The Trip

As much as I hate the look of it, the original buzzard beak is back on the KLR. I headed up to Mt Donna Buang from Healesville yesterday, and came home covered with crap. As you can see from the picture, most of the spray has come from directly in front, as though I was riding behind a car or another bike. In reality all that dirt is from the front tyre and the mudguard. I’d noticed before that water would flick out of the mudguard, get caught by the wind and flick straight back at the headlight… but this is just crazy.

I know that Kawasaki did a lot of wind tunnel testing on the 08 model, and I’m starting to get the feeling they just kept making that mudguard longer and uglier until it did what they needed it to.

The old one is back on now… next time I’m on the dirt I’ll post a photo of the results as a comparison.

Speaking of dirt, I’ve been trying to get some nobbies for the KLR, and it’s proving difficult. The bike has a 17inch rear tyre, something that’s becoming a rarity on newer dirt bikes. I should have new tyres by the middle of the week, but no one in the area had them when I went looking on Friday.

This would have to be the nearest thing to a clear liability I’ve seen in the KLR for a long-distance trip. I always figured that any replacement parts we needed along the way would have to be carted with us, or ordered in advance, but it seems that tyres are going to be that little bit harder to come by. It’s not a big thing… but I’m glad I found out about it now.

There seems to be less to report of late, in terms of modifications to the bike etc. There’s still plenty to do, but a few of the upcoming mods will take both money and time.

I have managed to get a few rides of different lengths in of late though, apart from the occasional commute to work. A few weeks back I spent some time riding along tight, twisty mown tracks in a paddock with my brother-in-law (on a KLX250) and my nephew (on a Suzuki 80). It was interesting to see how nimble the KLR could be on such a tight track, on grass, and on road tyres. It did OK, and kept pace with the 250 and the 80 with no dramas. I did manage to drop it a couple of times when the throttle completely overpowered the grip of the tyres. Looking forward to trying some different rubber.

Tested out the luggage-hauling capacity of the bike the other week, too. I spent Melbourne Cup weekend camping with some friends, and decided to go by bike with my gear on the back. The Wolfman bag was great, and this time I added a tent and a camp chair to the ensemble. The bike handled the weight perfectly. That weekend confirmed to me that I’ll need a tank bag (for gadgets and ready-access stuff) and a tail box (for hard items such as tools and cooking gear) for proper touring, but that’s OK. On a group trip, where it’s more about the travel and less about comfort-camping, it wouldn’t be hard to be self-sufficient on bikes.

Took a friend for a ride the other night. We started in evening sunshine as we left Healesville and headed to Don Valley. By the time we had ridden the Old Warburton Road it had started to turn a little colder, and the light was just starting to fade. We decided to head back via Mt Donna Buang, and about half way up we encountered some fog. Which then turned into pea-sop fog. We rode most of the trip over the mountain in 2nd gear, over bitumen and dirt. Fortunately we only encountered one vehicle coming the other way, though the driver hadn’t thought to put his headlights on. Anyway, we came out of the fog, and as we came down the mountain we saw a spectacular sunset… so it was all worth it in the end.

Managed to drop my key while taking it out of the ignition the other night. Eventually found it between the fairing and the radiator. Grrr…

Blue Ridge Racing has a nice range of motorbike tool kits. If the Aussie dollar ever makes a comeback…

I just seem to be rambling… I should stop.

I’ve been wondering lately what should be my next modification to the bike. I’m keen to get a tank bag, and I’d also like to get the electrics sorted out and a GPS added, but I found out last week that the top priority is going to have to be the windscreen.

Last weekend I rode 150+kms from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to Ocean Grove, on mostly highway and freeway. The ride itself was pretty good, despite some cross-winds on the Western Ring Road, but the buffeting from the windscreen was terrible. I actually didn’t realise how bad it was until I stood up on the pegs at 90km/h and found that my helmet had gone quiet and I could hear my iPod better. The difference was incredible. Being out in the wind with no protection at all was far better than riding behind the stock screen.

There are two main schools of thought with windscreens, it seems: higher is better, and the airfoil approach.

The taller screens range from the Kawasaki +4 (inch) screen through to the Cee Bailey monster. Some screens continue the contour of the stock screen and fairing, while others curve up to “flick” the airstream over the rider’s head. If I were to go for a taller screen it would be a curved one. The idea of a tall screen sitting closer to my head doesn’t thrill me, and something that directs the wind up and over me just makes more sense.

The airfoil screens come in two flavours. The Laminar Lip (an early favourite) attaches to the stock screen and curves up to a taller angle, creating a “flick” and a low pressure area between the two screens. I like the idea of this, and that it can be easily removed, leaving the stock screen intact. Wile the total assembly is taller there’s no means of adjustment, so if it doesn’t do the job… tough.

The Vario Touring screen works on a similar principle to the Laminar Lip, though the kit includes a replacement for the stock screen plus an adjustable airfoil or spoiler. The Vario doesn’t add any height to the screen, and the airfoil area is actually fairly small. What I do like about it is that the pitch of the foil can be adjusted to suit the height and riding position of the rider.

The problem I have with all of these is that I don’t know if any of them will work. I’ve read positive and negative reviews of all of them, and it seems many people have bought more than one before they’ve found the right screen for them. One guy has the Kawa +4 with a Laminar Lip, others have the Cee Bailey or CalSci tall screens.

The one that intrigues me the most is the Vario. I like the fact that it’s adjustable, meaning it’s not as hit and miss as the fixed solutions from other vendors.

The Australian distributor of the Vario was not aware that there was a screen for the new KLR (MRA’s own site doesn’t list it, so it’s hardly their fault), but they can order them in for around $AU250.

Won’t be next week, but it will be soon.

I’m also pleased to report that the de-restriction mods performed a few weeks ago are behaving nicely. Power is up, particularly at lower revs, and if anything fuel consumption is down. My last tank (mostly highway riding) saw 385km to reserve, which is the best result I’ve had yet.

I forgot to mention that last weekend I headed back to the bolt shop with a list and a bunch of samples, and got stainless steel allen bolts and washers to replace the bolts on the radiator shrouds, the side covers, the pack rack and the hand brake lever.

Another one ticked off…

Just picked up the bike from its first service. As helpful as the Kawasaki dealer has been, I decided to get my mate Richie to do the first service. He did the de-restriction of my KLX250, and he’s a top-notch wrencher.

So, the plan was to do the normal first service stuff (at 1000km I was a couple of hundred kays late), plus plug up the holes in the carby that Kawasaki (in their wisdom) add to the Australian KLR. What I got was a Richie-special. He did the service, plugged the holes, then kept going.

He pulled a big rubber restrictor out of the airbox, plus some big dicky plate off the top of the opening. I’m not sure I even get the point of the restrictor. The snorkel on the old KLX at least sat on the outside of the airbox, and had a hope of keeping water and gunk out. This one must have sat entirely inside the airbox, so other than to keep things quiet and literally restrict the flow of air into the bike, the thing seems pretty useless.

He also punched a couple of holes in the exhaust baffle. The combined effect means that the bike is breathing a little freer, and is a little bit louder both at intake and exhaust. The extra noise is not much (and it’s a pretty nice sound at that), and the power gains are worth it.

Richie also shimmed the carb needle to suit the changes. I’ll need to take it back in another 1000kms to check the spark plug and work out whether the mixture is right.

The bike pulls better from lower revs, and even from the quick ride home it feels more responsive.

That’s a few more mods ticked off.

I can’t recommend Richie’s work highly enough… so this is a shameless plug for Valley Force Husaberg.

Seriously, the stock tool kit is just garbage. I’d learnt as much back in the KLX days. To it’s credit the KLR’s kit provides you with the tools you need to get the wheels off, so that’s an improvement, I guess. But after that, it just gets scary:

• The 6mm / 8mm spanner is actually 6mm and 6mm. Don’t believe everything you read
• The side covers, probably one of the most-removed parts of a bike, require a 8mm socket (plus extension post) or tube spanner. Kawa don’t do sockets (not that I’d trust them if they did), and they don’t do a 8mm tube spanner. Flat battery? Tough.
• There’s a 12mm tube spanner, but it’s capped on the other end, and doesn’t have a hole to use a screwdriver for leverage, so you need a 17mm spanner on the other end to use it
• 19 and 27mm ring spanners are made of pressed steel. They need an extender (a flattened tube spanner, effectively) to get any real leverage. Considering the use they’ll get (axles) and the space and weight they occupy (almost none), I’ll keep them
• The 10/12 and 14/17mm open spanners are typical stock kit stuff. Forged, but not great. Since adding the crash bars I need a 13mm spanner, so I need to add to this anyway. The whole lot are going.
• The spark plug spanner doubles as a screwdriver handle. Not a beautiful piece of engineering, but it wills stay.
• Small and large Phillips Head drivers aren’t wonderful, but they’re a job lot with the spark plug spanner, so they’ll stay.
• Multigrips are trash. I’ll be looking for a replacement for those
• Allen Keys are OK, though I’ll probably replace them down the track. I’d just rather know where I got them from, I guess
• The spanner extender is simple enough, and will add leverage to the spanners and the allen keys, plus the screwdriver shafts fit inside it. It stays.

So, the plan is to keep the 6, 19 and 27mm spanners, the allen keys, the spark plug spanner, the screwdrivers and the spanner extender thingy. Everything else goes.

First purchase (I tried today, but they were closed) will be these Bahco Reversible Ratchet Spanners. The three spanners each have 4 different metric sockets, which is quite nifty, and they’re ratchets too. As you can see, I’m showing off my tool knowledge (that is my knowledge of tools, not the other kind), which is almost nil. Still, they cover off all the spanner sizes I could need, and they have to be better than what I have.

I’m also going to replace the side cover bolts with allen-head bolts, then removing the need for a socket or tube spanner. I’ll keep an eye out for any others that are likely to be a problem, too.

I’ll replace the multigrips, add tyre irons and probably add one or two other things. I’d like to strike a balance between the useless stock kit, and the monster kit on this thread. This guy has thought of everything. I’d be happy with the best of what he’s got, if I can find somewhere to house it on the bike. I’m thinking the left side cover might be a suitable host for some of it.

UPDATE: Picked up the spanner set and a dozen allen drive bolts today. I realised that the radiator shrouds use the same size bolts, and I figured with a little effort I’d find more to replace. What I didn’t realise is that the washers on the side covers and shrouds are captive, so I’ll need to get some washers. Only the smallest of the spanners will fit in the stock toolkit case, so I’ll need to do some thinking about where I’m going to put the full kit once it is all assembled.

I’d got the impression that the ‘bars on the KLR were mounted by the dealer a little lower than they might have been. I have every intention of replacing them at some point soon, but I figured it would be worthwhile getting the best position I could out of the existing ‘bars before forking out for a new set. It means that if the new ones are a similar bend, they’ll be a more direct swap.

So I loosened them and raised them a little (after marking the old spot with a sharpie), then set about adjusting all the switch gear to match. Initially I wasn’t going to bother, but the mirror posts were pointing too high, and when I went to move them, I found that they fouled the throttle cable. But you can’t loosen or adjust the throttle cable without removing the hand guard… etc. Got there in the end. The indicator switch is possibly a little high, but it hasn’t been too noticeable when I’m riding.

I took it for a quick spin around the car park next door to se how I’d go standing on the pegs. It’s great. I still find myself putting a little too much weight on the ‘bars, but at least I can stand up straighter now, and don’t have to crouch at all. Another inch might be needed, but there’s still vertical swing I can do. Also the Pro Taper SE ATV High handlebars I’m looking at will need an adapter kit, which will add up to an inch to the whole affair anyway.

All up the control of the bike is probably better, and the riding position feels more commanding without being too high or uncomfortable on-road or in traffic. I’m happy with the change so far.

I found out the other day that I can’t change gears on the KLR with my dirt bike boots on. This morning I adjusted the gear lever up one notch and tested the theory again: much better. The other problem I find with the boots is that they push my knees up just enough to touch on the ridge of the side fairing. I haven’t swapped out the rubber foot pegs for metal dirt bike pegs, so that might help when the time comes. I’ll try to get some lower (or at least lower profile) pegs, and I might even be able to move the gear lever back down. I’d still rather ride in regular shoes, but after riding for a while in the boots today, I pretty much forgot about them.

I’ve been checking out the options for a bigger windscreen for the KLR. The stock screen isn’t bad, but the turbulence hits right on the visor line, and also tends to hit the tops of my shoulders, which is not so good on a cold night. There are a number of suppliers who make screens and spoilers for the KLR, but so far the choices seem pretty subjective, and I’m loth to spend over a hundred dollars on a piece of plastic that doesn’t do the job (for that matter, not keen on spending $100+ on any piece of plastic). I’d also read that the screen is a cause of turbulence itself, and that removing it can make a difference. I tested that today, and while the overall buffeting is not as intense, the wind hits the whole front of you, and hits hardest just below the helmet line. I’ve put the screen back on…

I still like the idea of the Laminar Lip or the MRA Vario Touring Screen. The former is a spoiler for the existing screen (or a taller one), and the latter is a spoiler and screen combination, with a range of positions to deflect the wind to best suit the height and riding position of the rider. Most reports are good, particularly of the Vario screen. It’s not much taller than the stock one, but apparently does an amazing job of deflecting the wind over the rider’s head. While a taller screen is still an option, the truth is I’d rather a short screen and spoiler that can do near enough to the same job. If only there was somewhere I could try them all out…

The crash bars are doing their job, and feel fine on the road. I tightened them up today.

I also bought a pair of Panasonic earphones this morning. The include a neck lanyard which keeps the ear buds suspended when they’re not in my ears, and also attaches to the case of my iPod nano. They’re a little toppy, but they block out a lot of external sound, which is great. The lead and lanyard are just long enough to reach the top pocket I use for the iPod.

I hit reserve for the first time today, as well, after 345km. I’m pretty impressed with the range of the 22l tank. It appears that the reserve is about 3 or 4l.

Nearly had a spill on the way to the servo this afternoon, though. I approached (downhill) a roundabout a little fast, and decided too late not to take the gap I was looking at. I hit the back brake too hard and locked the wheel, and black-patched all the way to the line. I couldn’t stop myself from hitting the back brake, but eventually managed to ease off it and apply more of the front. It was a stupid mistake, but fortunately I managed to keep the bike upright and stopped just over the line.

Forgot to mention that the Wolfman Beta has also finally arrived. It’s a nice bag (which it would want to be for the money), and it mounts really well to the bike, with plenty of pressure straps for the bag’s contents as well. All the straps have plenty of length in them, and it’s very simple to attach and remove it. Saddle bags would still be better (required) for two-up riding, but for a solo ride the Beta is great. And big.

Yesterday I bought a new KTM SuperMoto front guard for the KLR. The standard one (pictured in the masthead at the top of the page) is not the prettiest thing in the world, and from certain angles looks like a broken nose or a duck bill. I’d seen a few posts on klr650.net suggesting that the KTM guard was an almost perfect fit, and the photos (like the one you see here) looked great.

The guard went on easily enough. I needed to drill out the two rear mounting holes a little – back, and diagonally out to the sides – but apart from that it went straight on with the original bolts.

Some forum posters also said that they felt greatly reduced buffeting on the handlebars at high speed. I can’t vouch for that, but then again I haven’t had the bike long enough to make any real comparison. From what I can tell it isn’t any worse, but I don’t think it’s significantly better, either. The main wind interference that I get is off the top of the windshield… and that will be the next thing to be replaced on the bike.

Just an update on the crash-bars: the bars themselves don’t seem to amplify vibration back through the bike, but they do vibrate a little, particularly at speed. The only time I’ve noticed it is when I’ve bothered to check by reaching down and touching them (not something I’d normally do) and occasionally when my left leg has touched the bar near where is comes out from the subframe under the seat, when I’m changing gear. Sill, I’m more than happy with how they’ve gone on.

My Wolfman Beta bag still hasn’t arrived. After about two weeks of waiting, no one seems to know where it is. The dealer tells me it has left the warehouse, but that’s all he knows. I’m not in any great rush, but it would be nice to get the bag and try it out.

SW Motech Crash Bars

Well, the deed is done. Mod number 1 has been made to the bike. They probably constitute the most expensive add-on I will ever make to the bike, and I have every hope that they’ll be a complete waste of money. And if that makes no sense, I’m not explaining it to you.

Took it out for spin today to try out the bars, and I’m pretty happy. There’s no hint of vibration at any speed, any revs or any load, and though the bars themselves are pretty solid, there’s no sense of added weight at all.

The install was simple enough. The kit comes with clear instructions. Not so much step-by-step, but a detailed diagram showing the fixing points, the parts required and a few extra notes. The kit also comes with a collection of extra bits to allow the bars to fit with a centre stand and/or an aluminium bash plate. The bash plate’s a very likely future addition, and the centre stand holds some appeal as well (not least because it makes the rear rack a reasonably straight table at a campsite… though that probably isn’t the smartest reason for fitting it). I managed to break 2 pieces of my crappy socket set in the process, but a quick trip to Bunnings got that sorted.

It has got me thinking about the adequacy of the tool kit. For starters, the included screwdriver is too fat for the fairing screws, and the allen key doesn’t fit the subframe bolts (too small, but they’ve been replaced now anyway) or the rear rack bolts (too big). The tube spanners are OK, though my time with the KLX taught me that they have a pretty limited life. Also, the crash bar kit introduces a new size bolt to the collection (13mm) which the tool kit doesn’t allow for. At this point I’m thinking that I’ll extend the basic kit a little, so that it still fits in its box, and I’ll look at a more comprehensive kit for longer trips. There are plenty of tool kit posts on the forums, so that shouldn’t be too hard to work out.

I am loving how the bike goes… not that I really have any idea what I’m talking about. My prior experience is limited to a gutless 250, and that’s it. Anything was going to feel as though it was a rocket after that. Still, after a longish ride through 100kph straights and uphill twisties with a pillion passenger, I can safely say it suits me just fine. If there’s stuff it can’t do, it’s probably beyond my abilities anyway.

Now if the weather would just improve…

UPDATE: Added picture at the request of Jackal, below. The bars were purchased from Motorrad Garage, and cost about $260, though they’ve gone up considerably since then.