2001 Kawasaki KLR 650 - Modifications
KLR Home Page Why a KLR? Baja Feb Baja Nov Kettle Valley Railroad Trip Arctic Circle Trip
Kawasaki did a great job with the KLR. My bike has covered over 52,000 miles. I've personalized it with a few changes. The following pictures highlight what I've done. I apologize for the dirt in some of the pictures; its a dual-sport bike - its ok to spend more time riding than washing.
KLR Modifications
Front Turn Signal
Lockhart Phillips clear turn signals with amber bulbs. Plastic body. Smaller than stock and out of the way when the bike hits the ground. See MAW online link below for p/n information
Rear Turn Signal
Lockhart Phillips turn signals with Aluminum body. Threaded mounting post is long enough to pass through the luggage rack and accept the nut without modification. See MAW online link below for p/n information
OURY Grips
Oury Road grips with the large flange. A little longer than stock. Right side fits best moving the switch housing inward. I just let the left side hang over the end a little bit.
Maier Handgards
Maier Deluxe Wood pro Plastic and aluminum handguards. The biggest I could find. I've tested these out on the wind, rain, branches and the ground. They are up to the test.
Fuel Filter
Standard issue in-line fuel filter as found in any motorcycle, automotive or lawnmower shop. The KLR seems to run on anything, but I figured a little insurance wouldn't hurt.
Kawasaki Tank Bag
I got the Factory bag free with the bike. It fits great, doesn't scratch the tank and expands to a pretty large capacity. Unfortunately, as much camp-dry as I sprayed on it. Water still got in.
Ortleib Tank Bag
Big and completely dry. Aerostich catalog stikes again. I got it with map case and magnet mount. Only downside is the tank is getting pretty scratched up from rocks and dirt under the magnet base.
Ortlieb Dry Bags
From the Aerostich catalog. These are great! Dry, expandable and really tough. Incredible capacity. Even leave the tops open and put a full bag of groceries in each one.
Bag Mounts
I don't ride the KLR 2-up. I removed the rear passenger footpegs and hardware. In thier place, some small stainless steel bag mounts made on the mill at work.
55/100 Watt Bulb
Bright Blue tint H4 bulb from the local auto parts store. Its certainly better than stock. Still nothing to brag about if its dark outside and the ground is wet.
Corbin Seat
I've done my 500 mile days on the stock saddle. I don't need to do them any more. Great seat other than its sponge like ability to retain water.
KTM Fender #1
Too much green on the KLR for me. I discovered by slightly enlarging the mounting holes the Acerbis/KTM/Husaberg fenders mount right onto the KLR. First one I had was black.
KTM Fender #2
I swaped the black KTM fender for a Silver one. Silver fender KTM p/n 5030801010090 from 1998-2002 125 - 520cc SX and EXC lines of KTM Motocross and Enduro Bikes.
Center Stand
Dual Star Center Stand. Great for maintinance and taking up less room in the garage. Easy install and real sturdy. Perhaps a little taller than it needs to be.
HD Shift Lever
Dual-Star Heavy duty shift lever. My stock lever had reached the point where I figured the next time I had to bend it back it was going to come off in my hand. Problem solved.
M Cylinder Guard
Dual-Star Rear Master Cylinder Guard. A nice litte piece. Looks cool and may even save my master cylinder some day
Engine Guard
Heavy Duty Skid plate. I bought mine from Dual star. Looks just like moose and eveybody elses'. Had to bend it a little bit and mount to the far left to keep it from rubbing
No Saftey Switch
I started having trouble with the side stand safety switch. I removed the switch and cleaned up the mounting points on the frame.
Switch Bypass
I bypassed the switch by connecting the green and mustard colored wires off the red connector in the harness and zip-typing them up under the seat.
Licence Plate Mount
Even with the low profile trail wings its possible to contact the rear plate and rear tire. I mounted the plate high, removed the side reflectors and cut the inner fender smooth.
Oil Filler Cap
Billet Aluminum Oil Filler Cap. The "Security" cap as Dual-Star likes to call it. 24mm Hex head. Can be removed with the rear axle wrench from the stock tool kit.
Heated Clothing
The hookup for my Gerbings Heated Vest and gloves. Its fused and runs direct to the battery and hides out of the way under the nose of the seat when not in use.
Brake Bracket
Dual-Star Heavy duty aluminum Brake Master Cylinder and Brake Pedal Bracket. Replaces the stock casting. Probably overkill, but better safe than sorry.
Mirror Mount
Low Vibration Mirror Mount from Dual-Star. Works great on the KLR. Works great with low Vibration Mirrors! No more guessing if that's Grandma's Crown Vic or a State Trooper in the rear view mirror.
Low Vibe Mirror
Low Vibration Mirror. They look similiar to the stock mirrors, the difference being you can actually determine what is going on behind you. Mine came from Dual-Star.
16T Sprocket
I take longer trips at speed, not as much time grunting the bike around on tight trails. The 16T has taken some of the edge off longer rides. Quick on and off to switch back to the 15T. Mine from Arrowhead Motorsports and Sprocket Specialties
Trail Wing Rear
I've been getting about 6000 miles on a TW-42 on the back. Available in 120/90/17, not stock the stock 130/80/17 size. Fits fine. Not good in the muck, but great for everything else.
Trail Wing Front
TW-41. I ride mostly two land back road, and gravel, not much mud or trail. Good Tire. I got 13,000 miles out my first one, could have gone farther. Started to cup pretty bad. Bought another.
Heat Shield
Some type of heat shield is a "must have" for the Ortlieb dry bags. I mounted the Dual Star unit over the stock muffler heat shield. Works with the Laser Pro Duro also.
IMS Footpegs
IMS Pro Series Foot Pegs. I've wanted these for a long time. Great grip. They do tear up street riding boots a little bit.
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LASER PRO DURO EXHAUST. At this point I haven't done anything to the Airbox other than put a Twin-Air re-useable filter in it. I'm still running the stock jetting. Jetting is on my list of things to play with. I'm not a close MPG watcher, but I think I picked up a couple MPG with the Laser. The biggest riding difference has been smoothing out the on throttle to abrupt off throttle transition.
The Laser Pro really is as quiet as stock. Some people think it sounds a little deeper. Unless you really twist the grip, I don't think its really even any deeper sounding than the stock exhaust with 20K on it that I took off. I found it to be an easier install than all the exhaust reducer/bushing stuff mentioned on the Arrowhead Motorsports site. I shimmed one of the collector pipe clamps with some neatly trimmed and folded aluminum beer can to make sure it was tight enough. I did use a longer rear hanger bolt, it makes the installation easier with only one set of hands, but wasn't an absolute requirement. The only negative I've noticed is when I bottom out the rear suspension, the tire will rub the Laser collector pipe. They barely contact and it hasn't caused any problems. I positioned the pipes and muffler to be as far away from the plastic as possible. Perhaps in doing so I've gotten a little further into the rear tire's path than I need to be.LASER PRO DURO Update: AT 46,000 miles I broke the weld between the collector pipe and the muffler. I was on a particularly long and rough section of "road" in Baja and the weld broke all the way around. I discovered the hanger had broken also. I theorize that the hanger may have broken first so the muffler was hanging unsupported. Furthermore the weight of my fully loaded soft saddlebag rests against the muffler. Every bump would put additional side force on the muffler. Under full suspension compression I had contact between the rear tire and the collector pipe. Some combination of all these events snapped it. I found a muffler shop in Guerrero Negro that did a great job welding it all back together for 100 pesos. I was ordering a new chain and sprocket from Fred at Arrowhead Motorsports and mentioned the muffler event to him. He said it was the first one he had ever heard of that failed. Even though it is long out of warranty, he indicated Laser Pro Duro has some great customer service policies and would likely replace it at cost.
I've received quite few emails requesting p/n information on the LP TURN SIGNALS.
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