Archive for the ‘KLR’ Category
Picked up my KLR
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.
Purchased a 2006 KLR 650
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.
