Bruce Atkinson

Archive for the ‘Adventure’ Category

Today I finally got to bring home my KLR 650. It was kind of chilly, so I didn’t get to ride it much. I did take a couple of dirt roads just to check it out. Way down on power compared to my VStrom, but I knew that would be the case. It seems lighter than I thought it would be and I was pretty impressed with the suspension that is on it. I thought I still might have to tweak it, but for now it seems like it will be just fine.

It has been my desire to ride portions of the Trans America Trail. I would love to ride it from east to west as one trip, but I do not have the time to do that. Maybe when I retire, if I still am capable, I will try it. In December I turned 60 and I decided that I needed to get a bike that I could ride the TAT with and spend the next two years preparing it for me and determining whether or not I could actually do it.

I ended up deciding that a 1st Gen Kawasaki KLR 650 would be the best bike for me. It has longer suspension and is slightly lighter then the 2nd Gen KLR. There are plenty of aftermarket parts available and the experience and knowledge is out there for fixing any issues that come up. Pretty much all of the warts of the KLR are well known and fixes and work arounds are readily available.

I set out to find one and decided that my best bet was to keep an eye on the bikes going through National Power Sports. On Jan 29th a 2006 KLR popped up on their site for $2,499. I immediately put a down payment on it. It was in really good shape with 20,000 miles on it and it had several mods, that I would do, already done to it. The suspension had been upgraded. The front brake was improved with a larger rotor. It had braided brake lines, improved mirrors, handlebars, and footpegs. The only thing wrong with it was the fact that the exhaust was the original rusty 1st Gen parts and it had a replacement front fender that had paint flaking off it.

After one month of waiting I finally got to pick up my new Suzuki DL-1000 VStrom. I had a nice 30 mile ride home. The bike is better than I hoped. You never know if it will be a good fit for you or not, especially since you can’t test drive it.

I’ve been without a bike for a couple of years, since I sold my 1991 Suzuki GSX-1100G. I still have a 1981 Suzuki GS-1100E, but it is high mileage and needs work. I was looking at used bikes for over a year, trying to decide which bike would be best for me. I had decided I didn’t want a 4 cylinder bike anymore. I really didn’t like the looks of a lot of bikes and there really aren’t “standards” anymore. If you want a sit upright, feet under you, street bike now, you pretty much need to get an adventure bike. I ended up deciding on either a 650 or 1000 Suzuki VStrom. Over the winter of 2012/2013 National Power Sports, a local dealer that sells used bikes over the internet and has a showroom, had a couple of DL-1000’s. I visited them a couple of times and had pretty much decided on getting one of them. Just as I was about to put a down payment on one, Suzuki had a zero percent financing deal and Rochester Suzuki had a good deal on a new 2012 DL-1000. For just over $3,000 more than a used one I could get a new one with no interest. I purchased it on 2/20/2013.