MY 2001 KLR650

[sandalscout]

Yep, it's big, heavy and ugly. BUT.... it's mine, and I've really connected with this bike. I know many people tend to think that spending money on such a bike is usually a waste, and, honestly, it's true. I could have ridden it the way that it was when I got it, but I didn't. I've really turned it into my own bike, and I like it a WHOLE lot. I'm currently limited to have only one bike, and for one bike, the KLR sure can do it all. I've ridden it on a 6 day road tour with buddies, and used it in the LBL200 dual sport ride, which, in my opinion, is a ride more sorted to the likes of DRZ400s and KTM350s. Others tend to agree.

I was riding an XT250 for 2 years, and started to realize that I really was too big/tall for that bike. It was a great bike, but uncomfortable for more than about 4 hours a day. I was cramped, my knees rode really high around the tank, etc. It was an EXCELLENT introduction to dual sport, and riding in general, but I had started to look for a bigger bike. I was pretty sold on the idea of a DR650 and had started saving pennies for a nice used one when my buddy Troy called and told me about this $1200 KLR with 13,000 miles on it.

This was from a day or two after I got it. The only modification I had made was the hand guard extensions since I kept them from my XT.



It wasn't pretty, and it needed some maintenance and slight windshield work to make me happy. I did the 'doo, installed a fuel filter, adjusted the valves, and cleaned it up a bit. I also used bedliner on all of the plastics (they were worse than pictures show), did the WheatWackerWedge (tilted the windshield up to limit buffeting) and installed a Seat Concepts seat. I also bolted a small case on the rear rack. The case was removed a few weeks later. It was too small, and everything in it was getting beat up. I also replaced the flimsy Acerbis handguards with Cycra ones that are way beefier and installed a Happy-Trail skidplate.



After I did the WWW mod, I built this dash.



It was okay, but I was never really happy with it. So I replaced it was a Cheap CB400 style headlight. About this time I also replaced the front and rear fenders (Acerebis Nost front and rear) and got some Tuff Lites LED turn signals. I found some cheap side racks off of eBay to hang my Wolfman Expedition panniers from. A buddy and I set out on a 2 day ride to shake things out, and on the way to the campsite after dinner, a deer jumped out of a ditch and jumped right into the side of my bike. I had just pulled the clutch in to begin slowing down to turn into the park, so we estimate I was doing about 40-43mph at the time. Somehow I kept the bike upright. It destroyed the right side tank fairing and bent the support bar that holds the overflow bottle, but nothing too bad.

 

[AFSOC]

Glad the deer incident didn't turn out worse. The look of the KLR is really different without the fairing. I appreciate these bikes' attributes, as a KLR owner myself. I really enjoy the fairing on my '09 though, at this point I would have a hard time adopting/adapting to the 'naked KLR'.

 

[sandalscout]

This is still pretty much how the rear end looks like. I ended up getting a Wolfman Rolie bag to replace the rear case. It works much better now.



It was also about this time that my stock speedo died. I could get it working for about 20 miles, but then it'd stop again. I hated the stock ugly and bulky gauges, so I used this as an excuse to order a Trail Tech Vapor computer. I'm pretty dang happy with it! I rode it pretty much like this for the LBL200. It did okay, but I am a crappy rider and had a decent spill on some slick mud at one point. This practically destroyed the other tank fairing, and dented in the side of the radiator. The radiator is still functional and not leaking, so I'm still using it. But I decided I had to get some protection around that area. I am not a fan of the big crash bars (on this bike) that many run. The HT P-D Nerk bars are hideous, in my opinion, and the SWMotech bars, will looking much nicer, have mixed reviews at best. They are also a bit expensive.

So, I settled on the idea of running an IMS tank. This would eliminate the need to replace the flimsy plastic panels on the front of the tank, and wrap around the radiator and overflow bottle areas enough to offer some nice protection. I finally ordered one, and installed it with some green LEDs mounted to the frame beneath.



Along the way, I did a bunch of smaller, less visual mods, and I am really happy with the bike overall. The bigger things (including those above) are follows:


Maintenance and repairs
Hot Foot Moto rear chain guide
Detweeted Stock Muffler to replace the blown apart SuperCrap IDS2
Rejetted bike to stock jetting, 22cent mod, drilled slide to 7/64"
Trail Tech Vapor Digital Gauge and Vapor indicator dashboard
Suspension and Handling
Shinko SR244 Tires
Galfer Steel braided front and rear brake line
Ricor Intiminators
Ricor IAS rear shock
Protection
IMS 6.6 Gallon Tank (with green LEDs on the tank!)
Cycra CRM Handguards
Happy Trail Skid Plate
Happy Trail Rear Master Cylinder Guard
Comfort
2HE Clutch Arm Mod
Seat Concepts Seat
Moose Racing Steel Folding Shift Lever
Volar footpegs from D2Moto with Moose Racing Springs
PowerMadd Pivoting Riser 475
Pro Taper SE ATV Mid handlebars
BikeMaster Heated Grips
Luggage and Storage
Large Wolfman Rolie Bag on rear rack
Giant Loop Diablo tank bag
Wolfman Side Racks
Wolfman Expedition Dry Saddle Bags
Moose Racing Spare Tube Fender Pack
"Make it look better" mods
EMGO Fork "ears" with CB400 7" headlight running an H4 bulb
Acerbis NOST front fender
Acerbis NOST rear fender
DRC Edge 2 LED taillight
Tuff Lites LED Turn Signals
Electronics
Fuse Relocation Kit from ElectricalConnection.com
Wired tank bag with Burnsmoto.com products
Waterproof USB Power outlet on custom fork mount
Samsung S4 Active for music and navigation

I just got my Ricor IAS Shock last night, and got it installed. I can't wait to see how it pairs with the fork valves.

I have been really happy with this bike, and I see keeping it for a long time. I am hoping to get a bigger touring bike (leaning to the Tiger 955i) and a smaller more dirt friendly bike (maybe a DRZ) in the next 2-3 years, but if I can only have one bike, this is the best one, in my mind.

I don't have a ton of new things planned, but the headlight I have is a bit crappy. A Trail Tech Race Light with Boatman's H4 mod will be my last "big" purchase for a while. I think it'd be cool to have the frame, lower forks, swing arm, and various brackets painted/powdercoated a gunmetal gray, but if that never happens, no biggie. It's stupid overkill on this cheap bike, but I like it, and I'm happy with how it's turned out thus far.


Here is what it looked like last week:



Here is a link to my blog page about it, and it has links back to product pages for each mod. I keep it up to date, but I'll try to post modifications in here as well.

http://mattstrippin.blogspot.com/p/2001-klr650.html

 

[sandalscout]

Glad the deer incident didn't turn out worse. The look of the KLR is really different without the fairing. I appreciate these bikes' attributes, as a KLR owner myself. I really enjoy the fairing on my '09 though, at this point I would have a hard time adopting/adapting to the 'naked KLR'.

I know what you mean. I ride friends VStroms occassionally, and it is nice to have the protection. That said, I came from a bike with a tiny fairing, and I HATED the stock setup on the KLR. My head got shoved all over the place, and it was miserable. The WWW mod helped, some, but I jumped on it for a ride with the fairing removed once, and immediately decided to ditch it all. Haven't regretted it a bit on this bike.

 

[sandalscout]

Glad the deer incident didn't turn out worse.

Forgot to reply to this part. I felt pretty lucky that night. My buddy was following me, and had his gopro on his helmet, but had turned it off about 3 minutes before it happened. The worst part besides getting hit was that I was shoved into the oncoming line. There were three cars directly behind us, and three coming toward us. The first car in each lane had a clear view of the incident. Fortunately, they were far enough away that I wasn't close to getting hit, but of the 6 cars, all 6 slowed down, and not one of them stopped.


I forgot to mention in my first post, I ordered on of the last sets of BRMoto racks designed to hold Wolfman bags. The cheaper racks I had worked, but not ideally. I just received the new racks tonight, and got them mounted. Look much better too!

 

[Cabrito]

That's quite a transformation. It's fun though right?

Any plans to do anything to the front brake or are you okay with it?

Looks cool with the round headlight.

 

[sandalscout]

Yes, it is fun.... It's often hard for me to say "Did I really just spend $600 on a shock for a $1200 bike?" But, at the end of the day, meh, it's fun, so, whatever!

I've debated on the front brake, but honestly, I've not felt like I've needed it. I try to ride off pavement as much as possible, and I think that they stock brake with steel lines is generally adequate for those surfaces, but if I upgrade, it might be overkill.

Thanks, I like the round headlight also. The current setup was sort of a test to see how cheap I could do it. I'm surprised it's held up for as long as it has, but the top of the reflector has started to droop from the heat inside the housing. I think that the Trail Tech light will be a nice upgrade, and they look so damn cool.

 

[Cabrito]

Yes, it is fun.... It's often hard for me to say "Did I really just spend $600 on a shock for a $1200 bike?" But, at the end of the day, meh, it's fun, so, whatever!

I've debated on the front brake, but honestly, I've not felt like I've needed it. I try to ride off pavement as much as possible, and I think that they stock brake with steel lines is generally adequate for those surfaces, but if I upgrade, it might be overkill.

Thanks, I like the round headlight also. The current setup was sort of a test to see how cheap I could do it. I'm surprised it's held up for as long as it has, but the top of the reflector has started to droop from the heat inside the housing. I think that the Trail Tech light will be a nice upgrade, and they look so damn cool.

I wish I didn't wait so long to replace my rear shock on my KLR. It was one of the best upgrades yet.

I also go back and forth on the front brake. You mention the same exact reason I've held off. I worry that it might be too grabby on dirt roads if I upgrade it. I ride a lot of street since it's my main commuter right now so I just make sure I compensate for the lack of brake power with situational awareness. Meaning don't get in over my head and make sure I have an escape for sudden stops.