I want I want I want - new(er) bike advice

Hi Guys

I'll be there as soon after 5 as I can make it.

If its ok I'll bring Tim (from British Spares) who's been to another one of your BBQ's

We won't be able to leave Mahana till 5

Colin can you pm me your address - is it still by the hospital?

Had a great ride over to Takaka yesterday although the grader was working on the road to Anatori and the surface was shite. The ride to cobb was brilliant although the last climb is pretty washboarded (I have loose fillings today)

Thanks Colin for putting on a great feed - was good to catch up with the NADS's - its been a while

How did the race go on Sunday? - the course would have been a bit slippery wouldn't it?

On Saturday Tim, Alison and Dan (Tims brother - 89 gs 1000) and I rode down to Muchison via the Braeburn and after waiting out the rain at the River Cafe (with 3 million Ducati riders) for an hour or so headed over the Mauria Saddle. Once out the other side the others headed home and I headed to Reefton via Springs Junction (what a road...) . There was nowhere to stay there so I headed down through nasty rain squalls to Greymouth and stayed Sat night there. Weather cleared about 8am Sunday so I headed up to Westport and the back to Picton via the Breaburn again.

I had some really great riding despite a bit of rain here and there and I'm keen to do it again sometime soon.

I test rode a 'like new' 2003 tiger with all the farkles on Sunday. The bike was located in the middle of the buller gorge - what a great location for bike testing.

Riding it back to back with the klr over the same roads with the klr was really helpful.

I think its helped me reach a final decision after all this faffing around (and around 4000k riding - looking at bikes etc).

The tiger is the bike I'd most like to replace the klr with but its benefits (much better engine, better seat, better brakes, slightly better cornering) are not enough to gain if I can no longer do tracks like the porika and 42nd.

So in a fit of creative thinking I'm going to buy my 3rd klr

If I had double the budget It would probably be a different outcome as I'd be looking at gs1200's, 950 adventures and the like but I don't so at least I can be assured that within my price bracket the klr its the optimum all round compromise for me and the riding I now realize I like to do.

so there

A 3rd KLR....:huh


My "I want I want I want" has got a
lot closer... The XR250 now has a new home...
I have the XT660R... So a more road orintated
twin cylinder ADV bike.... but what?....
Theres a dam nice 07 KLE500 on TM.. only done
6,500km..but he wants good $ for it..

Congratulations Mark on making a decision.

I had to pick up a hire truck from petone this morning so i used the KTM and lashed it to the inside of the truck for the journey home. I had forgotton how good these mid sized adventure bikes are for carving up rush hour traffic. A great chance to be a real wanker and remain incognito.

Cheers

Wayne

Good to see ya when you were down, you and your host are almost impossible when together but very entertaining as well . We managed to stay dry on our return from Frog flat, maybe you should of followed us
Glad to hear you have made your mind about what to get next, I'm still thinking myself but I don't think it will be british sorry Tim :eek1:huh

I'm not going to go thru all the posts to find the one that will back up this "I told you so".


Swapping all the good fruit over is a great bonus for keeping with a KLR. thank you for taking us on the journey with you

How about an engine transplant or beefing up the new KLR motor straight away to get the grunt factor up?

Its a pity there isn't a kle version with a bit more capacity
Are you going to sell the xt?

When are we going to get our shit together and sneak off for a decent day ride? (I've got a funny knock in the klr at the moment so I won't ride it again until I get that fixed... so it might have to wait till I get a replacement sorted)

Hi scrambler hater. You guys missed a great ride from Springs to Reefton

Given that Tim's next bike won't be british either I don't think he'll be in a position to 'throw the first stone'

I'll be back down to hassle you guys sometime over winter

Good on you - that would be childish in the extreme - we'll leave that to Triboy or Bart

As we'll as farkle transplanting there is also the accumulated mechanical knowledge that I've build up over the last 4 years.

And yes I'm considering a 719 kit

I hope to set the new one up just the way I want it before I start using it - but I may have to compromise a bit as on this last trip the klr started knocking at low revs....

No.... I spent to much on it.... It's cost me WAY more than I could ever get for it.....
at the moment Linten at DAS is doing a set of Showa USD forks for it & getting
prises on a Ohlins shock..... 2night I ordered a Rekluse clutch for it...
theres 320mm motard disc rotors on the way from the US... I'm not
going to add up what I have spent on it...

already got...
22.5L Gillimoto tank.
Metal Mule High 2 into 1 pipe.
pivot pegs.
SS braided brake lines.
Injection fueling mods X2.
OTR air filter system
Of course bash plate & engine bars...

So I an't parting with it...

3 KLRs Leeegend.....

Good to catch up.

and half a sidecar

Bring it on bud we'll be ready for ya

Race went bloody great! A bit slippery initially but then the dew dried off; it was basically a dry day. Probably the best I've done, ever. Didn't fall off once. Rode the whole 3 hours with only a brief fuel stop late in the race. The re-valved forks made a big difference, and I suspect running/climbing fitness made up for lack of bike time - except I was hopeless in the tight corners! Really need to do some MX training to pick up the intensity a bit.

Here's a snippet:
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Good on you for finally making a decision. Your thinking there is why I bought the 640 and not the 950. I can do big road miles on the 640, but I wouldn't take the 950 on a trail ride or cross-country race. It doesn't matter that the bigger bike is more comfortable on the road. Only one of those bikes I can take everywhere I go...

Errr... I'm intrigued that you think the Vstrom is too ugly but the Versys isn't? .

Both are great bikes. (The Versys pulls great wheelies just by tapping it in first .) The suzuki is silky smooth and does everything well.

Both will take luggage and the occasional passenger.

The only negative I can see with the versys is the 17" front vs the 19" on the suzuki if you're wanting to spend much time on gravel.

From memory the Versys has better ground clearance but felt a lot taller. But I never parked them side by side.

ferk - thats as severe case of farkleitis as I've ever seen
you need to own that bike forever.
its fun though isnt it...

Did you go for a farkle testing ride on Sunday?

Thats a great bit of video - I gather that was a 450 that blew by you at the end?

I'm sure I could take something like a tiger most places I want to go but it would be stressful - not fun like the klr generally is

beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

A versys has a certain in your face look that I like whereas the vstrom looks like it was designed in the 90's - like one of those architecturally designed houses whose looks don't age well. those headlights in particular are hideous

Briefly after setting the sag heights etc. Took the imperial sockets I was using as fork preload spacers out and made up some adjustable ones. Took the bike for a wee hoon down the river bed and smashed it into everything I could see and it didn't bottom out once. The best part was the fork brace though, just way more positive and stiff feeling. Happy with the suspenders now, although can't get the rear sag figures to work. e.g. 15% and 30%, just doesn't work.

What numbers are you getting?

NordieBro on his RM250: 2T MXer with 18" rim laced onto the rear hub for better XC tyre choices. Sounds like a 4T when he's behind you though. He caught up to me along the flat at about 15s, and didn't pass until the braking zone. Maybe he was admiring his handiwork: he rebuilt my engine. I was thinking it was lacking top-end but I recorded a max speed of 119 km/h on the GPS!

front is good, but rear is about 15 and 20.

The spring is the hardest ricor one available and the raising links are installed. Might mess with it this sunday, but except for losing a lot rear wheel steering ability am happy with the rears performance.

Remember, with the IAS setup, traditional sag numbers don't apply as strictly.
I'd say you could soften the preload to about 18% static and it'd still be well damped and not bottom out.

New for 2013, red graphics