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

They discontinued them for two or three years, brung ‘em back in ‘23, dealers couldn’t keep them on the shelf. Everybody who wanted one bought one. Dealers ordered more for this year but sales went flat, they’re willing to make a deal.

I looked hard to fulfill my religious obligation to own a Harley at least once in my life, looked hard but couldn’t warm up to any. All that extra weight and steel to no particular purpose. Plus I would never own a bike I couldn’t pick back up/push out of a ditch by myself.

THE most fun bike I owned back in my motorcycle period was 55,000 miles on a ‘92 KLR650: good for crossing the country on the Superslab, blitzing down dirt roads and dogging semi-skilled Ninja pilots on backroads.

Just paid cash for a 2024 to be shipped in 😎

Mid-life crisis all all that…

Musta finally got that water heater paid off eh?

Water heater?

No?


I thought you were on a payment plan for something.


Anyway...how are you gonna get on that thing? Step stool tied to a rope?

Just the pickup at this particular moment in time, they gave me a really good interest rate because I’m handsome.


I could high kick like Bruce Lee to get on the last one. Ain’t done that in a while.

“Ahem”…… There’s the 33” KLR and then again there’s the 30” KLR S.

The “S” stands for “short”, “Senior”,”senile”,”stupid” etc….

For the times when I ain’t tough enough to get it done on a bicycle.

Good for you!

You get the green or the gray?

That xr650L of mine is a mile high.

No one takes it when I am not looking.


Your buddy who picked you up put here is going to be very disappointed in you.

He encouraged me to buy it, just yesterday. Could be he took out a policy.

Very popular style of bike on my turf

https://www.kawasaki.com/en-us/motorcycle/klr/dual-sport/klr650

White fairing, grey tank, which why they had to look.

Kawasaki plastic is notorious for fading. Faded white looks better’n faded green or grey IMHO. A tad more visible too.

Hahaha!


He was sure down on all our motorbikes.


I guess getting hurt that bad will do that to you.

I'll just stick to riding Harley Davidsons, thanks.

Once a woman let me ride her HD Lowrider, she was somewhere behind on my Yamaha. We passed a crew of big ol’ Harley riders coming the other way.

Me and the other members of the Harley brethren all exchanged waves as we passed.

None of them waved at her

i really like them DualSports... but why do they halfta' make em so Goldurn Ugly these days... guess i'm stuck in the 70's.... Riiiiing! Ding ding ding ding...

What about a yamaha tw200?

Pretty slow.

My most favorite bike of any I've owned or ridden, including Harleys, was my Suzuki DR-650, a tad more nimble version of the KLR-650.

Spiral fracture of the femur, compound tibia/fibula just above the ankle

That’s what happens when your foot waits a microsecond too long before joining you as you sail across the hood of the left-turning old lady that finally t caught up to you after 30+ years of accident-free riding.

Great bike, I wouldn’t want to ride one to NY State tho.

Are they even freeway legal?

I can try to one-up that. I ran an event with my son-in-law. I did a 5K, he did a 10 mile. At the finish they gave out the same shirt for both events so I went and hung out with the 10-milers. We all had a good laugh at the 5Kers. Son-in-law looked a little piqued.

Scarce as hen’s teeth around here, might be finally going out of production after all these years. Still carbureted, they never fuel injected it like the KLR which does not augur well for the future. Already unavailable in Australia.

Quicker and lighter than a KLR, better suspension, better in the dirt. One thing I really like about the KLR is its water cooled. Stalled in traffic that fan kicks in and blows hot air all over your knee, so it overheats your knee and not so much the motor.

had a KLX 650R that was one bad SOB . A guy really needed some pretty serious inseam to reach the ground I was fine but most people were not..


https://ridermagazine.com/2013/10/04/retrospectve-kawasaki-klx650-1993-1996/

I've owned a couple in the past, I just wish they could shave a hundred pounds off them.

My 2016 Isle of Man TT t-shirt is the real deal, so is my son’s 😎

Only problem is most people over here have no clue what it means.

Maybe we should get Harley t-shirts.

I still have my KLR 650 but it needs a big bore kit and a different carb. Saet is too soft and is one of the worst seats I have ridden on. The new ones are much better. I have a KLX 250 which is a decent little bike and a Suzuki V Strom which is a very good road bike. I'll probably not buy another new bike. I can't warm up to all the electronic gimmickry. GD

Nah, stick with the TT shirt, or even a straight jacket - I like to know who the crazy people are.

That was the ac unit.

I got the camo version. Love it, just don’t have time to ride as much as I want to.

I should put the battery back in tomorrow.

I almost entered the TT in 88. Couldn't get our hands on a TZ-500. Damn... That was a long time ago.

Hahaha!

If I was a smart man, I’d hop on one right now. I’d just be using it to get to gravel forest service roads, then on to fishing spots or camping. no serious dirt.

But, I have been reading/watching too much content on the Aprillia Tuareg 660.

Fuggin’ Iteys go and make some in incredible s—t, with the some of the worst reliability in the world… Oh and heaven help you if you need a part shipped from Italy…

Rear window defroster finally get you?

Christ, an old XR500 will mor'n get it done, with Honda reliability.

ac? water heater?…… who does that?

“Desmodromic valves”, the answer to a question nobody asked 🙂

You’ll love the fuel injection.

I’m 6’4-6’5 and the the KLR was a good fit me.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away the Harley crowd used to rag on Japanese bikes as being “disposable”. Back in the ‘80’s the Evo motor was a revelation. In the forty years since however HD saw fit to make continual engine modifications and changes, incidentally making the bikes less and less rebuildable. Egad, the latest Sportster replacement, the water-cooled “Nightster”, has a big fake gas tank with the real gas tank under the seat.

Meanwhile Kawasaki has been making the 652cc KLR motor mostly unchanged since they bumped it up from a 600 in 1987. I believe the KLR is the oldest streetbike design currently in production in the US.

Indeed, I was stunned to find the classic dual purpose version had been taken out of production some time back when I wasn’t paying attention.

I had no idea you raced motorcycles at one time Bart, tho I ain’t surprised to hear it.

Most folks here are prob’ly aware of the TT and what it is, but if they ain’t here’s a link. If it didn’t actually happen you wouldn’t believe it possible.


IOM TT

My son and I went in 2016. The hardest part is getting on the island, we got two of the last slots on a ferry for even pedestrians with no vehicle when we reserved the summer before.

Once on the island….

Taxi to a campground-$10
Cost of campground just 100 yards from the pits/start-finish line - $18 per person per night.
The public can wander freely through the pits during race prep.
The racing as shown, right there on the street in front of you.
The Chief of Police was running the breakfast kiosk at the campground.
He was also the head Track Marshall, he invited my son along as he drove the 37 mile loop to check it right before the races started (the roads close at 10am on race days).
You can leave anything laying out, the theft rate is almost nonexistent.
Great conversations with people from all over the world.
Thousands of motorcycles of all descriptions.

It’s like nothing else of earth 😎

Yeah, mine's fine except for the oil burning. That is why it needs the kit. The carburetor sux. The great thing about it is that it is torquey and hooks up real well. The down side is the weight and brakes which are just slightly better than dragging your feet. They are the perfect anti-lock brake however; they won't lock-up on gravel. The new ones are much better in the brake department and the fuel injection takes care of the carb issue. GD

Has Kawasaki updated the engine at all? I bought one new in 08, and still have it. There sure is a cult following and for them.

Putting in the 685 kit was by far the best modification I made. Mine started burning oil from almost new, which was a common issue for the 08’s. The new piston made it run smoother, little more power, and zero oil consumption.

Birdwatcher: Kel-Tec something?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Fuel injection and different cam timing when they brung it back in ‘22, prob’ly to accommodate the catalytic converter 🙄

Absent antilock brakes, since ‘22 this latest model is 21lbs heavier than my ‘92 was, plus another 3lbs if you get the ABS version.

Yeah, me too.. I had a couple fast bikes 30 years ago or so.. They were 'ok', but nothing anyone would wanna ride more than a hundred miles unless they had a water bottle and a handful if aspirin.. At my age - comfort is king and I can (and have) ridden nearly 1000 miles in one day on my '14 HDUC.....

Nobody's gonna do that on a KR650 unless yer azz has been replaced with titanium..

Side note (re: a poster above).....at the HD dealership Friday there was a bike on the floor (don't know who made it) that would have required the legs of an NBA Center to even get NEAR the pavement.. I swear that seat was nearly up to my armpits! And the distance from the top of the rear tire to the fender hadda be measured in FEET... It looked to be so uncomfortable that riding on a lumber wagon over boulders woulda been a solid improvement..

A good friend of mine, met in university, goes every few years.

Cool bikes.

First gens were around forever. Newer ones are pretty damn heavy for a dual sport. Near the same weight as a Vstrom.

Nothing to it (or weren’t about thirty years back)……

1) Get up early, start up the KLR in San Antonio.

2) Reset the mechanical trip meter over to “000”, head out.

3) Ride until the trip meter turned to “000” again, which would be somewhere in East Tennessee late that night.

Dunno how this next one is going to play out.

I remember when you did that.

Yeah... I raced motocross, supercross, flat track, and Formula-2 road racing. I could blister a set of slicks as fast
as anyone on two wheels when I first started riding on road tracks. Been around Laguna Seca and abuncha cities
that hosted supercross events. Made a little money... Got in trouble with the IRS... Chased a few Pit-Bunnies...

Well, to be fair, no one is going to do a 250 mile day of third world two track on a Harley cruiser, either. Horses for courses is a thing.

Adventure travel bikes are a thing. In fact, they are the hottest segment of the motorcycle market at present.

Oh, and motocross is also a thing.

But not street legal.

You can have more fun on a KLX.

KTM Adventure in whatever cc Variant that suits you is my preference in that category.

KLR gets it done but will drain your bank account with mods to make it like you want it. The only Thumper that I’ve ever owned that wouldn’t wheelie without the clutch.

KTM might need a seat improvement depending on your rear end and usage but not much else.

I’m not against the big K, just too utilitarian. Honda XR650R with a starter and a heavier duty rear frame for accessories was the bike that I wanted for the longest until I bought a KTM 950 Adv.

Right now without any two wheelers though, a KLR would be a welcome friend.

I had a 2009 KLR 650. Was a fun bike on back roads and dirt tracks. A teenage girl on her cell phone pulled out in front of me. I managed to miss her but that convinced me that about 45 years of riding with no major accidents was enough. Have to admit, I'd like to have another KLR to leave at my cabin in the mountains. Look on facebook market place. Lots of the for sale on there around me at least.

Yepper, I’m cognizant of the dangers, I run similar risks all the time on a road bicycle too. Sobering.

For me this is a damned-if-I-do, damned if I don’t situation.

I didn’t throw a leg over a motorcycle until age twenty-eight, didn’t hardly get off one until going-on forty about 250,000 miles and five motorcycles later, daily transportation, even got married in my motorcycle club t-tshirt. Wife, kid and dogs, can’t fit em on a bike, so motorcycling tapered off. Dug my mothballed ‘92 KLR out of mothballs in 2010 to ride up to NY State to ride back with my brother with his bike when he was coming down to attend an AA Convention.

Thought I was done after that, but I got a brother and two nephews on motorcycles now, in a large part due to my example. I want to go riding with them.

No wife now but still have dogs, other than an occasional road trip, this new bike might get ridden once a month. Prob’ly gonna need a trickle charger.

I liked my KLR.

cool bike, I almost caved and canceled my order on my tenere 700, glad I didn't the t7 has almost double the power for a bike in the same class essentially. I rode a DR 650 for quite a few years which is pretty close in power to a KLR, holding out for alot more power was worth it. in the last couple years there are even better bikes out that are in the same class as the t7, the honda transalp looks really cool with even more power to boot. the nordan 901 has over 100 horse, that autta rip pretty darn good.

Congrats! Did you get the base model or one with some luggage on it?

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.

Nice bike, the “Adventure” version with engine guard (AKA “slider”) fog lamps and luggage. I had that same slider installed on mine at the time of purchase, it might help protect the plastic when it falls over.

Along those lines next purchases will be a luggage rack and a set of big aluminum panniers. I have heard they make the bike easier to pick up again when it does fall over. An important consideration for us Boomer types.

We have almost 8 months of cold and wet weather up here north of Kansas City. Unfortunately, the motorcycles spend most of their time in the shed waiting for warmer weather.

kwg

I took mine for a little spin today.. get it up to 70-80 and the air was cold.


Mine has an outlet for charging too.

Damn good looking scooter there Birdie, hope you enjoy it.

Be safe & feel the wind.

$125 for the parts for me if I want to add it, dunno how hard an install it would be. One thing it did say is the charging outlet is not waterproof.

I had a BMW R100 gs/pd for a couple of years that had heated handgrips. I swear even in cold weather you could ride in a t-shirt as long as you were holding on to the hot grips. Weird. I dunno if your bike came with them but it seems like the factory option could be worth it. I have read they have upped the alternator output on these latest KLRs to handle all these accessories.

That white looks a lot nicer than the other colors I've seen. I'm sure it'll be fun.

Dam they are heavy though……..