|
|
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,456 Likes: 2
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,456 Likes: 2 |
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.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,456 Likes: 2
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,456 Likes: 2 |
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 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. 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 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.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,456 Likes: 2
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,456 Likes: 2 |
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 23,034 Likes: 6
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 23,034 Likes: 6 |
Birdwatcher: Kel-Tec something?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,902
Campfire 'Bwana
|
|
OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,902 |
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. 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.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 59,157 Likes: 2
Campfire Kahuna
|
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 59,157 Likes: 2 |
I'll just stick to riding Harley Davidsons, thanks. 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.. 
Last edited by Redneck; 04/07/24.
Ex- USN (SS) '66-'69
Pro-Constitution.
LET'S GO BRANDON!!!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,713 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
|
|
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,713 Likes: 2 |
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. I almost entered the TT in 88. Couldn't get our hands on a TZ-500. Damn... That was a long time ago. 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 TTMy 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 😎 A good friend of mine, met in university, goes every few years.
Conduct is the best proof of character.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 25,105
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 25,105 |
Cool bikes.
First gens were around forever. Newer ones are pretty damn heavy for a dual sport. Near the same weight as a Vstrom.
“Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.”
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,902
Campfire 'Bwana
|
|
OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,902 |
I'll just stick to riding Harley Davidsons, thanks. 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.. 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.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 24,362 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 24,362 Likes: 1 |
I'll just stick to riding Harley Davidsons, thanks. 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.. I remember when you did that.
PRESIDENT TRUMP 2024/2028 !!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Bristoe
The people wringing their hands over Trump's rhetoric don't know what time it is in America.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 22,134
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 22,134 |
I had no idea you raced motorcycles at one time Bart, tho I ain’t surprised to hear it. 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...
----------------------------------------
I'm a big fan of the courtesy flush.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 6,254
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 6,254 |
I'll just stick to riding Harley Davidsons, thanks. 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.. 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.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,322
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,322 |
Christ, an old XR500 will mor'n get it done, with Honda reliability. But not street legal.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 17,148 Likes: 3
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 17,148 Likes: 3 |
You can have more fun on a KLX.
-OMotS
"If memory serves fails me..."
Quote: ( unnamed) "been prtty deep in the cooler todaay "
Television and radio are most effective when people question little and think even less.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,276
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,276 |
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.
Originally Posted By: slumlord
people that text all day get on my nerves
just knowing that people are out there with that ability,....just makes me wanna punch myself in the balls
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,363 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,363 Likes: 2 |
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.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,902
Campfire 'Bwana
|
|
OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,902 |
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. 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.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 11,366
Campfire Outfitter
|
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 11,366 |
1st Special Operations Wing 1975-1983
919th Special Operations Wing 1983-1985 1993-1994
"Manus haec inimica tyrannis / Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" ~Algernon Sidney~
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,109
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,109 |
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.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 26,558 Likes: 16
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 26,558 Likes: 16 |
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… Congrats! Did you get the base model or one with some luggage on it?
|
|
|
|
|
597 members (10gaugemag, 1beaver_shooter, 12344mag, 06hunter59, 10Glocks, 160user, 65 invisible),
2,104
guests, and
1,255
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,192,034
Posts18,481,933
Members73,959
| |
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/kXBLCbJz/IMG-0502.jpg)
