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klr650-digest         Monday, October 5 1998         Volume 01 : Number 283




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Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 05:42:29 -0700
From: Tom Simpson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) Chain stuff

At 10:10 PM 10/4/98 PDT, Juan Villarreal wrote:
>Ron and fellow listers,
>     I'm looking to place a big order with Chaparral and/or Dennis Kirk
>for all my trip related items and one of the things I'm looking to get
>is a spare chain.  Both catalogs have good selections at what seem to
>good prices but I'm lost on a lot of the jargon.  Can you explain the
>following to me?
>
>1.  Tensile strength.  What is this? And how do I relate this to my
>bike?


    More is better. :)




>2.  Max bike size.  Seems pretty self-explanatory, but is it really what
>I think it is?  Also, Chaparral's catalog has a number of chains with
>"Manual" listed next to this item.  What does that mean?


    I have no idea.


>3.  Master links.  Will I need to have one of these for a chain
>replacement?  What about a repair?



    I keep one on the bike. I'm not sure why I do, but it seems
like a good idea. If nothing else, it can be a sourse for a spare
clip if you break one.



>4.  Chain breaker.  This sounds like something every touring fool should
>carry with them.  Am I correct?


    If you go with a chain that has no master link, yes. Otherwise, no.




>5.  How do most chain failures occur?  What does the repair usually
>require?  That is, is it most often a new link or a whole new chain?


    Repair usualy requires new engine cases or a new bike, along
with orthopedic surgury. The results are typicaly most unpleasant.
Fixing the chain would usualy be the least of your troubles.


>6.  What do you consider to be the best O-ring chains for my type of
>riding (70% street, 30% dirt)?  Cost is not a factor.  For what it's
>worth, I'm pretty diligent when it comes to maintenance.



    I am most impressed with my D.I.D. X-Ring chain. It now has 10k miles
on it and has about worn out a good front sprocket, but has required only
one adjustment in all this time. The last RK chain I used was completley
trashed in fewer miles than that.



>7.  How many links are required for a '97 KLR with a stock drive setup?
>Dennis Kirk says 106 and Chaparral says 112.  Anybody out there know for
>sure?



    Yup. The correct answer is 106.






- -Tom
'96 KLR 650

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 07:26:58 -0500 (CDT)
From: Dale Borgeson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) Chain stuff

On Mon, 5 Oct 1998, klr650-digest wrote:
> Date: Sun, 04 Oct 1998 22:10:07 PDT
> From: "Juan Villarreal" <[e-mail]>
>
> 1.  Tensile strength.  What is this? And how do I relate this to my
> bike?

It's how strong the chain is in pulling. If I remember, with chains they
usually quore the number of pounds of load that will break the chain. I
suspect that this not a problem with the KLR as it's only 37 hp and any
chain from a RK, DID, or the like would be just fine as far as strength.

> 2.  Max bike size.  Seems pretty self-explanatory, but is it really what
> I think it is?

It's similar to tensile strength in intent except it's a very crude
approximation on the maximum amount of horsepower that the chain can take.
They are VERY conservative on this. If you follow the table you won't even
be able to buy a chain for a ZX11. Again, the KLR's power is so low that
you don't need to worry.

Also, Chaparral's catalog has a number of chains with
> "Manual" listed next to this item.  What does that mean?

No idea.

> 3.  Master links.  Will I need to have one of these for a chain
> replacement?  What about a repair?

I prefer rivet type master links but I have the tools to deal with them.
I've never had a clip-on type master link fail but I still like the
security of a rivet on master link.

> 4.  Chain breaker.  This sounds like something every touring fool should
> carry with them.  Am I correct?

Only if you have a rivet type master link.


> 5.  How do most chain failures occur?  What does the repair usually
> require?  That is, is it most often a new link or a whole new chain?

I've never had a chain failure (i.e. the chain broke). They just wear out.
WHen a chain fails it is usually not without some sort of warning if
you're paying attention. (i.e. varing chain tension as the wheel is
rotated, binding links, missing o-rings, tension adjusters at limit).

> 6.  What do you consider to be the best O-ring chains for my type of
> riding (70% street, 30% dirt)?  Cost is not a factor.  For what it's
> worth, I'm pretty diligent when it comes to maintenance.

DID, Regina are good. RK is somewhat less good but still ok in my
experience.


Cheers
- --
Dale Borgeson    [e-mail]    Minneapolis, MN U.S.A.
"Motorcycle Touring For Beginners" at www.visi.com/~dalebor

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 09:43:26 -0400
From: Sconzo <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) [NKLR] XRL650 Info

Fellow listers,

    I have a friend here that's been scouring the internet for Honda
XRL650 info for quite a while now and can't find much. Neither can I.
He's particularly interested in a listserve for information. If anyone
knows a good resource please point us in the right direction. Thanks.


    Scott
    A12 in Orlando.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 07:29:24 -0700
From: Brian Bonenfant <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) REI

    Does anyone have a 1-800 # for REI to order a catalogue?

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 10:40:10
From: "R. Kaub" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) Gettin' It On

Saturday I had to ride 45 miles to Scranton, PA for the Experienced Rider
motorcycle safety course, a one (long) day affair sponsored by the
Commonwealth and the motorcycle safety foundation.  It's free in Pennsylvania.
Anyway, the temperature was somewhere between 35 and 40F.
I knew this weather was coming and tried to prepare to get there and back
without extreme discomfort taking all the fun out of day.  Here's what I
wore and how it worked.
HEAD:
I have a Shoei RJ101V open-faced helmet with a clear "comp" shield.  I wear
a Sliks helmet liner and EAR TaperFit2 disposable earplugs.  The earplugs
work great.  I used an Aerostich wind triangle to cover my face and neck.
This thing is a gift from the gods in cold weather and I'd recommend it to
anyone.
Nothing on my head and neck got cold.
BODY:
Wore my Darien jacket with liner all sealed up.  Under that I had a flannel
shirt and a long-sleeved t-shirt.  My upper body was completely comfortable
all the time.
LEGS:
Wore light long underwear pants and a pair of flannel lined jeans. The
front of my legs got cold about 15 minutes into the ride.  Not unbearable
cold but uncomfortable cold.  Time to save up for the Darien pants.
HANDS:
Used a pair of black leather military gloves with the green woolen inserts.
 My left hand got very cold but my right hand didn't.  Go figure.
FEET:
This is amazing to me.  I wore a pair of gov't issue (these are essentially
high-top shoes and have no insulation at all and I've frozen in them before
with different socks) combat boots with polypro sock liners and a pair of
polartec socks from LLBean.  These socks are quite heavy and long, coming
up almost to my knee.  My feet were toasty all day including the ride down
hanging out in a 70mph breeze.  Again, I was amazed at how well this sock
combo worked.  I hope it wasn't just a fluke.

Well, that's what I wore.  Maybe it'll help some listers who have to ride
in the cold.  The ride home was about 10F warmer and my legs didn't get as
cold and my left hand didn't get cold at all.  Thanks.
Bob Kaub
State University of New York
PO Box 6000
Binghamton, NY  13902
607-777-2715

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 10:52:22 -0700
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (klr650) DP tail bag recommendation?

Looking for the ideal tail luggage that will satisfy the
following requirements...

1. Large enough to hold a helmet and/or 11 x 14 documentation.

2. Would provide a *secure* back rest for a passenger.

3. Would provide a *comfortable* back rest for same.
     (Ok if requires an external pad - space permitting)

4. Can be detached *easily* by a key, but with great
    difficulty otherwise.

5. Affordable (maybe this should be #1?)

I've had my KLR since April of this year and it has exceeded
my expectations in every way. My better-half has even ridden
with me frequently and enjoyed it (which shocked the bejeebies
out of me because I never dreamed she would even get on the
thing, let alone, riding for hours in sub 50 degree weather,
rain, etc.)

She has, however, expressed interest in a more "touring
compatable" bike.  Now, I'm willing to get a Concours or
BMW or something, (as long as it does not require selling
the KLR) but I would rather commence with "operation
tourmaster" for the KLR.
- - Lowering Links
- - Progressive front springs
- - Tail bag/back rest
- - Panniers
- - Tall(er) windshield
- - Communications
- - More comfy seat
- - etc

Should be a fun winter project. (*they* are forecasting snow,
and lots of it) - Thanks everyone for the emmensely useful
tips.

Scott Warstler OH - A3 8700

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 11:46:20
From: "R. Kaub" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) Goddam forks.

You may have seen the posts about the motorcycle safety course I just took.
During the exercises I had to do a lot of heavy braking, preferably without
skidding the rear wheel. If you have a stock KLR you may agree that this
takes a little skill since, as soon as you grab the front brake, the front
forks head right to China and the rear tire just about completely unloads
making it really easy to skid.  Even the instructor commented on the amount
of front end dive while I was trying to stop quickly.
List discussions in the past have addressed front forks but always
suggesting changing the springs to Progressives.  While not opposed to
this, I wonder if there aren't a couple of things to try first.
The first is adding AIR to the forks.  Those two Schrader valves on top of
the forks seem to be neglected.  While the manuals say to use atmospheric
pressure, there is a sticker on the forks that implies it is perfectly
acceptable to add air to stiffen the forks.  From a riders standpoint this
would be very easy to do and adjust to various riding demands.
The second is changing the fork oil to a heavier viscosity.  Oil weights
are available from 0W up to at least 30W.  Wouldn't heavier oil slow the
dive a little?
Last is changing the springs.  Nuff' said about this.
Comments anyone?  Thanks.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 08:49:10 -0700
From: "Rob  Clement" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) Correction to KLR650 Engine Mods Response

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

- ------=_NextPart_000_0014_01BDF03D.0587D060
Content-Type: text/plain;
    charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

The XRL650/XR650L Honda has 8.3:1 compression ratio, not 8.7:1, as I =
said earlier.  The 9.5:1 c.r. is correct for the KLR650.

- ------=_NextPart_000_0014_01BDF03D.0587D060
Content-Type: text/html;
    charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>

<META content=3Dtext/html;charset=3Diso-8859-1 =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D'"MSHTML 4.72.3509.100"' name=3DGENERATOR>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#c0c0c0>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2>The XRL650/XR650L Honda has 8.3:1 =
compression=20
ratio, not 8.7:1, as I said earlier.  The 9.5:1 c.r. is correct for =
the=20
KLR650.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

- ------=_NextPart_000_0014_01BDF03D.0587D060--

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 09:26:48 -0700
From: "Rob  Clement" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) Goddam forks.

- -----Original Message-----
From: R. Kaub <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail] <[e-mail]>
Date: Monday, October 05, 1998 8:48 AM
Subject: (klr650) Goddam forks.


>You may have seen the posts about the motorcycle safety course I just took.
>During the exercises I had to do a lot of heavy braking, preferably without
>skidding the rear wheel. If you have a stock KLR you may agree that this
>takes a little skill since, as soon as you grab the front brake, the front
>forks head right to China and the rear tire just about completely unloads
>making it really easy to skid.  Even the instructor commented on the amount
>of front end dive while I was trying to stop quickly.
>List discussions in the past have addressed front forks but always
>suggesting changing the springs to Progressives.  While not opposed to
>this, I wonder if there aren't a couple of things to try first.
>The first is adding AIR to the forks.  Those two Schrader valves on top of
>the forks seem to be neglected.  While the manuals say to use atmospheric
>pressure, there is a sticker on the forks that implies it is perfectly
>acceptable to add air to stiffen the forks.  From a riders standpoint this
>would be very easy to do and adjust to various riding demands.
>The second is changing the fork oil to a heavier viscosity.  Oil weights
>are available from 0W up to at least 30W.  Wouldn't heavier oil slow the
>dive a little?
>Last is changing the springs.  Nuff' said about this.
>Comments anyone?  Thanks.
>
>
I would add that, instead of new springs, you might try adding some spacers
on top, first, provided that doesn't upset the bike's geometry (the "settle"
distance, when you sit on it).  Also, any tallish DP bike will dive a bit,
even with great forks.  Thanks for the good ideas.

Rob C.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 13:02:50 -0700
From: Tom Simpson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) Goddam forks.

At 11:46 AM 10/5/98, R. Kaub wrote:
>You may have seen the posts about the motorcycle safety course I just took.
>During the exercises I had to do a lot of heavy braking, preferably without
>skidding the rear wheel. If you have a stock KLR you may agree that this
>takes a little skill since, as soon as you grab the front brake, the front
>forks head right to China and the rear tire just about completely unloads
>making it really easy to skid.  Even the instructor commented on the amount
>of front end dive while I was trying to stop quickly.
>List discussions in the past have addressed front forks but always
>suggesting changing the springs to Progressives.  While not opposed to
>this, I wonder if there aren't a couple of things to try first.
>The first is adding AIR to the forks.  Those two Schrader valves on top of
>the forks seem to be neglected.  While the manuals say to use atmospheric
>pressure, there is a sticker on the forks that implies it is perfectly
>acceptable to add air to stiffen the forks.  From a riders standpoint this
>would be very easy to do and adjust to various riding demands.
>The second is changing the fork oil to a heavier viscosity.  Oil weights
>are available from 0W up to at least 30W.  Wouldn't heavier oil slow the
>dive a little?
>Last is changing the springs.  Nuff' said about this.



    Air strikes me as being a relative hard adjustmet to properly
make, as only one or two pounds can make a big difference and few
pressure gauges are precise enough to do a proper job of it.

    I swapped out the springs first, and it made a very significant
difference. next I am going to heavier oil. If that dosent give the
the front end I want (which I suspect it will), then I will look at
Gold Valve cartrige emulators so I can tweak the dampening a bit.
The air I will pass on unless somebody has specific experience in
using such a system. I dont know if the KLRs setup is sophisticated
enough or easy enough to use to bother with.

- -Tom
'96 KLR 650

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 12:30:48 -0600
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: (klr650) REI catalogue

 REI catalog: 1-800-426-4840

Brian Bonenfant wrote:

>     Does anyone have a 1-800 # for REI to order a catalogue?

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 15:12:44 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: (klr650) KLR vs Street bikes, who wins

Have a friend with a BMW GS.  We did some off road work together recently and
the KLR I rode was always out front.  He wanted to switch bikes, so we did.
Now the GS was always out front.  I just have more off road experience then he
does.  Maybe I take more chances.

The fact is, a better rider on a less suitable bike will always do better then
an inferior rider on a more suitable bike.

My 1978 BMW and I would routinely beat full liter jap sport bikes on the
Kentucky twisties.  I say routinely, because those bikes were routinely ridden
by relative novices whose purchase critera was acceleration.

Take two equal riders, one on a KLR and the other on a jap 600 sport bike and
the sport bike will always be the faster of the bikes in any paved road
condition.  The KLR will win only where it's design capablilites outweigh
those of the sport bike.  Nuff said by me

------------------------------

End of klr650-digest V1 #283
****************************