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klr650-digest        Monday, October 25 1999        Volume 02 : Number 1065



(klr650) Email Addy change
(klr650) From Steve Part 2
(klr650) From Steve - Part 1
Re: (klr650) From Steve Part 2
Re: (klr650) Radiator Guard?&GS/KLR
Re: (klr650) NKLR NKLR NKLR DR650
(klr650) mods
(klr650) NKLR- Maier Woods Pro handguards
Re: (klr650) exhaust mod
Re: (klr650) Hot Grips
Re: (klr650) From Steve Part 2
Re: (klr650) Hot Grips (Near Tragedy?)

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

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 21:03:25 -0700
From: "Jeff & Lisa Walker" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) Email Addy change

If anyone cares, my email address is changing from [e-mail] to
[e-mail] . (faster ISP, better service and cheaper than
Prodigy.)

Jeff


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

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 20:41:58 -0700
From: "Arne Larsen" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) From Steve Part 2

     Tim Bernard's racks are next on my shopping list. I've gotten the
Aerostich full-size tank panniers and the Wolfman Explorer tank bag already
and am loving both. Now I want to round out my carry system with a good soft
rear pannier system. Tim's side protector racks with Ortlieb dry bags seem
the way for me to go. I did real well with mounting my Madden Eagle internal
frame backpack to the luggage rack with bungee cords on my Adk. trip.
     At 3.500 miles, the stock Dunlop K750 rear is almost shot. I'm amazed
how quickly it's worn. I'm thinking of going with a Pirelli MT-70 as a
replacement. I figure it, too, will wear fast, but I get the feeling it will
grip better in wet than an Avon Gripster and be better for off-road. Gino's
account of the IRC GP-110 sound pretty good too, though.
     I've been wearing a Kiliminjaro jacket and matching Hypertex pants and
Winter Race Pilot gloves from First Gear. I'm very happy with their
performance, although the gloves do get a bit clammy sometimes and thus
invite your fingers to get cold. I think a combination of wind/waterproof
outer (such as Gore-tex) and a moisture wicking action liner would work
better. My boots are Asolo hiking boots with Vibram soles and Gore-tex,
which
work great for riding,hiking, and walking around town.
     Is the Moose/MSR bashplate still the way to go, or is the rumor I heard
that someone is working on a better one that would be worth waiting for?
Also
a definite item I'll be getting is the K&N air filter, with airbox
modifications (more holes?). I think I'll hold off on the
Dynojet/dial-a-jet/Mikuni replacement carb decisions until after the
warranty
period expires and I've installed the airbox/filter mods.
     Tons more questions and plans, but I think this post has already tried
the collective's patience enough so......................................



     happy roosting and TIA!!!............
     Steve
     A14
     "The Mule"




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

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 20:41:08 -0700
From: "Arne Larsen" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) From Steve - Part 1

From: [e-mail]

     Greetings Listers:

          Now that I've completely caught up on those hundreds of postings
which accumulated in my mailbox while I've been out riding (sorry about some
of those earlier replies being untimely), I thought I might pass on a little
of what I've been up to.
     I bought a Y2K KLR650 about two months ago here in NYC. I've dubbed it
"The Mule", which is a nickname some of my co-workers and ski buddies had
given me some years back. I put the bike through it's initial break-in
pretty
quickly; about three weeks. During that time I experienced zero problems,
and
everything went smoothly. As per recommendations form the manuals and this
list, I had a tune-up performed at 600 miles with special attention paid to
oil and oil filter change and valve clearance checks.
     The first weekend I had it back, I took a three day trip to Ithaca, NY,
to visit a friend and test The Mule offroad for the first time. That trip
added about 700 miles, again with no problems. About 50 of those miles were
offroad.
     The thing I liked most about the bike offroad was the feeling of
indestructibility and reliability, along with the nice broad powerband. What
I didn't like was the inadequate traction in mud and other funky off-road
conditions of the stock Dunlop K750's. Also, the front wheel tracking wasn't
very sure, as the wheel gave a vague sense of what was happening up front. I
suspect this was partially due to the compromised dual-sport tires and the
weight/size of the bike and the mushy stock fork springs.
     On the road, my KLR has road manners far beyond what I expected. Which
is a good thing, since most of my riding will be on-road. I've ridden
several
other "road" bikes and actually prefer the KLR over all of them. On the
road,
I like the height (I'm 6') and nimbleness. Althought the front brake action
is mushy, after testing it a lot on empty backroads it is quite adequate. At
my maximum lever pressure, the front just begins to lock up: sort of a
manual
ABS.
     Next, I had an entire weeks vacation, which was spent putting 1400
miles
on the KLR up to and all around the Adirondacks (an upstate park about 6 1/2
million acres). One night camping out it got down to 18 degrees. Not once
did
the KLR even hesitate to start. Also, about 200 miles were again off-road.
This bike IS the king of fire/logging roads. I saw bear, a lot of deer
(almost hit one once!), and places I've never been up there that I wouldn't
have without this bike. Even though I had spent most of my childhood up
there.
     So even here in the city I'm thrilled with this bike. Someone else here
called theirs an "urban assault vehicle". I know just what they're talking
about. Rugged, tall, good suspension and road manners. We got lotsa crappy
streets and drivers here to deal with, and the KLR is just the bike to take
it on.
     At this time, the bike has about 3,500 miles on it. I think it's time
to
start thinking of some more maintenance activities, replacements, and
upgrades. I really like the idea of the steel oil filter, which I believe
Fred has in stock (I'll be calling you soon, Fred, for this and other
items/advice). I'd also like to try a full synthetic oil, like Castrol's,
which is a 5W40 formula and costs around $10 per quart. I've heard others
speak of a new motorcycle version of Mobil 1's synthetic, too. Anyone got
any
advice/experience with these full synthetics? Even though it's a bit late
after the break-in, the magnetic drain plug sounds like a good idea, too.
     No sign of tweety yet, but when the wascal does show up, I'd like to
have a pipe upgrade choice ready. From what I've gathered, the Supertrapp
IDS
quiet series seems to be the best compromise for performance, cost, noise,
and maintenance/reliability. Any comments here?

<<end part 1>>

     happy roosting and TIA!!!............
     Steve
     A14
     "The Mule"




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

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 22:25:17 -0600
From: "Kurt Simpson" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) From Steve Part 2

>      Is the Moose/MSR bashplate still the way to go, or is the rumor I
heard
> that someone is working on a better one that would be worth waiting
for?

If I were you I'd go with what is available and think of the other stuff
as vaporware until someone reports holding it in your hands...

As for your exhaust question, check out Arne's upcoming review of the
Big Gun, SuperTrapp IDS and stock silencer in the upcoming issue of Dual
Sport News. The results are surprising...

Kurt


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

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 22:29:10 -0600
From: "Kurt Simpson" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) Radiator Guard?&GS/KLR

> Hi,
> Does anyone recommend an aftermarket  radiator guard and if so why?
Has it
> worked for anyone having dropped the bike on its left side?  Or, what
> happens, generally, when you drop it without one?

Most of the time my bike is going to hit the moose aluminum handguards
and highway pegs first...The worst damage I've seen was on Alan Parker's
bike. Alan took a major hit in a boulder field and wiped out his shroud,
fan, and bent the tank from a direct hit. I did my best to replicate his
experience on a recent bad day outing and took two nasty falls in
boulder fields on the leftside. Another time I dropped the bike on its
leftside while changing the front tire. All three times the radiator
guards were in place and the extent of the damage was limited to the
shroud being tweaked and easily straightened. So, for my book, they are
worth having on both sides. Alan told me that the fan alone was close to
$200...

Kurt


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

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 22:31:09 -0600
From: "Kurt Simpson" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) NKLR NKLR NKLR DR650

> > Anything after '96 is
> > golden. I just bought one for a steal at $2,200, average retail is
> > $3,200.
>
> Excuse me?  What's that you're saying?  You just bought one??? A
DR650?
> What's up, you lookin' to start another list?  =^)

(g) no, I've got more than I can handle as it is...but, the DR350 guys
said they were ok with discussion about any DR including the upcoming
DRZ400 which Vik had his eyes on....

Kurt


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

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 22:56:46 -0600
From: "Dennis Angus" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) mods

When you get around to rejetting you're carb try this. Turn the mixture
screw in all the way. Cut the metal tube covering the screw flush with the
screw head. Remove the screw. Buy a small brass washer. File what looks like
a screw driver blade into one side. Solder this washer to the screw. Replace
the screw and with a small set of snips cut off the lower portion of the
washer. You now can adjust you're mix anytime without pulling the carb.
Works great. When you change you're pipe and you want wide open exhaust,
gas, air, you will have to cut out the air box. The cover has two raised
sections. Cut these out with a dremel tool. Place a wire mesh in these
holes. One piece can be shaped to fit. Buy a small piece of furnace filter.
The permanent, washable, thin, dual layer type works very well. Cut the
piece a little larger than the modified door. Place and hold while you
install the door. Trim with scissors. You're done. This mod allows max air
and helps keep you're k+n filter clean. Also won't let bugs, mud, etc. in.
Supertrapp pipe with ten disks-dynojet kit with 150 jet-modified box-mix set
at three turns at 4200 ft-mix set at two and one half turns  at 7000 feet
and up. Still playing but I now have a stellar power curve.


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

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 22:12:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: Juan Villarreal <[e-mail]>
Subject: (klr650) NKLR- Maier Woods Pro handguards

> HEY DO NOT TELL EVERYONE TO CUT THEIR BALLS
> OFF!
> I did not have to with my Maier woods pro's

Relax man, take a chill pill...  I don't recall
telling anybody to do anything.  All I said was
that I and a couple other people had to cut the
balls off in order to keep the levers completely
enveloped within the aluminum bars (not extended
a little below).  Apparently some lucky folks
like Jeff Walker have been able to keep their
levers in line with the guards without having to
do any cutting.  I just wanted to let people know
there isn't anything wrong with the hardware (or
their installation) should they find cutting to
be a necessity for keeping the levers aligned
with the guards.  Cheers...

Juan Villarreal

=====

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com

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

Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1999 01:35:47 -0500
From: "=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Carlos_Y._Gonz=E1lez?=" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) exhaust mod

> Anyone ever try just taking a bar and ramming it into the muffler ie.
make
> it "restriction free"?
>
> [e-mail]

Yeah, I have heard of at least on person on this list drilling through the
spark cone which restricts a direct flow through.  But I wouldn't ram
anything into the muffler while it is on the bike for fear of damaging the
head.  Its better to take it off and drill it.  If you do though you will
no longer have a spark arrestor.

Carlos

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

Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1999 01:53:48 -0500
From: "=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Carlos_Y._Gonz=E1lez?=" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) Hot Grips

- ----------
> From: Michael Kovaliv <[e-mail]>
>
> I finished the install of the Hot Grips yesterday and let the epoxy cure
> overnight (around 15 hours).

I just finished installing mine today too (you can tell winter is on its
way). Man, am I a slow worker, it took me about 9 hours of work.  I did
manage to polish off a few beers and a cigar in between though.  I decided
to put in a relay like Mark and Charles suggested (thanks for the help
guys), and I installed an LED light to let me know when the grips are on.
The light is a little overkill considering I have a relay, but it was a
nice touch.  Overall, the install looks great.  I put the switch and the
light on the left side of that little ledge on the plastic plate that
covers the headlight. I also put a fuse right after the connection to the
battery with a ten amp fuse in it.  Is this what I should be using?

I haven't ridden the bike around to see how they work yet, but so far in
the garage I've noticed (like Vik mentioned) that the left grip take a lot
longer to heat up than the right one.  Vik says this is because the plastic
sleeve for the throttle acts as an insulator, makes sense to me.  Leaving
them on in the garage for a few minutes though hasn't led to the "almost
too hot" feeling that others are reporting.  To me they seemed just warm to
my ungloved hand.  Hopefully its just that they need more time to heat up.
I'll know in a few days hopefully, when I can take it out for a spin.

Thanks for the help everyone,
Carlos






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

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 1999 21:22:07 +0000
From: Kahiau <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) From Steve Part 2

Is the Moose/MSR bashplate still the way to go, or is the rumor I
heard that someone is working on a better one that would be worth
waiting for?

What Tim did for me was add an additional 2 inches on the water pump
side of the Moose bash plate.  At first it created a terrible vibration
against Tim's highway pegs.  At first I thought it was my valves, gosh.
One good wack with a 2x6 piece of lumber stopped that.

Once this rain stops I'll take some pics.

Aloha,
kahiau, E14

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

Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1999 02:17:22 -0500
From: "=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Carlos_Y._Gonz=E1lez?=" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (klr650) Hot Grips (Near Tragedy?)

Hey guys,

I forgot to mention, when I got done installing the grips, I decided to
check the spark plug (since I had the tank off already).  Pulled it out,
checked it, and then I noticed that there was a little bee just about to
fall into the engine by the plug hole.  So I decided to get some tweezers
to get it out, but then it fell into the engine.  I decided to hit the
starter button to see if I could blow it out, without thinking that the
spark plug wire was hanging by the engine.  The second I hit the starter I
heard a snap and everything on the bike instantly went dark, no headlight,
no instrument lights, no grip light, no nothing.  I checked the fuses under
the seat, the fuse for the grips, and the one behind the water resevoir
tank.  They were all fine.

After several minutes of putzing around trying to get the lights to come on
(mostly by flipping the key back and forth like a monkey would) I went
inside to show my cousin how I ruined my bike after officially finishing
nine fricken hours of work on my bike.  When I flipped the key to on to
show him, everything worked normally (the singing frog syndrome :)

Does anyone know or guess what could have happened here?  The bike is
completely normal now, after being dead for about 5 minutes.  I ran the
bike for about 10 minutes without a problem.  I'm worried about taking out
the bike and it just quitting on me.  Are there any other fuses I missed,
like a main fuse or something?
I don't think it had anything to do with the grip wiring since I was really
carefull installing it (nine hours worth of careful), and because I'm
running it off the battery directly, so it isn't interacting with the rest
of the bike's system.  Please help, I'm paranoid now!

Thanks,
Carlos

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

End of klr650-digest V2 #1065
*****************************