Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Now is a good time to shop for a KLR 650

1K a day, that's the last thing I would want to do on a bike. Pounding down the pavement on the freeway with fences on both sides.

May as well sit in a car or get in the big tube and get it done.

Just my opinion about riding, each to his ownus.

Back "when playboys ruled the world".

"Im a man in hurry", only film quote I can remember!

Then you'd end up with an XR650L

Power is largely overrated. What do you do with the extra power an T7 has over a KLR?

The base, the short “S” version. I wasn’t too impressed with the relatively small hard luggage on the “Adventure” version and in one online road test one pannier along with the additional “fog lamps” on a light bar both broke when the bike was dropped hard off-road, not a surprise if you’ve seen the bike.

I’m all about soft luggage for that reason, I can’t believe I tossed out my old soft luggage and jacket a couple of years back, figuring my motorcycle days were over. Fortunately, I still have the helmet.

The “Adventure” model does come with an engine guard/crash bars they call a slider”, a $300 accessory on the base. Seems like a worthwhile add on.

I know you'll enjoy it. It's a great way to satisfy wanderlust. KLRs truly are the Swiss Army Knives of motorcycles.

Harleys are traveling works of art, a genuine slice of America.

At the prices I was willing to pay though I was looking at used. My favorite thing on a motorcycle, besides the passenger, was to load up with camping gear and head out for distant horizons, prob’ly happen again with this one.

Ya I know Harleys can last high mileage with proper maintenance, that being an unknown with used.

All of the six Sportsters I looked at had an aftermarket (ie loud) “look-at-me”exhaust pipes on it. Five were the “Custom” version with the low cornering clearance and that sciatica-inducing (feet way forward) riding position.

One guy had switched out the original handgrips for chromed metal ones Like I’d really want slippery metal grips on a bike, hard to hang on to even when dry 🥴

Ya, I know there’s great Harleys out there, just not within my present budget/mission statement..

I put 55,000 trouble free miles on my ‘92 KLR. I did appreciate the fact that the motor was under stressed with a relatively modest power output. OTOH the broad flat powerband the Kawasaki engineers had tweaked out of that single four valve 650cc cylinder was impressive.

You could just thump along quietly on a dirt or backroad with a passenger on a nice day, torque available at the twist of a wrist, or run all day at 80 on the Interstate.

Most fun of all though was dogging sport bikes on tight, winding roads. My previous 750 Ninja was better than me most everywhere, whereas on the KLR with just 30 rear wheel horses, you had to pick your lines, shifts and braking points just right, didn’t need to watch the tach the thumper told you what you needed to know.

I think this aspect accounts for the popularity of the “Motos”; modest displacement dirt bikes set up with sport bike tires.

The KLR finally arrived.

Mid-life crisis purchase.

Hadn’t thrown a leg over a motorcycle in 14 years.

Turns out I still remember how it’s done.

200 mile trip from the dealer today, the manual said not to take it over 60mph for the first 150 miles, I wanted to get that over with ASAP, after that not to exceed 88mph for the first 500. Not exceeding 88mph generally ain’t a problem for a KLR tho it can get there if you’re patient. Useful acceleration Peter’s out at about 85.

This is peak migration weekend so I was gonna ride it to the coast and birdwatch, spend the night down there on the beach/give Rog a call, birdwatch Sunday then ride home up I 37 by dark.

But… it was sustained 20mph S winds gusting to 30+ from the Gulf of Mexico, forecast to continue overnight into tomorrow. Perfect for migrating birds, even a warbler can hit 40-50 in those conditions. Sucks for birders tho, the birds don’t stop at the coast they keep on trucking inland. Not much fun to ride a motorcycle in either.

So…. 102 miles from the dealership to Presidio La Bahia, Goliad, change of plans, then 120 miles back to my driveway, the last 70 miles of which were more entertaining.

A dealer here has some crazy good prices on leftovers.

A rider can’t consider himself a hard core biker unless he owned at least one KLR in his lifetime.

I have a 390 Adventure. Enough engine for me and very nimble. 70 mpg is a nice side benefit.

Looks good Mike. Congratulations and hope you enjoy it !!!

I cannot tell if you’re serious, but I still ain’t full-filled my Harley obligation.

One thing different from decades back, in this brief 200 mile sample, Harley riders too were freely extending the motorcycle wave; left arm extended down at angle,

The ''break-in'' period is hawg-worsh- the corporations main concern is $dollars$ .
Watch/read motoman engine break-in- if the info is still there- two brothers bought CBR 600 Honda's . And agreed to the break-in experiment- one went by the factory recommendations the other ran his bike up to 3/4 throttle after a couple of miles. Motoman & crew took both engines apart at 5-600 miles. Factory break-in procedure bike internals were loaded with black carbon, piston/head/cylinder ect. other bike clean and shiny and faster . Proven many times that getting the rings seated quickly is very important.
Anyway- that's a great looking bike Mike- a perfect mid-size Adv-Bike- proven and affordable.

I recognize those side gates!

You are right about the damned wind. It's been like for awhile now....I'm ready for a lot less wind, and lot more rain.

My local Kawasaki dealer has a bright red 650s setting on the show room floor. The color even matches my new Chevy pickup. Getting the wife's approval is just a bridge too far.

kwg

This here is the t-shirt I got married in 30+ years back….





No worries, that’s a Ducati on the front, as ridden by our President, a leather clad German woman who, in no particular order, loved motorcycles, beer, cigarettes and men 😎

She came riding up to the bar one night all bummed out because a local frat-boy sport bike club had rejected her application for membership. So we formed a club right there in front of the bar with her as President.

We weren’t at all picky like the outlaw clubs, we’d let just anyone in. I can’t recall any rules either. Pretty much all ya had to do was buy a t-shirt, it did help if you had a motorcycle of course. We even had a guy who rode a Sportster.

Good times 🙂

#stillnotahardcorebikerIguess

If you DO buy it, be aware that Kawasaki plastic is notorious for fading, which is why I wanted a white one. Reviews say the KLR “s” version like mine has better suspension, with less travel they made it stiffer.