klr650 kawasaki, how are they?

 

I'm buying my first bike next month, a kawasaki dual sport klr 650. Can
anybody tell me something about them. I hear they are very good for getting
around the urban landscape and of course the off road as well.

 


A bit tall.  Many people lower them.

Tires...  Plan on buying lots of them.  The rear tire is good for a maximum
of 7,000 miles unless you ride simply to preserve it.  Some folks only get
3-4,000 miles.  Many switch over to dual-use street tires.

Off-road use...  It's sufficiently outfitted for simple off-road riding but
don't plan on doing anything spectacular with it.  It's what I would call a
"light duty" off road bike.  Too heavy.

Seat - If you plan on doing any long distance riding, plan on a Russell All
Day seat. I have a friend who does multiple cross-country trips a year on
his and another who does 300-400 mile days locally without one.  Guess which
one is comfortable?

Gas...  Very good efficiency and capacity.  You will go farther than just
about anyone you ride with on a single tank full.

Overall, a very good bike.  If you don't plan on going on the highway,
consider the KLR250.  It is a much more nimble and useful machine unless you
factor in the highway use.
--


Joe in Northern, NJ  -  V#8013-R

Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/4zkw8
http://www.youthelate.com

 

Thanks Joe, sounds like i'm getting the right bike for myself. Not going
to be flying over logs anyhow and the minor amount of highway miles wont
be a problem. Sitting high is probably a good thing as I'm over 6 feet
anyways.

If you think you have everything under control,
you're not going fast enough...Mario Andretti

--
Sent via MotorCycle Newsgroups
http://www.motorcyclenewsgroups.com

 


6', huh?  Consider buying the utilitarian-looking highway pegs they offer...
--


Joe in Northern, NJ  -  V#8013-R

Ride a motorcycle in or near NJ?
http://tinyurl.com/4zkw8
http://www.youthelate.com

 


Marentette wrote:

It's a dual sport *styled* motorcycle, but it doesn't have much
off-road capability. If you are on a dirt road that's wide enough, a
car can go faster than a KLR650. I have ridden around on rocky hard
packed fire roads in the forest where people in cars just don't want to
go, though.

The 3.00x21 front tire is too narrow to go through deep sand, it knifes
in and then the KLR tries to fall over. Too bad I can't find an
economical intermediate 4.00x19 knobby. I would lace a 19 inch rim on
the front hub and try it in the dirt to see if that fixes the KLR's
llose sand problem.

The stock seat is too hard, it will kill your butt in about 150 miles.
The front brakes aren't much and everybody's been hoping Kawasaki would
upgrade them from any years.

Actually, the KLR650 engine would go nice in a street-oriented frame.
Like, why doesn't Kawasaki offer that engine in a package like the
EX500 chassis?
At least you'd have some brakes.

People that like KLR650's claim that they are the cheapest "adventure
tourer".
You certainly couldn't get a Triumph Tiger or a BMW for the price. With
the 6-gallon gas tank, you could ride 150 miles from the last gas
station, go out camping in the wilderness and still ride back.

But, when you got where you wanted to camp, you'd probably find
somebody in a SUV that had beaten you to the best spot. There just
aren't all that many single track trails that a KLR650 could negotiate
all the way without getting stuck.

If you do buy a KLR650, you'll need to jumper across the sidestand
safety interlock switch to avoid sudden stalling when the sidestand
flops up and down.