KLR 650's....

[PBCounty]

Any thoughts / opinions?

I want one. I've had nearly every sub-400cc dual sport ever made (I've had a lot of dual purpose bikes!) so I have something for comparision. I've always rode off-road primarily and only like dual sport capability to jump between wooded areas - but now I think I want to venture onto the roads some more and the KLR seems like it could fit the bill.

What do you think?

[Slacker]

I have never owned one but have never heard a bad thing about them. They have a huge following in the DS community. One day I will have to take the plunge.

[wavetrain75]

The famous qualifying statement, it depends on what you what it for. My brother has an 08 KLR 650, I have an 06 Suzuki 650 V Strom.

The KLR is a 50/50 street/dirt bike. It is a fantastic in town commuter - high seating position, zippy enough to get you through traffic (but by no means a rocket), and the first parking lot ding doesn't hurt nearly as much as on the Ducati.

They are well suited to gravel and dirt roads, just about anything down to and including a cattle trail. If you want a real dirt bike you will find the KLR overweighted and underpowered. If you want a backroads cruiser for leisurely day rides you'd probably be pretty content.

KLRs are also known for having a variety of minor quality control issues when the come from the factory. The KLR sites will have these listed and worth addressing early. My brother bought his off the showroom floor with 5 total miles on it and it wouldn't start - the compression release was misadjusted and it took 4 days to get it fixed. A week later the rear suspension adjuster stripped out. These were covered under warranty and it has been rock solid reliable since.

My brother also has a BMW R1100RTP. This is the road trip bike. Not that the KLR isn't capable, the BMW is just way more comfortable. And a lot faster.

The Suzuki 650 V-Strom is a 70/30 street/dirt bike. I bought it because I wanted to have only one motorcycle to keep up with the KLR and the BMW, and it does that very well. It is over 400 pounds so that limits it's offroad capability but gravel / dirt roads and smooth trails are no problem, On the pavement with 60 or so horse power it leaves the KLR far, far behind. I have done all day on gravel and 500 mile days on Colorado's high mountain asphalt and it's at home either way. The stock windshield and stock seat are terrible.

I would tell you to take a good look at both before you buy either one, they each cover a niche very well, you just need to decide how you plan to use it. I wanted to have only one bike so I got the 650 V-Strom. I don't regret the choice at all, very capable bike in a wide variety of conditions.

If you plan to run around town and then head into the desert with a one man tent and a GPS, I'd take the KLR. But then I'd buy a second bike for the highway touring.

[PBCounty]

The famous qualifying statement, it depends on what you what it for. My brother has an 08 KLR 650, I have an 06 Suzuki 650 V Strom.

The KLR is a 50/50 street/dirt bike. It is a fantastic in town commuter - high seating position, zippy enough to get you through traffic (but by no means a rocket), and the first parking lot ding doesn't hurt nearly as much as on the Ducati.

They are well suited to gravel and dirt roads, just about anything down to and including a cattle trail. If you want a real dirt bike you will find the KLR overweighted and underpowered. If you want a backroads cruiser for leisurely day rides you'd probably be pretty content.

KLRs are also known for having a variety of minor quality control issues when the come from the factory. The KLR sites will have these listed and worth addressing early. My brother bought his off the showroom floor with 5 total miles on it and it wouldn't start - the compression release was misadjusted and it took 4 days to get it fixed. A week later the rear suspension adjuster stripped out. These were covered under warranty and it has been rock solid reliable since.

My brother also has a BMW R1100RTP. This is the road trip bike. Not that the KLR isn't capable, the BMW is just way more comfortable. And a lot faster.

The Suzuki 650 V-Strom is a 70/30 street/dirt bike. I bought it because I wanted to have only one motorcycle to keep up with the KLR and the BMW, and it does that very well. It is over 400 pounds so that limits it's offroad capability but gravel / dirt roads and smooth trails are no problem, On the pavement with 60 or so horse power it leaves the KLR far, far behind. I have done all day on gravel and 500 mile days on Colorado's high mountain asphalt and it's at home either way. The stock windshield and stock seat are terrible.

I would tell you to take a good look at both before you buy either one, they each cover a niche very well, you just need to decide how you plan to use it. I wanted to have only one bike so I got the 650 V-Strom. I don't regret the choice at all, very capable bike in a wide variety of conditions.

If you plan to run around town and then head into the desert with a one man tent and a GPS, I'd take the KLR. But then I'd buy a second bike for the highway touring.

Thanks for the informative post...

I would use it for the occasional 20 mile trip to work, running around to friends' houses (dirt roads out here for the most part) on weekends and maybe some "in town" dinner runs with my girl on the back. I like that it seems rooted in being primarily dirt oriented but with a few comforts of a street bike.

Who knows - I might even take it to the opposite FL coast on occasion. It seems like it would be up for the task. I gotta find someone who owns one around here....

[MeefZah]

I've owned two KLR650s, a 2005 and a 2006, both Aztec Red. I put about 1000 miles on the 2005 in a week, decided I hated it (I was coming off a 50,000 mile 2002 FZ1 I used for cross country trips), and sold it and bought back my old FZ1.

Then, somehow, I began missing the versatility of the KLR. I ended up buying a new 2006 a year later and in the span of 12 months put 20,000 miles on it, and actually loved it so much it became my "everything" bike. I sold the FZ1 and kept only the KLR. I've since sold it and gotten other bikes.

As such, I expect I can comment on the KLR:

The KLR does everything okay, but nothing particularly well. I will say, I have ridden some gnarly ass off road with it and other than the weight when you drop it or stop on an off camber hill, it does really well. It's no true dirt bike, but a few simple mods like tires, a 13 or 14T front sprocket, lever guards, a skidplate, etc., can make it a decent off road bike. I rode the MCCCT in the lower peninsula with it loaded for camping over 5 days, and did a ton of two day off road trips to WV, and it always got me there and back intact.

But see, here's the thing, the KLR, while a fun and capable bike, is really pretty shoddily constructed. I was constantly replacing something minor on it due to crappy engineering. Due to failures the wheel and swingarm bearings, counter balancer adjustment lever (aka doohickey - mine was broken at 1200 miles), start / kill switch, wiring harness, radiator fan switch, speedometer drive assembly, footpeg mount bolts, subframe bolts, and the list goes on were replaced. The Kaw dealer was difficult to work with for the warranty claims and Kawasaki themselves clearly didn't give two ****s about the defects or the customer. My 2006 was burning a quart of oil every 1500 miles, despite careful maintenance. The fit and finish are crap, and since production shifted from Japan to Taiwan in 2002 the "quality" has gone even more downhill. The front brake sucks, the suspension is old tech. The 17" rear tire limits your off road tire selection. Two up is cramped.

After riding the KLR for a year and mulling over what I wanted a bike to do, I sold it to get two bikes. My current rides are a V Strom 650 and a KLX 250 S. The KLX is so much better off road than the KLR and has the suspension and brakes to back up it's wanna be dirt bike attitude. It is much better engineered and the fit and finish are what you'd expect from a Japanese bike. It's reasonably light, fast, easy on gas, and capable on everything from two lane highway to single track. The V Strom is the finest streetgoing bike I have ever owned and with hard bags and some light mods it does cross country trips and local dirt roads equally well. It is fast, comfortable, does two up great, gets 55 mpg, has incredible build quality and is a freaking steal at $6000. For comparison purposes I now have 24,000 miles on the V Strom x 14 months, and 8,000 miles on the KLX x 10 months.

Anyway, I guess I am telling you that the KLR is a fun bike but has a lot of known issues. If you want one KLR-style bike, I'd opt for the Suzuki DR650 instead. Better build quality, a bit cheaper and lighter, just as many aftermarket mods, better brakes and suspension from the factory. The DRZ400S is another good choice, leaning more to the dirt side, but still able to cruise at 80 mph. Otherwise, I suggest diversifying and getting two dual purpose bikes, one at each end of the spectrum, like me.

[wavetrain75]

KLR would be great for what you describe.

I have no experience with the Suzuki DR650 but as MeefZah pointed out it might be a good one to consider. It's more dirt oriented than the KLR and I think a bit lighter. I agree that the build quality of the Suzuki seems better than the Kawasaki. A lot better, actually.

The KLR was completely redesigned for 2008 and some issues were addressed (the WORTHLESS headlight, for one) but some issues still exist. Check the KLR sites ahead of time so you can see what to expect, they are well documented.

As for MeefZah's burning a quart of oil in 1500 miles, it seems I've read that if you follow Kawasaki's break in intructions, the oil burning WILL happen. You have to break them in the way decribed on the KLR sites. Just another weird KLR thing.

My brother puts twice the miles on his as he does his BMW. They have a very loyal following so they can't be that bad.

But I'd never trade my Strom for one.

[PBCounty]

That's a lot of problems mentioned. I would have thought they would take quality control more seriously on one of their "known" bikes - and one they provide to our armed forces.

I'll have to hit the local dealers and see if any used ones are on the lot for a test run.

[MeefZah]

... and one they provide to our armed forces.


The USMC KLR is nothing like the civilian model. Hayes Diversified does a lot more than just swap out the engine for a diesel one; they upgrade all the other stuff too.

A lot of people are really happy with their KLRs. It is a decent do it all bike, but expect to spend some money on getting it set up right, and repairing stuff that should have been designed and built better from the factory.

[fnfalman]

That's a lot of problems mentioned. I would have thought they would take quality control more seriously on one of their "known" bikes -

You pay for what you get. The beauty of the KLR and the Suzuki counterpart is that they're cheap.

[PBCounty]

You pay for what you get. The beauty of the KLR and the Suzuki counterpart is that they're cheap.

I've had dirt bikes and dual sports from all four of the big brands and have always been pleased with the quality / performance. Now that I have done some reading on the KLR, it does seem this model is known to have some QC issues and I find it surprising.

[speedsix]

I had a 07 KLR. I got it at a dealer. It had 600 miles and part of the 1 year warrenty. Bascially new. I paid $3800 at a dealer which is pretty good. I bought the bike in 07 BTW. It was 4 months old with low miles.

Anyway, I had a few problems with it. One was a gas line was pinched and the bike would stall at highway speeds. I took it in and they found the line that was pinched during assembly. I also had parts of the plastic body fall off. The single piston really shakes things up and if you don't tighten all the screws and bolts once in a while, you are going to loose some.

It is not a BMW or even a Suzuki but considering what I paid for it, I was more than happy. Mine wouldn't go 100mph, 97 was it's top speed. It was easy to flick around in town and handles great on twisty roads. It is best below 60mph. It is also too big and heavy for real off road use. It weighs over 400lbs wet so it becomes a real pig in sand or mud. On dirt or gravel, it is great.

It is one of the few bikes that can ride you through town, down the hiway, out into the dirt trails and back again. It is okay at everything but not great at anything.

If you want a true 50/50 dual sport, it is a good option. If you are like me and plan to do more road trips and ride trails once in a while, consider something more like a Suzuki V-Strom. I swtiched to one after my KLR and I love it.

[Senior-A]

Have you looked at a Honda XR650L , its Honda's big pig D-S bike , myself I'd look into a KTM if money isn't a issue 950 SuperEnduro , 690 Adventure , KTMtalk.com can provide a source of good info .

[PBCounty]

Have you looked at a Honda XR650L , its Honda's big pig D-S bike , myself I'd look into a KTM if money isn't a issue 950 SuperEnduro , 690 Adventure , KTMtalk.com can provide a source of good info .

That XR650L is just too damn tall. I like it but I'd need a firetruck to saddle up.

[Proxy]

I'm jonesing for a KTM 690 Enduro, but I bleed orange.

http://image.dirtrider.com/f/10393926/141_0807_08_z+2008_ktm_690_enduro+street_legal_bike.jpg

A BMW 650/800 GS would be a good fit too.

http://www.axr.co.za/wp-content/uploads/f650dakar.jpg

http://ronayres.com/images/Motorcycles/BMW%20F800GS%2008%20%202.jpg

I'd be confident in any of the above.

If cost is a factor though, a KLR is a good bike if you are comfortable with nuts and bolts.

[Goldendog Redux]

I'm jonesing for a KTM 690 Enduro, but I bleed orange.

http://image.dirtrider.com/f/10393926/141_0807_08_z+2008_ktm_690_enduro+street_legal_bike.jpg

If cost is a factor though...

Schwing

[PBCounty]

Think I'm going with the DR650SE.....KLR is just too much weight for the sugar sand and mud around here.