'06 KLR650 .. Toxic Green Adventure Bike ..

.. I sent you a reply there .. hope it's what you were asking about .. let me if I got it right or not .. lol ..

.. never fails .. I start getting ready to go out for the day and ride and the wife pops up with "I need to do a little shopping" .. so off she goes and me and my two favorite mechanics set about to having a little wrench session ..

.. another shot of the Dash ..


.. couple more of the RAM mounts and GPS holders ..



.. and the JNS Engineering Tail Rack ..



.. yeah .. about that tail rack .. some moron (meaning me) decided to cross-thread one of the 6mm screws .. ahem .. luckily the middle right side and not one of the corner mounts .. so .. after the ez-out failed it got drilled out and a 6mm put all the way through with a safety/locking nut .. grrrrr ..

.. may have to wander out tonight though .. just reset the headlight to actually shine on the road when my fanny sits on the bike .. lol .. the PO was much slimmer than me ..

.. I'll punch up some pics later ..

.. they arrived in the mail .. they are huge and rattle when set to "spin" .. not sure I'll be keeping them or I am going to find a way to quiet them down (rattle) .. kinda annoying really ..

Yes Sir!
Thank you very much for all the info!

Sweet dash.

Here is some more fun with LED's, just some 3mm whites. I wanted to move the plate I've seen the rear knobby rip the plate right off from the stock location when bottomed out.







Bike is looking good, green is the second best color for a bike. Orange is the best.

..

.. kewl work with the tail light .. great idea .. I went with two of those little LED light/bolts .. man they are stoutly-built .. I may have just gotten lucky on the set I ordered, but they are powder-coated steel ..

.. I also got a "fun" frame for the tag too .. I'll post up pics when it all gets installed ..

.. I still don't have the dash wired in, waiting on some parts and still need to order some others and then I'll rip into her and get it all set up .. thanks again btw for all of your work before you shipped it ..

.. got this on the other day .. just another Happy Trails Fork Brace, but it's on my bike .. lol ..



.. got an e-mail telling me that the rear side racks are on the way .. meaning I now have to get my fanny in gear and get me some side cases .. mermites are my desire .. looking forward to getting that project cranked up and done soon ..

.. just dropped in to catch the news and cool off .. after mowing the lawn this morning and surfing around the site I set out to do some work on the KLR ..

Probably the most important thing I need to get done was the rear shock .. about two weeks ago I noticed the rear getting a little spongier that stock .. and then downright bouncy .. yep .. rear shock had crapped out, blew a seal and the oil was all over the place .. so .. USMC rebuilt rear shock is now on and doing duty .. no more dangerous bouncy-bouncy-bouncy-bouncy .. will set up the sag and reset the chain tension tomorrow .. and take her for a stroll .. I'll post us a few snaps when I get a chance too .. it's got a progressive spring wound at 550-600 pounds according to the sticker in the spring .. really looking forward to see how this one sorts out ..

Also got the Doo Done today .. I was really pleased to see such a clean-clean-clean interior on the motor .. the stock doo was still intact and the stock spring looked brand new as well .. so I changed out the doo and left the stock spring alone .. I'll be in there again at some point and will check that spring then .. already have a replacement if I need it .. lol ..

.. will also be making the switch over the AmsOil this evening as well .. had already switched over to synthetic with the last oil change .. now we are just going to step it up a notch and see how the KLR likes it ..

Hey Bill,
Congrats on the KLR, I've enjoyed mine alot over the past few years. A couple of thoughs for you on set up:

a) It's critical that it is sprung, front and rear, for the total weight of rider, gear, and bike. Lots of pre load may minimize wallowing but will make it harsh on small bumps. I really like the progressive springs in the front. While you're at it make sure the front end is properly aligned and so forth.

b) The less weight up high the easier the bike is to handle at slow speeds or on rougher dirt roads. I find the more stuff I remove the better the bike feels.

c) I found the engine really came to life with a richer mid-range, a thermo Bob ( it's cold around here and this helps keep the engine at the proper running temp ), a better pipe, and I geared it down 7% with a larger rear sproket. Huge difference. I'd do that stuff before going for a bigger piston and then see if you think you still need it.

Anyhow, best of luck. I included a pic of my rat for reference. Not pretty but very functional.

.. thanks for that .. I had not considered the rear sprocket up-size .. that's a very good tip and I will give that a whirl ..

.. and man I agree these suckers are top-heavy by comparison to my cruiser with it's 24" seat height .. lol ..

.. I am really reading up on sag these days .. something that just really never was much of a concern with my cruiser (and lack of education on the fact too) .. I've had the pleasure of suffering an over-abundance of pre-load and don't care to repeat it ..

I'm a big guy and tend to carry tons of stuff .. that's why I went with that USMC rear shock as a cheaper alternative to dropping the $500-$600 or more bucks into one of those "designed for your weight" rear shocks .. at least not right away .. lol .. I'll be using every bit of that 550-600 lbs progressive rear shock right out of the gate, and I'm already over the ideal range with gear or two-up, but that's not new, just more critical with the KLR I am finding ..

I'm a ton closer than that stock shock now .. but from everything I read I will be looking at that Cogent shock or talking to one of the guys that custom rebuilds stock shocks to see if it can be rebuilt to handle my weight range ..

.. man, that cruiser sure ain't as fussy about suspension, but it ain't doing what this bike was bought for either .. and this dang KLR is going to have me re-thinking that cruiser's suspension as well .. lol .. expensive knowledge, but safety first ..

.. thanks for your reply .. I appreciate the input and the assistance .. I'm definitely a KLR-rookie ..

I fully expected to see a pic of citizen toxie from the title name.

.. HEY ! ! ! .. dammit .. that's my yearbook photo ..

.. which one of you inmates did that??

New rear tire .. gave me fits .. finally managed to get it set up and holding air .. yeesh ..

Did the Doo .. even though the stock one was just fine .. side-by-side with Eagle Mike's the stocker looks every bit the whimp .. so it got swapped out .. here's the stocker still in the side ..



.. and a new rear shock .. progressive 550-600# according to the labels .. I am told it is a USMC rear shock that has been re-built .. immediate difference .. still getting it dialed in ..



.. and the bottom end of the stock blown rear shock ..

Getting ready to (finally) get this project off the ground and built .. I "scored" some cans off e-bay for about $40.00 each a while back .. one was missing a gasket, solved that problem today ..

Source for Mermite Can primary gaskets - http://www.omahas.com/index.php?cPath=16_39&&page=2&osCsid=nikqg770eg7p14rju7p55cbmb1

.. there's already a couple of Mermite Pannier threads so I won't be starting another .. but I will be posting up some progress reports over the next couple of weeks ..

Thanks for sharing. As a DRZ400 owner who's soon to be a KLR owner, this has been an interesting read.

.. thanks Derrick ..

.. this thread may just be documenting the "KLR Follies" .. but I'm enjoying it greatly and slowly adding on everything I think I need, and a bunch of gear I don't just because I think it looks kewl and adds to the "theme" (whatever that may turn out to be in the end) ..

.. I'm also prepping her for some longer and more serious adventure rides coming up in the next few years .. my goal being South America and the rest of the US before I hit 60 (I'm pushing 50 real hard now) ..

.. in fact, for my 50th B-Day I'm taking a few days and running the length of the BRP up to Skyline Drive and then wandering back down to NC/home along as much dirt as I can find .. just as a warm up and a good assessment for what I will have done by this coming March 2012 ..

.. feel free to make comments of challenge my decisions .. I enjoy a discerning voice ..

I'm listing all of the sources for the parts on the first post and I will also be going back and adding the costs (since I have kept all of the receipts so far) .. now all I will have to do is keep the wife from ever reading that first post ..

.. had me a little time after work this evening .. so on went some more parts I had been gathering ..

.. da parts .. JNS Fender Brace .. JNS Side Stand foot pad .. Happy Tails Billet Master Cylinder Mount/Guard .. TCI Products Rear Master Cylinder Wrap/Guard ..and some spiffy axel pins to replace the cotter pins ..


.. so first up was the rear master cylinder mount and guard .. (edit on 8-10-11) .. I like that billet guard/mount .. it also protects the bottom of the brak lever too .. something I had over-looked before I installed it .. I originally posted that it may be redundant due to the center stand now being there to block any incoming trouble, but in reality it does provide some extra protection ..


.. and then the Fender Brace .. JNS apparently just started making these .. I had been holding out for an old Acerbis one since they stopped making them .. and good ole JNS came along and took up the slack .. thanks JNS .. as usual it's a good solid piece of work, just like your rear rack .. I shouild have taken a pic of it on the fender before I re-mounted everything .. it is solid and wraps the back side too .. generous coverage of the four mounting holes .. really is a good solid piece of work and I will be "slab testing" it tomorrow .. I have no doubts the front fender ain't gonna be flapping in the breeze anymore .. btw .. they include all the hardware with this brace, including four new mounting bolts (though I re-used the originals) .. they even send a small spacer for the one gap between the fender and brace .. very well thought out and planned/built brace .. good job guys ..


.. this pic does these little gems no justice .. guy on eBay sells them .. they wrap the axle bolts and hold very tight .. good stuff ..


.. just another shot of the master cylinder guards installed .. good stuff ..


.. have not drilled the hole and installed the side stand foot pad .. another JNS Product .. I'll get it drilled and installed tomorrow and post up a snap of it too ..

.. need to get started on installing the rear racks and get the Mermites Built .. have a little road trip coming up in August to see my cousin before he ships out to Germany for three years .. need to start pricing shipping fees for my bike to Germany too .. heh heh ..

In prep for the rack, and (eventually) panniers I took down the rear end and did some re-wiring .. and ran into a little problem/conflict with the JNS Tail Rack and not having enough room for top-load panniers .. looks like I'll have to sort out either finding a local shop with a good break to bend each side of the JNS Tail Rack up to allow room, or mount the Mermites that I plan on using on some stock to space them out another two inches .. anyway .. on with the pics ..

Added some LED running lights to the rear signals .. they also function as additional brake lights .. and added a cute plate frame that has a scrolling message that you can program in, and it also acts as an additional brake light as well .. so this fanny shows up a little better at night and adds a little more warning lighting to be ignored by the cagers .. but ya gotta try ..

.. with a flash shot ..


and without the flash .. a little more light .. that's without the brake lights on btw ..


.. and tucked away some 12V power up under the rear for some convenience ..


.. and then finished installing the racks from Twisted Throttle .. I'm not sure how much I am going to like these after a spill or two as I just don't know how they are going to hold up .. four "locks" hold the racks onto the mounting points .. very convenient to take the panniers off with the racks for some trails and fire roads, but I'm just not sold on the strength of those bolts, but we'll hopefully never find out (yeah, right) ..

(edit on 8-10-11) BTW ... it bears mentioning .. if you are ever going to mount some of these rear rack systems you will need the bit of inner (black) fender where the tag is usually mounted .. if you buy a bike that has had this part trimmed off (or if you are thinking about trimming it and may need it later) you will want to start watching eBay for a new inner fender .. this won't matter much for the guys who are trimming off all the bits and pieces in the eternal search for less weight (yeah, you gram-weenies, I'm talking to you) ..

My Bike as she looks today .. sexy green thing that she is ..


Here you can see the four large "bolts" that hold the rack on at the mounting points .. pretty kewl idea really ..


.. and tail shot .. sexy ..


.. so we'll see how the LED kit holds up too .. but the bike is starting to come together with all the odds and ends .. I'll be making a little road trip this next week down to Jacksonville, FL by way of the coast for some sight-seeing to visit with family, well, mainly to visit with my cousin and his family before he ships out on a three-year tour to Germany, but what a great opportunity to see how this gear is starting to sort out ..

Rev your mods look great, thanks for the pics and detail. As a recent 2006 purchaser I am trying to reduce my learning curve, will be interested to here feed back when you upgrade your brakes... I do have one question though.

Did you notice much change after you installed the fork brace?

.. a little more road-friendly behavior/stability .. a little less "slop" on the service roads .. I am told that trails will actually be worse, but I don't ride that much on single track, and when I do I'm not tearing it up ..

.. I do need to rebuild/upgrade the front forks .. I'm a big guy and on hard braking the front still dives, which can be a real problem .. the fork brace does seem to make a very big difference here too .. the front will stay pointed, rather than trying to get sloppy ..

.. over-all I think the fork brace is a good upgrade .. just make sure you're up on a stand/jack or tipped back on a center stand to unload the front and check for square before you tighten everything up .. and if you take any hard hits make sure to loosen everything up and re-set the brace .. that's advice I was given and I have followed it .. makes sense though, as it is possible to move the forks around on hard trails/dips/jumps no matter how tight they are ..

I would buy the Eagle Mike's brace next time though .. it comes already tapped for the "Low Fender" mod .. if you're not going to go that route the Happy Trails one is great ..

I have not heard anything good or bad about the billet ones that are on eBay, but I did notice they do not have the "lip" for your fork covers milled into them like the Happy Trails and Eagle Mike's braces do ..

.. lol .. that's my $0.02 .. hope it helps ..