Anyone have a KLR?

[red5]

Looking for a dual sport and I like the redesign in '08.

Any experience? Doohickey failure, oil burning, etc, etc?? Thx.

[BRad704]

I like the adventure bikes too. KLR is just one that I keep an eye out for... Have you thought about any others? VStrom650? F800GS?

There are a few at a local dealer (used) for around $5-7k, similar to the KLR's around here.

I like this endorsement for the KLR though "Bikes have been used for long distance and intercontinental trips, as well as full global circumnavigation rides e.g., by Dr. Gregory Frazier in 2001-2002". ~From Wikipedia page...

[broken neck]

When I wanted to switch from my Ninja to a KLR, I've read a lot there...

http://www.klr650.net/forums/

It's like the ninjette.org of the KLX, very friendly and courteous. Tons of tips, advices, etc...

From what I remember, try to get a later "newgen" KLR, 2010 and up, the doohikcey was more reliable, but the spring remain the same tensionless piece of metal. And they're less oil burning story too, but if your ride at highway peed constantly, what the oil level every two fill ups, the high RPM make the engine burn more oil.

Try to get one that has the doohickey done as well as the spring. If it has the Thermo-Bob conversion is a big plus. The bob thing is to keep the coolant température more consistant with less variation, which should help with the life of the engine.

For the rest, you'll be able to customize it, like the Ninja even more...

There you go...

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by red5

Looking for a dual sport and I like the redesign in '08..........

Just in case you are referring to the KLR650:
http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...=KLR650&page=3

[tc.young]

oil burning only meant to be an issue on the 08, maybe some 09's. 08+ are more street friendly, have more plastic so more to damage if taken off road. doohicky should be done on either version, same as thermobob. advrider.com has all the info. i love mine but going in a different direction. also, don't expect to go anywhere fast (unless you like to keep the revs up)

[Alex]

If you go to the Member List under the Community Menu, you can then to an advanced search within it (look near top right of page for Search menu, pull down for advanced). Then you can search for members who have KLR in their motorcycle profile field, and I came up with 42 of them. Here are some of those folks who have logged in within the last two months:
@tc.young @verboten1 @Rexbo @Gregg_VA @justdrew @fierostetz @pick_arse

[fierostetz]

I had one that I recently sold. Zero issues from 4k miles (purchased at) to 16,500 miles. Mods listed below, along with justifications

1. Wal Mart ATV seat cover.
\ Stock seat sucked, the 20 dollar seat cover made *all* the difference. Also, protected stock seat from sun so it'd be in good shape when/if I sold it.

2. Shinko 705 tires
\ Fantastic tires, real cheap, great for 70-80% road use.

3. Twisted Throttle Denali D2 LED lights.
\ Stock headlight not so great, also running with them on I had far fewer people pull in front of me without looking.

4. Lexx exhaust
\ Stock sounded like a lawnmower, and it just felt really plugged up.

5. Uni intake filter
\ See #4

6. JD Jet kit
\ because of 4, 5 - also, used the JD jet kit because it's widely regarded as the best.

7. Doohickey.
\ Cheap insurance. Bike sounded less rattle-y after doing the 'do

8. KLRDash windscreen riser and dash.
\ I'm 6'2" with a penguin like build (all torso) and needed some wind protection. The dash itself gave me a place to mount my GPS and iPhone.

I weight like 250-260 and am 6'2" tall. The bike was great for me, but I eventually sold it to get something more CA freeway friendly. Oil burning was not an issue so long as you're cruising below 5000 rpm (which is about 70mph) - go above that and it'd eat about .25 to .5 quart per tank of gas. I changed sprockets etc. and got it to where I could cruise at 80, but it was worthless off road due to the gearing at that point. Dirt cheap bike to run, addictive to mod (there's just SO much you can do!) and extremely reliable. Bike took a dump about 3k after I sold it because the new owner didn't listen, rode 85mph for a few days without checking the oil. I turned the bike over with explicit care instructions and 2 quarts of oil strapped into the hard luggage and still. A sad end to a trusted steed. I occasionally think about getting another one - if I lived somewhere other than Orange County, CA I wouldn't have sold it. Keeping up with CA highway traffic speeds was keeping it revving to high.

[verboten1]

I love my KLR.

I have put every nice part on it that I could.
It corners like a dream, it handles off road quite well, and it's not too bad on a long tour as well.

I also did the seat pad, because as most know, us KLR riders are cheap bastards.

I put emulators in the forks, and a works performance shock in the back. High compression 685 kit, a nice rack, etc etc




I run Shinko 244 for off road, and 705 for on road. I have put 31,000 miles on mine, and the only reason I am getting rid of it is that I don't do enough offroad, and would like to do more and more "serious" off road when I do.

[red5]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Just in case you are referring to the KLR650:
http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...=KLR650&page=3

I am looking at the 650, thanks.

Originally Posted by Alex

If you go to the Member List under the Community Menu, you can then to an advanced search within it (look near top right of page for Search menu, pull down for advanced). Then you can search for members who have KLR in their motorcycle profile field, and I came up with 42 of them. Here are some of those folks who have logged in within the last two months:
@tc.young @verboten1 @Rexbo @Gregg_VA @justdrew @fierostetz @pick_arse

Again, thanks.

The more I read, the more I think this will fit the bill. Some commuting, weekend fire roads, camping etc. Thanks all.

[verboten1]

Originally Posted by red5

I am looking at the 650, thanks.



Again, thanks.

The more I read, the more I think this will fit the bill. Some commuting, weekend fire roads, camping etc. Thanks all.

James Bay...


Great scenery (after muddy fun)



Get away from it all...


The dragon

[soggybottom]

I had one for a season. I put about 8k miles on it and sold it. Too much vibration for me. My hands would go numb in 20 minutes. Tried different grips/bars but to no avail. I also found the stock seat appalling. It performed terribly off road, and road like an old tractor on road.

[Gregg_VA]

I concur with what has already been mentioned. The oil is a big deal. I rode mine 700 miles one day down to Jacksonville, FL for the Iron Butt Pizza Party and got up the next day and did a Saddle Sore (1,000 miles in 24 hours) all in the State of Florida. I was burning quite a bit of oil but my speeds were up there because a lot of it was freeway. During that ride I stopped at an Auto Parts store and bought Castrol GTX 50 weight oil. It seemed to burn less with 50 over 40. I have since gone to 50 weight for all my oil changes on the KLR.

I went down one tooth on the rear sprocket. My RPMs dropped by 500. I have sacrificed torque for top end and that is OK for me because I don't run knobbies on the bike anyway. The tires I use for the street are Pirelli Scorpion Trails which are around a 90/10 tire. They have a very deep pattern and they are wearing quite well. Since they are a tubeless street tire, I replaced the stock innertubes with Pirelli Heavy Duty Tubes. The combo works very well.

I have found though that if i don't keep the RPMs up around 5000, the engine will start lugging and I have to down shift.

I have aux lights on mine. Can't remember who makes them but they were purchased from one of the KLR sites, Happy Trails I believe but it might have KLR650.net. They are black and sort of shaped like a small soda can. They have mounts that use the two bolts on either side of the windshield so they are up high and are noticible. I bought mine in a mixed configuration. The left one is "spot" for punching down the road, and the right one is "flood" for lighting up the side of the road and the tree line. I also pulled the front nose off and replace the stock headlights with halogens. That alone is a great investment. I used the 35/55W halogens so my actually wattage dropped over stock bulbs.

I replaced the wet cell batter with an Odyssey. It required some mods to get it in (battery mounts on its side) but it is one hell of a strong battery with some cranking power. The stator also seems to do a good job as well consistantly putting out 14+ volts.

I did the doohickey upgrade. Mine is a 2009 and the spring was so loose that I flicked it off the post with a screw driver. Not effort at all required. The upgrade itself is painless, HOWEVER, when removing the one piece valve cover MAKE SURE you also remove the rubber washers before pulling the valve cover off. You don't want to know what that washer sounds like as it falls down inside your engine. Don't ask me how I know this....

I did a lot of upgrades on mine as well. FuzeBlock to handle all my electrical upgrades (mounted in the front nose above the headlights), bash plate and engine guards with highway pegs, center stand, saddle bags, tank bag, Sargant seat (stock seat sucks), and BMW Sport Touring grips to replace the cheesy stock grips. Also, a Zero Gravity smoked windshield in a taller size. I am also built like a penguin as one of the other posters mentioned and with a similar weight (actually more).

I think the stock brakes on the bake are very soft compared to other bikes. I don't know what other's impression are of this but maybe there is a brake upgrade that can be done. I haven't checked into it. I must try to make sure I am not tailgating anyone.

I haven't touched the breather or exhaust. All is stock and yes it does sound like the car on the Jetsons cartoon show (that may be a very dated reference for some of you).


The odo and speedo seem spot on when compared to a GPS. I think I was only 1 or 2 miles on the high side after riding 1,000+ miles.

I installed a Happy Trails fork brace for the front and that really quieted down the wheel chatter and is much better in the twisties.

The vibration can be an issue. It is for me to a certain degree. An even bigger annoyance for me is the width of the handlebars. I know you want wide handlebars when off road for control, but slogging down the highway for hours on end, it really starts to get me right between the shoulder blades.

Hope that helps. If I missed something drop me a line.