[acecase09]

Hello to all! First I want to say thank you to all for the wonderful info and stories on here. It really helped shape my purchase.

A quick little about me; I am a long time rider. I carried an AMA super sport liscene for almost 15 years, but my knee eventually forced me out. I didn't ride for almost five years until a friend badgered me into trying a dual sport. I think I kept telling him "I'm not riding a dirt bike with a headlight.". I finally went with him just to shut him up. I bought a KLR 650 that day. And didn't tell my wife. Somehow I'm still married. Anyway, below is a pic of that KLR as it came home, bone stock. In 5 years, I put around 75,000 miles on it. It was a daily rider to say the least.
Then my back messed up and I was in bed for 9 months waiting for insurance to pay for my surgery. Three weeks after my surgery and I was back at work. But I had to sell a lot: boat, bike, car, few firearms. I'm doing great now. Though I will never be as strong as I was or as able I'm ready to ride again.

The second pic is my KLR as it was when sold. Heavily modifided with a 36.5" seat height. I went from 6'2" to 6'0 after my surgery btw. Anyway, the more I looked at the RX3, the more it fit and made sense. I don't have $10,000 to buy and customize another bike, so the price and stock accessories are a definite plus. My back can no longer support some things, like picking up a 565lb motorcycle, or riding that said bike through challenging terrain. The lighter weight of the RX3 is a definite plus. The seat height doesn't really bother me as my KLR was 36.5" and the RX3 is only 31".

Finally there is reliability. I am a long time mechanical guy. Without any hubris, I am almost a mechanical savant. I poured over this and other fourms looking for and at issues that have been encountered and dealt with. The more I looked, the more I felt like these were good machines.
Last week I reached out to CSC and started the ball rolling. Sara is great. With the black Friday pricing and the 2019 discounts, I ended up ordered one. I was a little hesitant in case the 2020's were an upgrade. Sara assured me, "same thing, different paint and stickers".

So I had the taller top box swapped in, heated grips, wolfman tank bag and handguards installed. Also ordered extra oil filters. I have a longer shift lever, led H4 headlight, USB port, and tank guard on the way from eBay and Amazon. All for LESS THAN THE STOCK KLR!!

I plan on riding everyday, so I am going to try the stock battery. And as I ride it I will figure out things like GPS, RAM mounts, wireless phone charger/ cradles, different pegs, etc.. I am an active rider, and I plan on keeping posted here my thoughts and impressions. I was very active on the KLR owners forum and I plan on trying to be here as well.

Then there is this. It should be here next Thursday. I still haven't told my wife. My brother says I might get to spend more time with it than I would like.