KLR 6fiddy

[Big Draggo]

Anyone have a KLR? What year? How do you like it? Do you beat the snot out of it?

[DaveZX6r]

My cousin has a klr450? I think he beats the shite out of it regularly in his back yard in maine and at a track he frequents he loves it. He bought it new I think 2-3 years ago? Its one of the 4 strokes.

Edit; Wicked der he has a kx450 full on dirt. Sorry.

[TheIglu]

I have a '93. Love it. Ride it to work every day, then ride it for fun on weekends. Buddy of mine just got an identical '94.

I got mine for $1100 needing air in the tires. He got his for $1100 needing some TLC but no parts.

Deals are out there.....

[TheIglu]

It's hard to "beat" a KLR. Yes, you'll tach it out. Yes, it will get up to speed. It will do none of these things in a quick manner.

It's fine for fun though and a hoot to bring on fast paced sportbike rides.

[csmutty]

I had a 1991 KLR650 as my first street bike. It had a pipe and carb work and was a great ride. The thing had great low end power and was AWESOME on dirt roads or back roads. They are also very cheap. I got mine for $300.

[TTD]

Anyone have a KLR? What year? How do you like it? Do you beat the snot out of it?

I have a 2008 model (the new style).

I love it. Added full set of luggage (side cases and top box)... all of which pop off in about 30 seconds.

Having said all this... I'm not riding it much and could be talked into a sale.

[Tricky Mike]

I had one for a couple years.. put Pirelli Mt21's on it and rode it down some hills in the woods that I didn't expect I'd have to ride back up (dead ended). So, yeah, it took a beating. Never let me down. Rode NYC to VT several times. After all that I sold it to a guy on Ebay who bought it sight unseen, flew into Logan and rode the bike home... to Minneapolis.

[Nikon]

It's hard to "beat" a KLR. Yes, you'll tach it out. Yes, it will get up to speed. It will do none of these things in a quick manner.

It's fine for fun though and a hoot to bring on fast paced sportbike rides.

that just bout answers it. I have an 04. Other than me braking things on it it holds up well. It's a pig though.

I've been riding another members CBR600RR for the past week and I can tell you that I miss the comfort of the KLR but I don't miss the sluggishness....but that's why I bought it in the first place. Riding like I ride the CBR will just get me in trouble or dead.

KLR is heavy for off road use. Great on dirt roads but can be a bit much in "real" off road conditions (keep in mind that I'm 6'4" and 230 and it can still be a bitch to manage in tough areas).

[theothersean]

I have a 2008 model (the new style).

I love it. Added full set of luggage (side cases and top box)... all of which pop off in about 30 seconds.

Having said all this... I'm not riding it much and could be talked into a sale.

what do you have for miles ?

[TTD]

what do you have for miles ?

Just under 5k.

Interested?

[theothersean]

you wanna trade straight up for an 06 ninja 650 ? it would make a good track bike . and you could use it as a track day rental .

aprox 14,000 miles on it

[Evil_Weasel]

the thing about KLRs is that you know at any given moment there are at least a dozen people some where in the process of riding around the world on one.

[TTD]

you wanna trade straight up for an 06 ninja 650 ? it would make a good track bike . and you could use it as a track day rental .
aprox 14,000 miles on it

The only reason I'd sell the KLR is cuz I'm doing so little riding... so a trade is not too attractive at the moment.

And the trackday rental idea is interesting... but I'd be looking for previous racebikes and other "crashworthy" bikes... things that would go for under $3000

[theothersean]

we bought 2 new ones , got a pretty good deal too.
now is a good time to buy


http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...black-one.html

[KingCast 650R]

I bought a brand new KLR 250 in '87 when they first came out. It of course was slowish but I loved that bike. No motocrosser but a good woods and road bike. The only bike I bought off the showroom floor.

Back then it was trick as hell, but I'm glad Kawi FINALLY redid them a couple of years ago. Same bike was being made for 20+ years.

Guess what it cost new?
$1999.

Guess what the leftover Kenny Roberts Special RZ350 cost?
$2299.

I was gonna buy one but was frankly a little scared of it. I was 22. Later I got an RD 350B and that little fucker was plenty fast, too!

[KingCast 650R]

we bought 2 new ones , got a pretty good deal too.
now is a good time to buy


http://www.nestreetriders.com/forum/...black-one.html

Ha!

Same headlight as my Ninja 650R, also boosted from one of the 1,000s..

http://christopher-king.blogspot.com...s-bmw-k75.html

LOL

[theothersean]

we just traded a ninja same color as yours ,

are you interested in a taller wind screen , zergravity sport tour model

also have the givi rack that bolts right on for a top box ( box not included )

you could remove it when not needed 4 simple bolts right under the seat

[TTD]

A few photos of my KLR with the new top case and saddlebags..

[Nikon]

606s?

[TTD]

606s?

Yep. Made a big difference off road.

But... I'm now considering putting them on my wife's KLX250 and putting a more street oriented tire on the KLR.

Here's the logic:

If Renee is on the ride, I can pretty much go anywhere she can go with the KLR on a non-agressive tire.

If Renee is not on the ride (say if I'm going with the boys on a tougher ride), then I will just take her KLX.

[Nikon]

Yep. Made a big difference off road.

But... I'm now considering putting them on my wife's KLX250 and putting a more street oriented tire on the KLR.

Here's the logic:

If Renee is on the ride, I can pretty much go anywhere she can go with the KLR on a non-agressive tire.

If Renee is not on the ride (say if I'm going with the boys on a tougher ride), then I will just take her KLX.

sounds logical.
i just put k270 on the klr and they're weird. i've never ridden knobbies on the street before - odd feeling, not confident w/em yet

[gregp]

I really like the Kenda K-270's. They last a long time. The front tires will feel very wierd until they wear down some. The knobs are soft and will squirm around when pressed hard.
I have been running 270's for many years and have not found any other 50/50 tires that perform as well and last as long. Oh, and they're cheap, too!
The sidewalls are soft, so be sure to run UHD tubes, or risk pinch flats.
The 760's rear tires hold up great as well, but they are more a 90/10 tire. The 760 fronts have spooky handling traits in the woods, and I actually prefer the 270.
Nice KLR's - all. I owned an '84 KLR600 - before the huge tanks - and it was a great do it all bike as long as it was not pushed too hard off road.

[Nikon]

i can tell that they're holding but they still move around b/c those knobs are soft - very strange

[Nikon]

since we're showin em off

[Fantastipotamus]

I bought mine about a year ago or so, it's an '06 with about 5k on it.


I enjoy it, but like Nikon said, for more serious offroading, it's pretty heavy. The DRZ-400s is about 50lbs lighter, but with the same HP. Likely won't be as comfortable on-road, but more adept off-road.

Also worth noting, the '08+ can be a little more squirrely off road, due to the wider/less-travel front shocks (and weighing 50lbs more). My understanding is '08 is better on road, '07 is better off road.