 balancer > system lever looks to be much better made than the earlier ones so I > am going to wait a few miles and watch---and listen---and feel before > I do the doo. We'll see, I remain pessimistically optimistic. I am an > old pilot. > > The bike was setup correctly by the dealer except for one problem, > the battery was way over full. I haven't found any loose or missing > fasteners, misrouted cables or wires or any of the other problems > that seem to be so prevalent on the forums. So far I am satisfied > with the dealer, but it is a big shop and one never knows who will be > working on ones bike. These bikes are maintenance hogs and I know I > will have to do most if not all of the work. Fortunately I have the > tools and a place to work, if not the desire. Life is getting short > and I would rather ride than turn wrenches. We'll see how it goes. > > Well I guess that is enough for now. > > If any one in the Northern Michigan area wants to get together let me > know. > > Best regards, > Bob >

[Mike Peplinski]

Yes indeedy, the KLR is a unique ride. I ride every bike I can get my hands on, just to try them out and every time I get on the KLR I feel comfortable. I'm a 99% road rider with occasional trips through the fields. While I can't ride like an MX rider at least I don't embarass myself. Simply turning the Concours around on the grass tightens my sphincter. THis makes my KLR feels great off the driveway. The more you ride off road in the sand the more you'll get used to it. Enjoy your new KLR, its barely broken in, just like you. I've had mine for 12000 miles and 2 years and still feel like a rookie. I dropped mine a couple of times, no damage to the A15 bodywork. I learned from the spills. Its heavy but really can squirrel around in the loose just fine when you get the technique down and the confidence up. http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_oct [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[notanymoore]

You made the right decision going with the '08. Reviews state it's more stable on the highway with more power at the top end. I have an '06 and it's a real easy ride, but it lacks a little on the high end and gets blown around above 65 MPH. I was born in Muskegon. I agree on unsuitability of the 650 for serious off-roading. It does great on hard-packed surfaces but suffers in sand and mud. It's just too big and heavy a bike with too many exposed breakables. An aircooled 250 that weighs 100Lbs less is a better bet for that kind of riding. Some of the diehard KLRista's in the group will object to that statement, but it's fact. A few suggestions: a) change the drivetrain. My riding is similar to yours. At 6000 miles I replaced the the stock tires with Bridgestone Trailwings, replaced the stock chain with a performance X-Ring and added the 16 tooth front sprocket. Made a world of difference on asphalt and not much difference on hardpacked trails. b) invest in the "Nerf" bars rollcage. It protects the radiator, plastic parts and engine and gives add'l riding comfort with the highway pegs. The whole set costs $270 but pays for itself if you lay the bike down once or twice. c) go over the bike with a finetooth comb, or rather screwdrivers and a good wrench set. My experience with dealer prep has been less than sterling. I did the usual once-over on mine new, but it wasn't until I put a couple thousand miles on it that I found the upper fork bolts hadn't even been tightened. They were so loose, one had fallen out! So had one of the two rear frame support bolts. And the center fork lug nut wasn't as tight as it could be. Until then I just thought the bike was squirrely on the highway. It was just the fork flexing under load. Properly tghtened, you don't need the popular "fork brace" unless you're bouncing it around offroad (not recommended, see above) and makes it much more stable on the highway. Some people recommend Loctite, I just do the once over every couple weeks; that seems to do the trick. And a couple judiciously placed locking washers. Good riding. Bob #2.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "benhua4" wrote: > > I would like to take this opportunity to say hello to the KLR650 > group. > > I have been following the posts on this forum for the last several > weeks and have learned a lot. I wish I had found this group before I > bought my bike. Then again maybe it is a good thing I didn't know as > much about the KLR before I bought it as I do now ;o) > > My very limited experience with the KLR has been outstanding but > there are a lot of horror stories on the various forums, but such is > the nature of the beast (the internet not the KLR). There are a lot > of KLRs and they have been around a loooong time. So I guess that > means that a big data base of good and bad experiences exist. The bad > tends to get a lot more play than the good, after all these forums > exist in part so the poor soul that is having trouble with his bike > can get some help. Am I rambling? > > When I finally narrowed my bike hunting down to a KLR I really had a > hard time trying to decide whether to get a new 07 at a discount > price or the new 08 at MSRP (shoot, the dealer here in town wanted > 600 over list +TTL! Forget That!). Can you imagine going to the store > picking up a big screen TV, taking it to the check out counter and > having the cashier charge you an extra $200 for shipping and $300 to > take it out of the box? I don't want anything bad enough to pay over > list price. Oh ya, and he wouldn't let me ride the 08 before I paid > for it. Needless to say I didn't buy my bike locally. I drove to the > next town where they treated me right. Opps, sorry for the rant. > Anyway, I have never ridden a pre 08 KLR and don't know anyone that > has one, so all I had to go on to compare the two bikes was what I > could find on the internet. As it turns out I am glad I spent the > extra bucks to get the 08. > > I bought an 08 about a month ago after being away from the Motorcycle > scene for many years. All things considered I really like the bike so > far. I just passed the 1000 mile mark last week on a ride from > Traverse City, Michigan up M22 to North Port, MI and back. The bike > is very smooth for a single cylinder, at least compared to the old > thumpers I remember. Heck, it's smoother than the twins I used to > ride. Based on my limited experience the bike is fairly light, fast, > nimble on paved roads and has wonderful range due to the big tank and > a 50mpg appetite. I love the bike for exploring and for just running > into town on business or grocery trips. I have a big military surplus > aluminum case on the back that will hold a weeks worth of groceries > no kidding! This bike is a fantastic two wheel pick up truck. > > I bought the bike for what I guessed would be 80 or 90% paved road > riding and so far it has turned out to be 95% road and 5% off and it > is a good thing. The bike is no problem on gravel/dirt roads but I do > NOT like the bike for off road here in Michigan. It is too top heavy > and squirrelly in the soft sand that makes up most of Northern > Michigan. After a rain when the ground is damp the sand is not bad > but in soft dry sand --- forget it! I haven't dropped it but I have > come too damn close several times. The plastic, radiator and other > stuff is too exposed, flimsy and cost too much to replace. I just > don't enjoy ridding the KLR in situations that I know will one day > lead to a broken radiator ($600) or what ever. I have a trail bike > for that! I guess my KLR will be my conservative adventure touring/ > exploring bike. So far it has been just fine for that. > > I broke the bike in pretty much as per the Kawasaki Owners Manual > (such as it is). I changed the oil and filter at 300 and 900 miles. > So far the bike has not used any abnormal quantities of oil, but it > is too early to tell if that will remain the case. I haven't run the > bike at high power settings for long distances yet. The 08 balancer > system lever looks to be much better made than the earlier ones so I > am going to wait a few miles and watch---and listen---and feel before > I do the doo. We'll see, I remain pessimistically optimistic. I am an > old pilot. > > The bike was setup correctly by the dealer except for one problem, > the battery was way over full. I haven't found any loose or missing > fasteners, misrouted cables or wires or any of the other problems > that seem to be so prevalent on the forums. So far I am satisfied > with the dealer, but it is a big shop and one never knows who will be > working on ones bike. These bikes are maintenance hogs and I know I > will have to do most if not all of the work. Fortunately I have the > tools and a place to work, if not the desire. Life is getting short > and I would rather ride than turn wrenches. We'll see how it goes. > > Well I guess that is enough for now. > > If any one in the Northern Michigan area wants to get together let me > know. > > Best regards, > Bob >

[C COOPER]

I've got one titanium tire iron and two of the aluminum Motion Pro tire irons - each with the box end wrench same size as the front and rear axle nuts built in. Light and combines tools. All else is a range of sockets and other stuff in part of a tool pouch that was originally made to drape over a 5 gal bucket. When I'm not using the Givi's I put the pouch in a pretty much waterproof day pack. All fits bungeed on the tail rack very easily. I've spent a fair amount of time and thought on the first aid and survival kit too. I've got all the stuff to make a tool tube, but when I got to actually figuring out how to mount it, how it would/could impact riding, coming to rely on it as a footrest while riding, I decided not to install it. Not having it forces me to think about what I ***really*** need to carry. Which invariably is not as much as I first thought. Chuck

On 10/18/07, Arden Kysely wrote: > > I've got the titanium tire irons from Aerostich, no worries about them > rusting. In the past, I've kept steel tire irons in a section of > bicycle inner tube taped at both ends. Keeps them dry as well as > quiet. > > Simplest way to keep the tool pouch dry is to drop it into a Zip-lock > bag. Not that we have to worry about rain much here in SoCal. > > __Arden > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com , "Kevin > Powers" > wrote: > > > > I carry tire irons, wrenches and a pump in a tool tube attached to > the frame > > ahead of the engine and I carry a pouch with some sockets, pliers, > allen > > wrenches and other bits and pieces in a soft pannier. Inevitably, > the stuff > > gets wet in rain, puddles or water crossings and starts to rust. I'm > > curious how other folks have dealt with this? > > > > -- > > Kevin Powers > > White Bear Lake, MN > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Arden Kysely]

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

> > Some people recommend Loctite, I just do the once > over every couple weeks; that seems to do the trick. And a couple > judiciously placed locking washers. > > Good riding. > > Bob #2.

Shocking news-->the '08 KLRs actually come with thread lock on some fasteners. __Arden

[Don Pendergraft]

SNIP Shocking news-->the '08 KLRs actually come with thread lock on some fasteners. SNIP Just not on the muffler bolts. Don't ask me how I know! ) Don+ _____ From: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com [mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Arden Kysely Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 3:34 PM To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Re: New KLR rider. --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com, "notanymoore" wrote:

> > Some people recommend Loctite, I just do the once > over every couple weeks; that seems to do the trick. And a couple > judiciously placed locking washers. > > Good riding. > > Bob #2.

Shocking news-->the '08 KLRs actually come with thread lock on some fasteners. __Arden [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]