KLX650 riders UNITE

[MasterMarine]

Hello out there.

I recently upgraded my suspension and wanted to share. I put on a new Works Performance Ultra X rear shock (with Compression and Rebound adjustment and Remote Reservoir) and some re-valved and re-sprung "C" forks on my 1995 Kawasaki KLX650C. The work on the forks was done by MotoPro in Woodinville, WA. I had a difficult time trying to figure out where the remote reservoir was supposed to go at first. The line was really long to mount it on the toolbox side (which is where I thought it should go) and the fitting at the shock headed the line off toward the other side of the bike. There is a lot of wires and rubber parts in that area so I wanted to make sure it was not going to mess anything up. After a call to Works Performance, they found a paper somewhere in a file that said vaguely the reservoir should be mounted on the right side of the bike under the gas tank on a rectangular frame member. I did have to re-position the SS line coming out of the reservoir about 180 degrees to make it work out right. I think with the stock fuel tank, I could have probably mounted the reservoir further up. It seems to work well but I have just had a short ride in pavement so far. I did smash into the curb pretty quick and it just soaked right up in the front and rear. I look forward to testing the setup out on some rough road next weekend. The bike does seem to sit a bit lower at both ends.

While doing all this work, I repacked all the linkage bearings for the rear suspension. I had to replace the swingarm pivot bearings. I also replaced the steering stem bearings. Kawasaki did not even bother to pack grease in any of the bearings I worked on. If you have one of these bikes, I would take it apart and get some grease in there before you have trouble with the bearings. Hopefully I will not have and more problems with lube in those bearings.

Here are some pictures.

[Myway]

Maybe you could have done it like this guy.




On works shock what kind of spring? lbs,kg,Nm/mm. What is your bodyweight.

Now i want also a wolfman tankbag!!!!! But nowhere to buy in my country.

[markk53]

Are you aware of what make that head pipe is? It looks a lot like my BajaDesigns pipe, but my pipe has the complete reverse cone megaphone on the back half versus your canister. I'm just curious. I've never seen another pipe like mine which came off of an R model.

[MasterMarine]

Originally Posted by markk53

Are you aware of what make that head pipe is? It looks a lot like my BajaDesigns pipe, but my pipe has the complete reverse cone megaphone on the back half versus your canister. I'm just curious. I've never seen another pipe like mine which came off of an R model.

Are you talking about mine? It is a Big Gun complete system.

[HighwayChile]

MM how was the diff' ? come on man, tell us
moto pro did awesome work on my old DR, great shop

[MasterMarine]

Originally Posted by HighwayChile

MM how was the diff' ? come on man, tell us
Moto pro did awesome work on my old DR, great shop

I have not been able to get out into some dirt to test it out properly yet. Hopefully I can make some runs on some dirt roads around here this weekend to do some tinkering. I did ram the curb pretty hard with the tires pumped up for the street and the front and rear both soaked it right up. I am pretty excited to try this thing out! The biggest difference I could notice on my test rides was how smooth the thing steers after replacing the steering stem bearings. They were shot! The bike feels much more nimble which is definitely a good thing.

Here is the info on the Works Performance shock. They custom build them for each order so unfortunately, I am not sure what the spring rate is. Perhaps you can decipher it from the part number or the description on the invoice. It is a KA-8311. The description says "Kaw KLX650 93-96 UltraX 17.63 SRS AM-HX BK ACR".

MotoPro put in some .48kg/mm springs in the front. It says on his invoice that the springs are "Moto Pro tested fork spring set- KLX250S Custom Length .48 kg/mm". He also put in his UltraMax Valves and some fresh seals.

I have the rear sag set for about 3 inches right now. I will have to tinker with that. I have not twisted any of the adjustment screws on the shock so have no idea where they are set. It seems like the front is a bit lower than it used to be judging by how the front brake hose is arcing around in front of me when I am on the bike. I am going to call him about that. The whole bike seems lower to me when I am on it but it has been awhile since I have ridden it.

The setup is for 175 pound rider for offroad / dual sport. We talked alot about the specific type of riding I do and my expectations. I wanted the bike to be optimized for offroad as that is where I ride it the most. Of course it is all a compromise on a bike like this. My weight can vary considerably depending on if I am riding in winter or summer and if I am camping off the bike or not.

This was a very expensive upgrade but I had my suspension re-valved on my KTM last year by MotoPro and could not stand the KLX anymore after that. I have been saving for a long time. The suspension is one of the weaknesses this bike has when compared to modern dual sports such as a Husky 610. I will never sell it so I feel OK with dumping all of this money into it. I was hoping to run across some KLX650R forks first so I could get them re-valved and have compression and rebound adjustments but that has not worked out. Maybe someday...

I am sure John at MotoPro will be happy to talk to you about your particular bike and how to get it set up.

[Myway]

nice info

[MasterMarine]

I guess I did not post any pictures of that side but I got to keep my toolbox. Woohoo!!

Forgot about that part.

[je2000]

Originally Posted by MasterMarine

I have not been able to get out into some dirt to test it out properly yet. Hopefully I can make some runs on some dirt roads around here this weekend to do some tinkering. I did ram the curb pretty hard with the tires pumped up for the street and the front and rear both soaked it right up. I am pretty excited to try this thing out! The biggest difference I could notice on my test rides was how smooth the thing steers after replacing the steering stem bearings. They were shot! The bike feels much more nimble which is definitely a good thing.

Here is the info on the Works Performance shock. They custom build them for each order so unfortunately, I am not sure what the spring rate is. Perhaps you can decipher it from the part number or the description on the invoice. It is a KA-8311. The description says "Kaw KLX650 93-96 UltraX 17.63 SRS AM-HX BK ACR".

MotoPro put in some .48kg/mm springs in the front. It says on his invoice that the springs are "Moto Pro tested fork spring set- KLX250S Custom Length .48 kg/mm". He also put in his UltraMax Valves and some fresh seals.

I have the rear sag set for about 3 inches right now. I will have to tinker with that. I have not twisted any of the adjustment screws on the shock so have no idea where they are set. It seems like the front is a bit lower than it used to be judging by how the front brake hose is arcing around in front of me when I am on the bike. I am going to call him about that. The whole bike seems lower to me when I am on it but it has been awhile since I have ridden it.

The setup is for 175 pound rider for offroad / dual sport. We talked alot about the specific type of riding I do and my expectations. I wanted the bike to be optimized for offroad as that is where I ride it the most. Of course it is all a compromise on a bike like this. My weight can vary considerably depending on if I am riding in winter or summer and if I am camping off the bike or not.

This was a very expensive upgrade but I had my suspension re-valved on my KTM last year by MotoPro and could not stand the KLX anymore after that. I have been saving for a long time. The suspension is one of the weaknesses this bike has when compared to modern dual sports such as a Husky 610. I will never sell it so I feel OK with dumping all of this money into it. I was hoping to run across some KLX650R forks first so I could get them re-valved and have compression and rebound adjustments but that has not worked out. Maybe someday...

I am sure John at MotoPro will be happy to talk to you about your particular bike and how to get it set up.

Thanks for the write up. I have ordered stuff from them in the past for my 09 klx250s and he was really helpful. Right now I have a DRZ400 shock with a new spring from eshocks.com. Supposedly it's a bolt in besides cutting out the tool kit mounts. It supposedly makes the bike sit lower too. I forget, do longer or shorter links raise the bike?

How much was the revalving, etc. on the front forks? I don't mind the front forks so much on my C1. It's the rear shock that is sooo awful. I almost ate up my CDI unit the other day. It's the one weakness. So far I have been really happy with the bike.

[markk53]

Originally Posted by MasterMarine

Are you talking about mine? It is a Big Gun complete system.

The head pipe looks like the increasing diameter headpipe on my Baja Designs reverse cone megaphone pipe.

[Myway]

Originally Posted by je2000

I forget, do longer or shorter links raise the bike?

124 mm original C.

shorter is higher, depends on the shock lenght how much.

I had in C with original shock a 115 mm. 110 was too high.

[je2000]

Originally Posted by Myway

124 mm original C.

shorter is higher, depends on the shock lenght how much.

I had in C with original shock a 115 mm. 110 was too high.

I'm about to install a DRZ400 shock with a 500 spring. I think the shock is supposed to be shorter and makes the bike sit lower. Where can I get a shorter link to raise the bike back up again?

[Myway]

Originally Posted by je2000

I'm about to install a DRZ400 shock with a 500 spring. I think the shock is supposed to be shorter and makes the bike sit lower. Where can I get a shorter link to raise the bike back up again?

mostly home made stuff, i have nothing left sold more than ..... in europe
can not make them any more

C 6 mm steel
R 10 mm

[johnnycombat]

So just this week my speedo crapped out on my new to me 95 KLX C, everything on the bike has been really well taken care of and ive only had the bike 2 weeks....

Would the problem be more at the wheel or at the instrument cluster??

I took out the screw at the wheel and pulled the cable out but everything looks good but i honestly dont know what to look for....

any ideas? do i need to open up the dash as well??

[williefast]

still lovin my KLX