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2001 Kawasaki KLR 650 - Why a KLR ?
KLR Home Page KLR Modifications Arctic Circle Trip Baja Feb Baja Nov Kettle Valley Railroad Trip
At "The Shop"
In the Rain.
With the Catus
In a Motel
Getting Gas
The Signpost Forrest
At the Salt.
The High Desert
At the Beach
I wanted a reliable, long range dual sport bike that wouldn't mind if a few scratches and dents came its way. Something I wouldn't feel obligated to wash all the time. My good friend Geoff suggested a Kawasaki KLR 650. I initially ignored him. His garage always has at least half a dozen bikes in it. Mostly old classics, fussy Austrian dirt bikes or even worse, Italian street bikes. I figured Geoff suggesting anything as ordinary as a KLR should be ignored. At that time I had a Harley Sportster and a Fatboy. At the time wife established a rule that we were never going to have more than two motorcycles at any one time. The Sportster went in the Cycle-Trader and until it sold, I had time to shop.
I thought about the legendary Helge Pedersen roding around the world on an R80GS, I need a BMW. Old BMW's don't cost much. A R100GS would only cost a little more. An R100GSPD bike with the big tank, even better. How about a really clean special addition 1995 black PD with the factory chrome crash bars. For the same money I could get an R1100GS, No too ugly. Why not step up to an R1150GS, they look a little better, but cost $14,500 and weigh 586lbs without gas or accessories.... Wait, this is out of control. I need to think smaller.
The earlier BMW F650. Sort of Homely. Maybe a newer 2000 or 2001 F650GS. All of a sudden I was looking at $8600 650cc Singles. Maybe an old Cagiva Elephants (A Geoff sort of bike) or a new Grand Canyon. KTM Adventure R's. Moto Guzzi Quota's, If I'm going to get a Guzzi I should get my favorite, the 1000S. OK, Cool bike in an odd way, but no dual-sport. For about three months I looked at one thing after another trying to find the best all around dual-sport bike.
One day I was checking out one of my favorite sites, the motorcycleexplorer.com, when I decided Geoff was right about the KLR 650. It was the right bike with the right features at the right price. It was early June 2001. I changed my Sportster's selling price from too high, to fair, and it rumbled out of garage. As the sound from the pipes faded away, I was reminded of the old saying, "The two happiest days in a Sportster owner's life are the day he buys it, and the day he sells it."
Within a few weeks I located a 2001 KLR650 with 1600 miles for sale about an hour away. Geoff and I hopped in this big Dodge truck and went to take a look. At the beginning of summer local Kawasaki dealers wouldn't let a new KLR650 leave the showroom for less than $5000. All the dark blue 1995-1999 used bikes I found had mid to upper $3000 asking prices. The used 2001 bike we went to look at was spotless and rode perfectly. They seller let it go for $4000.
I figured if it was the right bike, I got it at a good price. If it was the wrong bike, I'd just sell it to someone else. I'd spent the previous two years low riding around on loud Harley's. The tall quiet bike took a little getting used to. After I learned to appreciate its light and nimble nature, it grew on me. Re-discovering our area's endless gravel roads hooked me. The KLR is here to stay.
Over the summer the bike became my primary commuter, errand runner and after work explorer. I typically get 250 to 280 miles before hitting reserve. It loves cheap gas. My buddies and I took a couple weekend motorcycle camping trips over the summer. I've discovered that the Ortleib dry bags from Aerostich and a Baja 30 SeaLine dry bag strapped to the luggage rack will carry everything a guy needs for a several day trip and still allow room for beers purchased at the last convenience store we pass before setting up camp for the night. My Northface ultra light backpacking tent, sleeping bag and therm-a-rest mattress all fit in the 30 liter bag.
Geoff and I not sure how we ended up here
In September, Geoff, another friend Mark, and I loaded the bikes in the back of the big Dodge truck and drove to Hope British Columbia one Thursday night. Friday morning we stopped in at a local bookstore and picked up a copy of the Trans Canada Trail by Mussio Ventures Ltd. Its a mile by mile guide to the Kettle Valley Railroad ride recommended by Tom Grenon at the Motorcycleexplorer.com. After parking the truck we had three days of great riding, local adventures and campfires. The people of Southern BC are fantastic. In fact all the people I've met traveling throughout Western Canada have been great. I've written a separate KVR trip report. Check it out. These two photo's capture the spirit of the trip.
KVR Trestle crossing Near Princeton A tunnel about 5 miles further down the trail
Kettle Valley Railway trip report - Click Here
In October 2001 I scored several unexpected days off from work and my wife let me take a mid-week motorcycle trip. Three days, three western states and 1400 miles of two lane and gravel road. Eastern Oregon has some fantastic roads and equally spectacular scenery. If you are a motorcycle junkie and traveling through Northern Idaho, stop at Beaudry's Motorsports in Post Falls, you won't be disappointed. Last, If anybody ever tells you can't bang out 1400+ miles in three days on a stock KLR seat, just tell them after the first 300 miles your butt goes numb and you don't notice. I'll admit that since that trip I pulled out my wallet and bought a Corbin. The stock seat has since gone away via Ebay.
Winter in Oregon is dark, wet and sort of cold. I've set up the KLR to operate my Heated Vest and gloves. The vest draws 44 watts and the gloves 11 watts a piece. I've run them for 3-4 hours without any problems. My Aerostich Darien Jacket and Pants keep the water out and wind under control. They provide lots of room for a warm layer of clothes. On one particularly wet and windy day I discovered the myth about KLR's not running in the rain. I managed to get water in the carb breather hose. It made for a long and frustrating ride home. Since then I've re-routed the hose and haven't had the problem reoccur.
I commuted to work through winter 2001/2002 on the KLR. Other than the Corbin seat's foam filling up with water (mid May it was still oozing water out of the seams) the bike didn't mind a bit. Its a great around town bike because you sit up high and can see, and be seen by others. The suspension doesn't really care about pot holes, pavement breaks or curbs for that matter.
Summer 2002 came and went without a whole lot of motorcycling adventures. I had big plans. In fact, Geoff and I both had three weeks of vacation booked in July 2002 for a motorcycle tour of British Columbia, the Yukon and Northwest Territories. We even had Ferry reservations to hustle us back from Skagway Alaska to the State of Washington. Three weeks before our departure date the company I work for re-structured. I got a promotion and my boss cancelled the Yukon trip, I started working 60 hour weeks again and had one of my more miserable summers in recent memory. As the Oregon rains returned in the fall, I realized that I missed lots of quality time with both my family and my hobbies. The KLR and my Concours didn't even combine to cover 1000 miles during July, August and September of 2002. Life is too short to let that happen again. November 2002 I got back into commuting to work on the bikes. My Concours on wetter days and the KLR on drier days. ("Drier" is a relative term in western Oregon in the Winter).
Geoff and I rescheduled the Yukon trip for July 2003. This time, one of the upper managers cancelled the trip for Geoff. I figured if I don't just go, I'll never make it, so I went. 20 days, 5 states, 4 provinces and 6500 miles later it was done. I had a blast. I've got some information about the trip on my Arctic Circle 2003 page.
A few weeks later, before I even got around to washing the bike, Geoff and I were able to both get a week off from work. We camped our way through Eastern Oregon, Northern Nevada and Idaho. We slipped into Utah for a day at the Bonneville Salt Flats during Speed-Week. I'd recommend a day on the salt during Speed-Week to anybody that has even the slightest interest in motor sports. Bring a hat and the best pair of sunglasses you own. That place makes a bright sunny day on the ski slopes seem like moonlight.
The trip sort of turned into a small town bar and casino tour before it was all over. In fact, we ended up pitching our tents in the lawn in front of a bar in Denio Junction Nevada. Another night we were in Austin, Nevada on Highway 50, a.k.a the Loneliest Highway in America. Geoff and I were at one end of town looking for a place to eat. I heard big twin drag pipes echoing from the other end of town. Looking 100 yards down the street I recognized the profiles of two other riders from my office. Big Bob and Michael. We never got back on the bikes that day. I recall setting up the tent just outside the city park next to the water tower. It was a good change of pace from the long distance trip to the Arctic Circle. This trip was also a reminder how versatile the KLR is. We rode everything from Freeway to goat track. 100 Degree heat to cool rainy nights. In north central Idaho we road the roughest 20 miles of bedrock road I've every seen. The KLR took it all in stride.
I rested the KLR most of the fall and early winter of 2003. I sold my van and bought a new car. As much as I got my kicks riding the motorcycles to work through the last two winters. Getting to work warm and dry has been a refreshing change. Most weekends I'll break out one of my bikes, bundle up and go for a ride.
February 2004, Geoff and I took a quick tour of Baja. We cheated and stuck the bikes in the back of his pick-up for a round-the-clock run to San Diego. There was a record 8" of rain in the foothills around SD during the first couple days of our trip. Check out my Baja Trip page for some pictures after we got far enough south to escape the weather.
At about 46,000 miles the bike had its first real failure. I was in some rough Eastern Oregon desert and the front hub gave up. The outer portion of the casting that held the wheel bearing failed. Bits of the hub wedged into the speedo drive housing locking it up. Fortunately the outer speedo drive housing was able to keep the wheel in place on the axle so it didn't slide back and fourth. I kept it on the smooth pavement the rest of the way home. Ebay to the rescue. One used rim, hub, tube and tire and I was back on the road.
In the fall of 2006, Geoff and I took a week to explore the back roads, dirt trails and ghost towns of Nevada. We hit Las Vegas for a night and Death Valley on the way home. We did some real rough riding from NW Nevada back into Oregon on the way home. This was the trip where It was becoming obvious that the KLR was getting tired. If the bike would run a full tank of gas at freeway speeds it had gotten to the point that it needed half a quart of oil along with the next tank of gas. Speaking of gas, my mileage had been getting progressively worse. As a younger bike I could always get mid to upper 50s' out of it. I had a tank or two on this trip that were in the upper 30's. The last and actually most annoying symptom has been that long hills that I used to be able to cruise up at almost any sane speed I wanted had maxed out at about 65 to 70 mph. An if on a long hill you loose you speed, its nearly impossible to get it back.
Winter of 2006 was going to be the winter to rebuild the KLR engine. I figured a new top end would do it. Mid December I was poking around Ebay and found scored a deal on a new Motor. A power seller with great feedback had listed all the parts, minus the red plastic, all the parts for a 2005 KLR with 317 miles on it. Claim was a theft recovery. I studied all the other parts, wheels, tires, swingarm, sprockets, instrument cluster and 317 miles seemed believable. I won the auction for $657.55. All of a sudden I had a new engine, new transmission, new water pump (did I mention that my started to leak) even a new clutch lever and cable.
The engine arrived on Wednesday. Thursday after work I took the old one out and Saturday morning put the new one in. Just like that, a "new" motorcycle! So what I've learned is if you use and abuse a KLR like I did they are good for about 52,000 before you have to do any actual "maintainance" If my $657.55 will last another 52,000 miles, I'm satisfied with that.
The great engine swap of December 2006
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