1999 Kawasaki KLR 650 A13
This bike was traded on 04-07-03 for a 1980 Yamaha SR500. We both think we got the deal of the century. He got a bike that he had always wanted and I got a bike just like the one I should have never sold 20 plus years ago.
Visit the Yamaha SR 500 page.
I will keep this page up as I have had several people ask me to do so.
Kawasaki has been making the KLR for over a decade with little if any changes, it does nothing extremely well but does it all OK without complaining. I recently heard it being described as a 2 wheeled HumVee. A pretty accurate description I think.
It is hands down the most functional (and fun) bike that I have ever owned. Everytime I get on it for a ride I still grin.
The KLR has an extremely large fuel tank (6.1 us gallons) that allows it a cruising range of approx. 275 miles before hitting reserve.
Being water cooled, you can play urban assault all day without having to worry about the top-end going up in smoke. I will be installing an overide switch soon so that I can kick the fan on a little earlier in the city stuff.
I have heard from other KLR owners that the bike vibrates too much..... well, it's a 650 single cylinder that has a bore of almost 4 inches, it's supposed to vibrate. The rather intricate counter balancer system does a pretty good job of settling things down though. (you should have seen my old SR 500 vibrate) This is no Gold Wing folks.
It will do just fine off road or cruise well above any posted speed limit, but never with the comfort level of a touring bike.
And although it's no road racer, in the twisties with good street tires it will humiliate many an inline 4.
It's a great, reliable bike thats nearly half the price of a Triumph Tiger or Beemer.
Oh yeah, it isn't real good for real short people. With the seat height at just over 35 inches it's no low rider. Lowering kits are available that take 1 1/2 inches off the seat height and I have read many positive reports about them. Just remember to shorten the kickstand at the same time if you go this route, and if you ride 2 up you may want to up the spring pre-load in the rear to prevent the installation of you rear tire into your rear fender.
Tires
For starters, it depends on what type of riding you do? I find that most all of my riding is on the highway and was happy when the stockers wore out. I installed a set of Avon AM24 Gripster's at around 7k miles and was very satisfied with both the traction and durability of them, they made it 20k miles before being replaced. As far as I am concerned you wont go wrong with a pair of these.
Tire Update:
I installed a set of Avon Distanzia's AM43 front - AM44 rear at 27k miles, I sure hope that they're worth writing about. At $250 installed they are considerably more than the last set of Avons. I searched high and low for another pair of Gripsters but it seems that Avon stopped producing them. (Lucky for me, read on.)
At the time of this writing I have put just shy of 1k miles on the new Distanzia's and I could not be happier. They are extremely smooth, have loads of traction and are silent. Gone are the days of sounding like I was running Dick Cepeks. For an excellent unbiased page on Dual Sport tires visit the Tire Opinions FAQ page. A great collection of informative posts. Thanks Guys.
While the KLR is without shoes I will be addressing the front brake howl, see update on the brake section below.
This is probably the KLR's weakest link. My KLR made it a month or so before it popped its first fuse. Like many older cars, the KLR's fuses are located in the worst possible place. Kawasaki chose to put the cheapest fuse holders known to all mankind under the seat on top of the battery, requiring the removal of both side covers and the seat. My fuse blew in my driveway so repairs were convenient, but I could see at some point in the future not being so lucky.
Living in Florida boat supply shops are everywhere, so I stopped in one and picked up three ATO/ATC fuse holders. These are waterproof and use the flat style fuse instead of the old tubular glass AGC type. I mounted them as shown (click on the photos to enlarge) so that no parts removal would be necessary the next time around. Don't forget the one that sits behind the water reservoir (inside the right hand side air scoop) for the fan.
I rarely use my back brake so I guess it works just fine. But in typical Kawasaki fashion, the front binders are a little, I mean a lot on the wimpy side. I replaced the front pads with some Dunlops because the old ones were shot at 15k miles. This improved braking distance considerably exept occasionaly they howl like a semi coming to a stop. (the vibration that occurs with the howl is so intense you would think that your fingers are going to disintigrate) I also changed the front brake line to stainless and this also helped but had adverse effects on lever travel. If I wasn't so lazy or busy riding I would probably put the factory hose back on.
While the tires were off I cut an X groove in both the front brake pads. This is an old trick we used to do before stock discs came with holes drilled in them. The idea behind it was that the grooves would give the brake dust a place to go instead of being glazed onto the disc or pads. I'm not sure if it worked then but if it stops the howl now I'll be a happy camper. Once things settle in I'll update again on this one.
The Brake Update:
Cutting the grooves did help reduce the howl but it still exists. Next time I go for brake pads they will probably be stockers, unless I can find a softer aftermarket set.
Ever since the KLR was new it had a tendency to get the high speed wobblies (sometimes pretty severe). It was reduced by either having a full tank of fuel or leaning forward a little. This was a problem when the stock tires were on it and also with Avon Gripsters, so I assumed it was inherent to the beast. This all changed when the new Avon Distanzia's were installed. Holy cow what a difference, the bike is now just as stable as can be all the way to terminal velocity (thats not much really, maybe 100 mph or so). Under semi controlled conditions I have even tried to induce the wobblies, happily with no success.
I originally lowered the frame on the tubes to try to remedy the wobblies and it did help just a little. After installing the new tires I will be leaving this setting as is. I'll never miss the 1 inch of front travel that was lost and why fix it if it ain't broke. BTW the stock setting has the bottom of the fork cap flush with the top of the triple clamp.
If the majority of your riding is on the open road then get a 16 tooth counter shaft sprocket, this is one more than the stock 15.
I don't remember the speed vs rpm of the 15 but with a 16 installed at 4000 rpm you'll be doing 66 mph (thats Kawasaki speed, actual is more like 60/61). My mpg went down only slightly and I think that this may be due to my average mph going up, kind of a Newton's Law thing. Again, do not believe what the speedometer says, on average the KLR's speedo is 5 mph on the optimistic side. This was later confirmed by the police mans radar.
For any gear or chain products Sprocket Specialists have everything that you'll need, including great service. That's their photo btw.
I installed a K&N air filter when the bike was brand new. The only carburetor adjustments made at the time was shimming up the needle equal to about what a clip setting would have been if the EPA didn't exist. This took care of the lean spot it had at approx. 40 mph. It also brought the mpg down to +- 55 from the stock +- 60. Well worth the loss and I'm sure I made some Arab smile.
 Recently I became the proud owner of a SuperTrapp ISD2 slip on pipe. Performance increased but only marginally. I removed 4 of the 12 discs and still no difference, not even in DB's. Too bad because I don't think my neighbors are as happy with the pipe as I am.
 Installation was a breeze but I did need to grind some plastic away from my right side cover and both inner and outer rear fenders to give it sufficient clearance so I wouldn't melt blue-green plastic.
 Scratching my head for a little bit I decided to open up the airbox a little more and drilled 6 1/2 inch holes in the air filter access cover. This is the ticket folks, bottom end grunt improved dramatically but I got my 4000 rpm lean spot back, not real bad but noticable. As soon as the weekend hits I will visit the local Kawasaki or Harley shop and get the next 2 sizes up in main jets, tweak the pilot screw, install new spark plug and continue the experiment. The Kawasaki shop manual says stock main jets are 148's.
For all of those parts that have to come off for periodic maintenance do yourself a huge favor and remove all those horrible, soft little phillips or hex head screws and replace them with stainless allen heads. These parts include the sidecovers, seat, fuel tank, air filter door, oil filter cap, engine skid plate, battery holder and handlebar lever and brush guard mounts. The last two because there nice to look at.
Tighten, or at least check that your top speedometer cable and steering head nut is tight (it's that real big one in-between your handlebar mounts and possibly hidden by a rubber cap) more than a few of the KLR's I have seen these are loose.
 With a Dremel tool or round file remove enough of the engines skid plate around the counterbalancer adjuster so you don't have to remove the skid plate to adjust it.
 I ordered a Dual-Star mirror, inverted the stainless widget and stuffed it in the end of my grip. Believe it or not the view is superb and things are very clear up to about 60-65. (better than the stock ones) I just never got used to the originals sticking out into space and blurring out at 40 mph. When I do go off road it pops right out and into my pocket. Ditto for the city.
 Mirror Glaze also known as canopy cleaner is available at your local airport and will keep your facesheild and fairing (only the transparent part) clean and clear. A bottle will probably last you a lifetime. Make sure that it's in a blue bottle as shown.
Big Cee The motherload of KLR info. along with some high quality hardware.
Dual Star Great source of quality aftermarket stuff for the KLR and others.
Florida Trail Riders If I was younger with a KLX maybe.
Kawasaki The womb.
Henke's SuperMotard Site Everything Super Moto, always a fun visit.
Motorcycle Explorer.com This guy gets around, from BC to Baja.
Sprocket Specialists Everything for your driveline needs. And did I mention great service.
Tire Opinions FAQ If you have a DS, and are looking for tires. Read these FAQ's.
Avon Tyres They spell them differently but they're the same things.
SuperTrapp/Kerker My favorite pipe because they are adjustable for both back pressure and decibles.
K&N Replacement Air Filters They cost less than stockers and they last forever, well almost.
Lowering Links For those that are vertically challenged. :)
Dual Sport News An all-brands motorcycle publication that defies categorization with diverse and meaningful content. Really.
|
