well, put only 6 miles on it, raining most of the time. I noticed one problem already, the front end is not straight. When I ride it, the handlebars are alittle to the right. I can wait til' tomorrow and drop it off at the dealer and let them take it for awhile (pain) or I guess I can get the front end off the ground and loosen all the fork clamps and turn it.....any suggestions?

dave

 

I looked at it again closely, the forks may be slightly off, but I think the main problem is that the headlight fairing is to the right....optical illusion....maybe I need to tweak it alittle...

 

Congratulations. Very smart buy. I have friend with over 30,000 miles and no problems. The motor has a balancer shaft that is chain driven and this balencer chain needs to be adjusted occaisionally. This is double overhead cam motor with shim valve adjusters. He has adjusted his about every 10,000 miles. If you run very hard you may have to adjust more often. Just don't ignore the valves. Take extra care with the air filter and the motor oil and oil filter changes.

 

thanks for the recommendations...I heard that you have to watch the valves on these machines....I change oil on all my quads and motorcycles, as well as all vehicles on a more often then recommeded interval....I guess thats why I rarely have problems and my Nissan has 260,000 miles on it, although I retired it for my Superduty....

here are pics of the new ride (click on pics to enlarge):


2005 KLR650

 

I don't think you will be disappointed in your purchase. Like I wrote before, I really like my bike. As for your forks, you might check to see if the dealer lowered the tubes out of the shipping position. It is easy to see, just look at the top of your tubes and make sure they are not sticking up around 3-4" above the top triple clamp. If they are then they need to be lowered down. Otherwise your front tire will hit the fender and bottom out = instant endo. I actually helped my dealer correct this when I picked up my KLR.

I'm trying to find the pics of my bike to show you how my KLR 250 headlight shroud looks. I thinlk it looks good (factory) and eliminated the problem of not being able to see your front wheel like the stock wind jammer style fairing. Another thing to look out for is the dealer may not have lined up your handle bars correctly. Believe it or not, but I rode my KLR a better part of its first summer with the bars being off like 1/2". Because the front brake hose obsures your view I didn't notice right away. The bike was definitly more comfortable after I discovered the misalignment!

 

Great info guys! The two links posted were great. Tons of info!! I have been toying with the idea of geating a dual purpose bike this spring, but I have limited my choice to the 650 Suzuki until I saw that there are lowering kits available for the KLR!!! I am only 5'7" so a 35" seat height is a little too tall for me. I noticed that there is a gel seat offered for the KLR. Does anybody know if this lowers seat height? I know Suzuki offers a gel seat that is 1.5" lower so I am curious if the one for the KLR does too.

 

Thanks for the info Rockrider. The forks are flush on the triple tree, not extended above it. I think it will do me well, most of my riding will be on the street with an occasional weekend exploring of some dirt roads. The brakes work pretty well, but I was thinking of putting braided lines on. I did order a bunch of stuff for it already, will wait until I get it broke in to put it on, at least the performance stuff. I ordered a Big Gun Quiet series full exhaust, jet kit and air filter. Also a new rear rack and a bag for the back. Also tank bags and a aluminum skid plate. That plastic skid plate has to go. Also going out today to get a full face helmet, I have an open face with shield that I use for the ATV, but too much airflow at highway speeds....

dave

 

You can get a Corbin seat that is 1.5" lower. They also make a standard height seat. There are probably others that lower the height also. There a couple of ways to lower the KLR, change the link in the rear which drops it 1.5"....and then some people lower the forks also, which I'm not sure how they do, but I would think a spring length change and less fluid would be the way to go.

I bought the KLR simply because of the gas capacity....6.1 gallons versus the 3.x tanks of everyone else. I want to be able to go out and ride the backroads of New Mexico and not have to worry about where I'm going to get fuel before I leave.

 

I have a 2003 KLR650 and a Honda 2002 XR650R with a street legal kit. The KLR works well on the pavement and does Ok on trails. The XR650R does not do that well on pavement, but is an amazing, go absolutly anywhere, dirt bike. I do several rides a year of 800+ miles with maybe 100 of that being on pavement. The KLR gets about 45mpg and has a 6+ gal fuel tank. The XR650 gets about 35mpg if it's babied and has an aftermarket 4.6 gal fuel tank.The power delivery is night and day. The KLR is anything but exciting. Forget about power wheelies on this bike. The XR will power wheelie easily in 1, 2 and 3 gears. I am having to make room in my garage right now and guess which bike is in cycletreader right now, it's the XR. I am keeping the anti climatic but get the job done KLR.

 

How is the fun factor on this bike? Does it wheelie well? What is the top speed? I heard around 90. Am thinking about getting one but am addicted to power.