Today may be the last day with the KLR

[Apex]

It truly is crazy to think about. I honestly purchased this bike with zero intent on ever selling it. A single carb, single piston, just an easy bike to ride. It is tall so I can easily see around me, a little on the heavier side, which makes it great for long distance rides and cruising down the highway. It honestly is a good bike. I only have four complaints about the bike. First, the seat is horribly uncomfortable, but then again, it was never meant to spend hours in the saddle, but more of an mix of standing and sitting. Secondly, the tires. The tires themselves aren't bad, but just dealing with the whole tubes thing kinda stinks. Third, burning oil. Why they have to do me like that with the piston rings? Fourth, the brakes are *not* good. Single biter on the front and back. Couple that with insane nose dive when you brake and it is crazy.

Even though this list is plenty for some to NEVER get a KLR, I still fancy the bike quite a bit. Regardless, it is time to move on. My partner needs a bike. The Z125 pro was originally intended for her, but she had a fight with her mom over the phone earlier that day, and I guess wasn't in the right head when I asked her if this was what she wanted. The crazy thing is once it became mine, I take it any chance I can. I love that little bike. So much fun.

What will the KLR be replaced with? Well, if they get it assembled today, a 2023 Honda Navi. I am kind of excited about it. It has been ages since I've been on a clutchless ride, so that will be interesting. I am also stoked to see how my lady does on it. The shifting always threw her on the Z. I think she would enjoy more of a twist-and-go ride for now. She wants to learn the clutch and everything, but this will allow her to get comfortable on a bike first, then we can upgrade her later (and might keep the Navi anyway).

Having a brand new ride would be nice as well. 2300-ish out the door too, which should be dang close to what the KLR is worth right now as a trade. Though the ride back from that particular dealer, it will be an easy 1.5 hours with traffic. So we will see. The dealer has to put it together, as they just sold off the last floor model. So I'm calling him today, asking him to expidite the assembly and that I would be there later on this afternoon to do the trade. Hopefully it will be a red or green one, as that yellow is...interesting.... lol

I'll keep you all posted.

[Bob KellyIII]

We each have to weigh the pro's and cons of a bike in our own way
some may say that the KLR's weight is a forbiding factor.... I would !
and realising that the smaller 125 is the bike you'ed rather Ride IS a major thing.... your riding for the fun of it.... and there for get one that is fun for you
.... that is it in a nut shell... although the KLR will be missed there is no doubt
but it won't be missed that much, I don't think !
....
my RX4 was not the right machine for me, I thought it was but it wasn't !
when I finally got the XR650L seat height low enough for me to go for a ride
I was elated at the power and front brake of the bike.... the rear brake sux but I think that can be fixed ! and it is OVER 100lbs lighter than the RX4
and has alot more power.... I can even wheelie with the thing if I hold my mouth just right ...LOL
for putting down the back roads on a street leagle bike that will do the speed limit, I can't beat it.... and YES the fun factor is alot higher with this bike too.... and another factor for me is the ease of working on the thing.
so I am Happy I got rid of the RX4 and I hope you will be glad you did too !
...finding the right bike for you takes a while !
.....
Bob........

[Apex]

Well, she went bye bye today. The price was right, and my KLR is going to find a new home.

But say hello to the new scoot! Top speed maybe low 50's, but it is so much fun to ride.

[Snake]

Congratulations on the new ride!

[Bob KellyIII]

Congrats Apex !
So what the heck is a Honda Navi ???
I don't have a Honda dealer any where close to me any more.... it's 75 miles away now in both directions , north and south ! LOL
....
More Pic's and an explanation of it please !
....
Bob.....

[Apex]

The Honda Navi is a 110cc scooter (okay, actually 109cc). It is technically classified as a 'minimoto' as it has enough displacement to require a M class license.

Out the door it ran me just over $2300.

Honda's site:
https://powersports.honda.com/motorcycle/minimoto/navi

It has a CTV transmission, which will be great for my lady. She never had to drive at all until now, so throwing her on the Z, and teaching driving on top of shifting was just a bit overwhelming for her.

The cool thing is even if the battery dies, you have a kickstart backup. I honestly expected to kinda regret getting the Navi, but after being on it for 80 miles, I can tell you this thing is just a pleasure to ride. It isn't fast, it doesnt' do bumps well, but dang, it is fun and VERY agile.

It weighs in at 236lbs loaded and ready to roll. Fuel is the blah point. The stock tank is only 0.9 gallons. Revving it out on my 40-mile commute this morning got me 63mpg. I'm taking a *slightly* slower route after work to see if I can get better. By slower, I mean maybe only 7-minutes slower. If I can eek out an additional 20mpg by keeping this thing at 40mph or below, that is fine by me. I don't want to rev it out anyway.

The cluster is very simple, with just an odometer, speedo and fuel gauge. That is it, not even a trip meter. Has a 16mm bore carb on it, so it is dead simple to work on with very limited electronics.

Heck, when you turn the key on, NOTHING, comes on. No lights or anything, until you start it, then it all powers up.

I honestly have ZERO regrets on selling the KLR for this. I am definitely a small discplacement guy. Talking with those who work at the dealer, man, it seems like we all are. They either ride a Z-125, Grom, Ninja 400, or something else like the Trail 125, and still have 600c+ bikes, but constantly choose the tiny ones. Don't blame them, I am the same. Had the KLR, but always chose the Z. I'm breaking this one in for her...riding it mainly until its first oil change, then we will get her practicing. This is also for me to find out the character of the bike, and then relay what I've learned to her as well, so she knows what to expect when riding on the road.

It is an awesome little bike. I've only gotten it to 53mph, and it didn't have much left in her unless I found a downhill. But she does 45 all day, unless the hill gets really steep.

Performance.....well, what performance can you expect from only a 109cc engine? A whopping 7.8hp at 9,500rpm and 6.6 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 rpm. Stopping is done via two independent drum brakes. Suspension is only 3.5" of travel, so you gotta get out of the seat on bigger bumps. It is actually really easy to get used to. Mainly just pull back on the bars, put weight on your feet, and that normally is enough to soak up the impact.

I did take a very 'spirited' turn and leaned it over a healthy dose, it was rock solid, stayed firm and planted. Very confidence inspiring. Heck, I'd love to find a go-kart track and put together a small race between stock Navi's lol, it would be a riot.

The box under the 'tank' is a storage compartment. Almost big enough to handle my bulky lunch box, but not quite. However, it held every tool I had in my KLR, as well as a tire plug kit, with tons of room to spare.

So the engine:
Fan cooled single, 2-valve SOHC, 5.0x55.6mm bore/stroke. Nothing fancy at all.


Verdict:
Don't expect much. Just know it is slow, and old school. However, if you know this, and just want a fun, non-shifting, insanely easy to ride bike....(one that I'll admit makes me want to pass traffic on a sidewalk)....this is for you. From everything I've seen it is stupid easy to work on too. A few larger sockets and electric impact, and everything on the bike is accessible to an at-home wrencher. Electronics are minimal, reducing wiring headaches. So, yeah, zero regrets.

[Bob KellyIII]

Wow that's a good looking bike ! congrats !

HA ! I am glad you are happy ! now the pirty one and you can go for rides
and that is where the fun is !
I spent the first 10 years of bike riding on a 1963 90cc Honda sport.
so yes 45 ~50mph was tops , but it ran forever ! when I first got it it had a tendency to melt pistons and it took a long time to figure that out as I was just a snot nosed kid at the time.... when I finally figured out the main jet was too small and replaced it with a bigger one it never seized a piston again.
I put on thousands of miles on that little bike and found later that the front brake works differently on heavier bikes if you hit the front brake on my Honda 90cc it would almost always slide out from under you and leave you hurting on the ground especially on dirt roads.... tell her to only use the back brake !
yes the stopping power is in the front but you will go down if you use the front brake on the dirt.... I know I did it a hundred times !
.... as I got older I got bigger heavier bikes and they do react differently
mostly your not on the dirt with them.... and the front brakes actually work good....
So to this day I use the front brake lightly and I think it's safer to do it that way.... I save the front for emergency braking..... or holding still at a stop sign !
However I have used the front brake on the ninja hard in corners just to see how she reacts and there is no problem with that heavy little girl
but I tend to favor the rear brake more than the front when riding in general
just because of the past experience of the front sliding out so many times in the past.... you learn to leave that front brake alone especially on the dirt
or on a little bike I had the front try to slide out from under me on the main road on the 90cc as well.... the front just does not have the traction it needs to slow the bike much.
....
it's not the bike that will Kill you its the cars ! you must drive defensively or die. if you teach your gal one thing teach her that ! a 200lb bike does not fair well when they tangle with a 4000 lb car.

........
Bob........

[Apex]

Been riding this exclusively since I got it. I have since got my Z back up and running, but I have yet to take it for a test ride to verify all is well. However, this little scoot has been great!

The worst gas mileage I have ever seen was when I tried to keep it in the 50+mph range. It drops into the 60's. However, if I just leave out a bit earlier, and keep the speed around 40....I can see anything from 80-95mpg, depending on how hard I twist the grip from a stop (and of course, how many stops I've made.
I usually fill it up after about 50-60 miles. I did get an MSR 30oz fuel bottle that I keep on me. I have yet to use it, but I really should start to. If it extends my range, might as well. My ONLY complaint about the bike is the tank size, 0.9 gallons is not much. A 1.5g tank would have been amazing. Still, no regrets at all!

My insurance, unfortunately, went up about $5/month with this bike. Probably because it is brand new and all that. Dunno. Oh well, still, I like it a lot. Each trip to work is 40-miles one way, so I get a lot of time on the bike.

I even had my fiancee' take it out and test ride it in a parking lot. She did great! The bike is for her afterall, I'm just breaking it in and figuring out the character of the bike, so I can relay it to her. Still, when I tried to teach her on the Z, she was very timid, almost afraid of the bike. This one she just zooms around on it like it is nothing. This was exactly what she needed.

Good thing I have the Z-125 too, it won't feel like I'm having to creep along when she gets licensed and we ride together. Sure, I'll be able to outrun her, but we will be more closely matched than a Navi and a KLR650

I'm eager to get her riding more.

[Bob KellyIII]

HAHA ! Well, it sounds like you are really happy ! and that is good !
it is so much funner on a bike when you have your loved one riding next to you
....
I just painted all the White on my XR650L today.... I didn't like the way they split up the bike with the color change so it's all red now...I jokingly told the wife "Well it really is Big Red now".... HAHAHA!
I still have to get the Samdo spedometer on that thing ! but I am reluctant to open that can of worms...there is very little documentation on how to hook it up.... but I did bring a battery into the house and power it up..... it works !
.....
Bob......