Goodbye KiLaR!

[number9]

I did not know this. Nifty looking bike!

KLX650R.. neat.

The KLX is/was very popular in Oz. Big competitor was the Ténéré.

[SRTie4k]

The only thing I really question about this (or any ADV bike) venturing past a fire road is using the engine as a stressed member instead of a cradle frame. Engines don't particularly make good mounting points for bash plates.

I've slid over a few trees with the KTM bash plate on my 1290SA. It's got a few good gouges from hitting raised water bars on a few trails. I've seen pics of guys on 1x90's sliding off of rocks out in the midwest.

That said, no ADV bike is a Jeep, i.e. you probably don't want to exclusively go rock crawling on one or abuse the ever living hell out of it like you would a cheap dirt bike. But they suffice for 95% of what even the more advanced ADV riders would be willing to tackle. These bikes are meant to ride 1000 miles in comfort and then be able to do easy/moderate offroading when you get to your destination. They are bikes that can do almost everything, not bikes that can literally do everything.

[Gixxer]

I literally went to a bike shop a couple Friday’s ago to buy a KLR and the salesman talked me out of it. I think he thought he was going to talk me into a bigger bike, “you don’t want that. It’s a dog. And no one really takes a bike that heavy off-road”. Uh, ok!

[ducatirdr]

I literally went to a bike shop a couple Friday’s ago to buy a KLR and the salesman talked me out of it. I think he thought he was going to talk me into a bigger bike, “you don’t want that. It’s a dog. And no one really takes a bike that heavy off-road”. Uh, ok!

That's not true. I stopped to help a guy pick one up in the woods one day. I was on my KTM and rode up to him as he was huffing and puffing. The tires were on the side of a berm at the edge of a puddle the bike was past 90 degrees into the puddle. Between the slippery mud and it developing a suction in the 6 inches of water/mud it was a bitch getting it onto its wheels with the two of us.

Hernia Mesh sponsored by KLR

[capitalcrew]

People definitely take them off road. Mine has rash from the PO dropping it off road. Crack in one fairing piece because of it too. It's a little hefty sure but I plan on taking it off road too.

[loudbeard]

I've slid over a few trees with the KTM bash plate on my 1290SA. It's got a few good gouges from hitting raised water bars on a few trails. I've seen pics of guys on 1x90's sliding off of rocks out in the midwest.

That said, no ADV bike is a Jeep, i.e. you probably don't want to exclusively go rock crawling on one or abuse the ever living hell out of it like you would a cheap dirt bike. But they suffice for 95% of what even the more advanced ADV riders would be willing to tackle. These bikes are meant to ride 1000 miles in comfort and then be able to do easy/moderate offroading when you get to your destination. They are bikes that can do almost everything, not bikes that can literally do everything.

Ok all that is fine, but if I said it would cost 4 pounds of chromoly steel to have a lower cradle, isn't it a bit silly to not do it?

[SRTie4k]

Ok all that is fine, but if I said it would cost 4 pounds of chromoly steel to have a lower cradle, isn't it a bit silly to not do it?

More weight, more cost, less ground clearance, questionable need, and probably out of scope for use case. You can always build your own.

Is that one piece literally the only thing holding you back from buying that ADV bike? I doubt it.

[Stromper]

My brother got a used one and then

Sasquatch shock build and gold valves and he claims it to be a vgood dirt sled,, cost about $700

[TheIglu]

ADV bike is just a bike that can do most everything. It doesn't excel at anything.

The better the bike, the better if can do the 95% riding. ADV riding is all about being able to do as many types of riding as possible as well as possible. There will constantly be trade offs. I wouldn't expect any bike that isn't a die hard 200lb dirtbike to do hardcore offroad including bouncing the undercarriage off rocks.

The new KTM looks like a really nice middleweight ADV bike. I hope Kawasaki comes up with something similarly able bodied to replace the KLR.

[breakdirt916]

For me 2 bikes - 220lb dirty MX and a piggy street slab slayer

For likely the target demographic in this segment (fat old guys that don’t want to slay mud, 70% street, don’t have much time, need a quality performing bike they can ride out the garage) they will sell

[Garandman]

Does riding a bike like the klr on the highway reduce its engine life? Not that I think it would be much fun on the highway, but say Boston, route one, 95, then off in groveland and back roads to NH?

I commuted with one for a while. Not much power and got blown around on the highway (I tried a cafe’ front fender swap) but it wasn’t stressed at highway speeds. Even with an upgraded front brake it didn’t stop very well and was a lot to pick up in the woods.

The doohickey problem was overblown in my estimation. What did hurt, perhaps fatally, was excessive oil consumption on the highway with the new model. Replaced my 2006 with a DL650. Later got a WR250R to chase my son.

The Yamaha TW200 is still going strong with only one minor refresh: Yamaha usually alternates white and blue each model year. Once modern 250’s could sustain highway speeds the KLR650 didn’t check enough boxes.

[Stromper]

Wondering if the little Honda 500 Adventure covers most of the ground

[Garandman]

Wondering if the little Honda 500 Adventure covers most of the ground

Too heavy for trails and too slow on the road?

We have a CB500F and it’s pretty handy. The 2019 X has been upgraded. Seat height is only 31-1/2” and 430lbs wet so it’s an adventurey bike shorter riders can handle. The Honda heated grips are quite slick, with the controller integrated in the left grip.

2019 Honda CB500X First Look