2001 KLR 650 Refresh - Page 2

Sport Rider · 06-27-2023, 11:59 AM

There's two windshields I'm looking at. one is Parabellum. it's a bit more upright and ADV style. I'm 6 ft tall to begin with, so seeing over it will be no problem. That's also why I want to lower the pegs. My legs are just a little more cramped than I want to be for longer distances.

The Parabellum tall shield is 16 inches. The Rifle system is another I'm looking at. It's similarly tall, but the angle is farther back. Right now the Parabellum is the front runner. for one, it's cheaper, but also more the style I want.

Sport Rider · 06-29-2023, 03:41 PM

So, today I was out putting around on the killer. when I got back, I decided to pull the trigger on the Parabellum windshield. it's supposed to arrive by Wednesday.

I also fabricated some peg lowers. These are just a prototype as they are made of aluminum, but plenty fine to test out. it's 1/4 inch aluminum plate. not sure it will hold my weight when I stand up for photo ops with Letsride.

Sport Rider · 07-03-2023, 02:59 PM

Another shakedown run on the KLR. this time I took it out on the highway for about 50 miles. the parabellum windshield I added to the bike is perfect. no complaints at all. wind over the top hit in the forehead of the helmet. a bit of side draft, but not uncomfortable at all.

The bike did better than me at highway speeds. I feel a bit nervous running it at 4500 to 5k RPMs for that long, but the bike handled it just fine. I noticed the temp gauge crept up to a bit over half way but seemed to hold steady after that. I've not noticed it get that high on secondary road test rides.

just a few more farkles to add and the bike will be ready for an adventure!

zero_dgz · 07-08-2023, 03:35 PM

The temperature gauge will bobble up and down with speed if you have not installed the "Themo-bob" mod yet. The KLR is somewhat notorious for running cold when at speed, and it has no coolant bypass hose for the thermostat so the coolant is not distributed to the radiator at all until the thermostat opens, and then once the heat is dumped the thermostat closes again and the cycle repeats.

The Thermo-bob kit is supposed to stabilize coolant temperatures and allegedly provides a longevity benefit to the engine but I'm not sold on that particular aspect. I haven't done it to my bike, I have over 20,000 miles on it so far, and I ride the shit out of it with no ill effect.

Earlier model years of KLR certainly do tend to burn oil above 5000 RPM (some claim that "all" do, but mine certainly doesn't -- it's a 2017) which is the only drawback to sitting at high RPM's. As long as there's oil in there, the engine doesn't care.

Sport Rider · 07-10-2023, 10:45 AM

Mine is an 01 with 43k miles on it. no thermobob and it hasn't exploded yet.

Sport Rider · 07-13-2023, 11:50 AM

installed rear crash bars after painting them green. I've received the front ones but not painted yet. Hopefully I'll get some time to paint them and get installed by next week. I will also be blacking out the tank and the rear carrier handles. Not too urgent to do those things though, so not sure when.

Sport Rider · 07-25-2023, 09:13 AM

as you can see, I used an old tour master tank bag from my Concours days as a trunk bag for the KLR. Right now it's doing duty as I collect tools and spare parts for ADV riding.

I ran through the first tank of gas. got around 160 miles on the tank and didn't hit reserve. it's a 5 gallon tank though, so that means my MPG is only in the 30s. Certainly not enough for a 650 thumper. I'm not surprised though because one of the first things I noticed starting the bike is the choke is non-functional. I'm pretty sure it's running too rich with the choke engaged more than it should be. I'll be pulling the carb sometime soon and do a clean/rebuild on it.

I also bought the tank saddlebags off amazon and installed them. they aren't in this pic. Thank Zipkin for that lead. They are not anything great, but a nice little convenience. They also dress up the tank and blend in to the black theme of the bike. They claim to be waterproof, but looking at them, that's a joke. That's ok though. I can work around that part.

Overall, it's ready to and adventure. I'm still looking for some saddlebags. something like these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7QG8P6B...v_ov_lig_dp_it

I don't plan to do week long adventures at this point, and probably not even camping. The Smokey Mountain 500 is on my short list for a trip. I can stay in some cabins along that route. Iron Horse motorcycle Lodge, Smitty's Lodge in Tellico Plains, and Two Wheels of Suches in Suches GA.

The South Carolina Adventure Route is on the short list too. I'm not as familiar with that track, so not sure about places to stay or eat. It's a bit more civilized route than the SM500, so I'm sure there are places.

I'm gonna try to drag LetsRide along with me, but if anyone else is interested, let me know. I don't have a timeline planned for any of this so far...just wild ideas.

Sport Rider · 07-26-2023, 08:29 AM

last night I made the decision to spend nearly 600 bucks for a rear shock for the KLR. It's a Progressive 465. There are very few shock/spring options for these bikes. None are a cheap alternative. :(

This is after I found a dirt area to play around and get used to the bike off-road. I hit some rather deep ruts and the rear suspension was bottoming out. I'm sure the shock that's on it is 23 years old, so decided on a new one. At the same time, I'm also ordering some new links, but rather than lowering, I'm raising the bike 1 inch with them.

I'll probably have to do the front suspension at some point, but for how, hopefully this will help.

zero_dgz · 07-28-2023, 04:56 PM

Re: Fuel economy, the KLR has a 5.1 gallon tank (usable capacity, if you're careful) and mine will reliably hit 250 miles of mixed road and trails before sputtering out. That works out nearly exactly to 49/50 MPG.

Sport Rider · 07-31-2023, 01:29 PM

Mail call! new links to raise the rear end rather than lower it. New rear shock by Progressive, new fork brace! Now I just need to find time to install all of it.

Sport Rider · 08-01-2023, 09:56 AM

couldn't wait, so I started in on the upgrades last night. Really only took about an hour or so to get the new shock and the links on. I haven't gotten it off the table yet though. I found a small leak from an antifreeze hose, so going to take care of that. might require that I unbolt the radiator to get to the hose. I still have to fork brace to install too. Pictures of her butt in the air coming soon.

Sport Rider · 08-01-2023, 02:25 PM

turns out my old links were lowering links and not stock. I was flat footing it before. Now I'm on the balls of my feet. The new shock feels nice too!

Sport Rider · 08-14-2023, 09:05 AM

you can't see it well, but over the weekend I finally got the new front tire on the KLR. That gave me the opportunity to get my tire changing equipment put up and out of the way so I could straighten things up a bit in the garage. Notice my next project sitting on the lift. it's a little Tao 4 wheeler. it belongs to a friend's son. not running right now and not sure why. I'm going to do a little trouble-shooting and see if I can get it working for them. Also note, the big butt of the goldwing takes up most of the pic!

06-27-2023, 11:59 AM	#16
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	There's two windshields I'm looking at. one is Parabellum. it's a bit more upright and ADV style. I'm 6 ft tall to begin with, so seeing over it will be no problem. That's also why I want to lower the pegs. My legs are just a little more cramped than I want to be for longer distances. The Parabellum tall shield is 16 inches. The Rifle system is another I'm looking at. It's similarly tall, but the angle is farther back. Right now the Parabellum is the front runner. for one, it's cheaper, but also more the style I want. __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	0

06-29-2023, 03:41 PM	#17
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	So, today I was out putting around on the killer. when I got back, I decided to pull the trigger on the Parabellum windshield. it's supposed to arrive by Wednesday. I also fabricated some peg lowers. These are just a prototype as they are made of aluminum, but plenty fine to test out. it's 1/4 inch aluminum plate. not sure it will hold my weight when I stand up for photo ops with Letsride. __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	1

07-03-2023, 02:59 PM	#18
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	Another shakedown run on the KLR. this time I took it out on the highway for about 50 miles. the parabellum windshield I added to the bike is perfect. no complaints at all. wind over the top hit in the forehead of the helmet. a bit of side draft, but not uncomfortable at all. The bike did better than me at highway speeds. I feel a bit nervous running it at 4500 to 5k RPMs for that long, but the bike handled it just fine. I noticed the temp gauge crept up to a bit over half way but seemed to hold steady after that. I've not noticed it get that high on secondary road test rides. just a few more farkles to add and the bike will be ready for an adventure! __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	0

07-10-2023, 10:45 AM	#20
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	Mine is an 01 with 43k miles on it. no thermobob and it hasn't exploded yet. __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	0

07-13-2023, 11:50 AM	#21
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	installed rear crash bars after painting them green. I've received the front ones but not painted yet. Hopefully I'll get some time to paint them and get installed by next week. I will also be blacking out the tank and the rear carrier handles. Not too urgent to do those things though, so not sure when. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	0

07-08-2023, 03:35 PM	#19
zero_dgz Join Date: Jan 2020 Posts: 281	The temperature gauge will bobble up and down with speed if you have not installed the "Themo-bob" mod yet. The KLR is somewhat notorious for running cold when at speed, and it has no coolant bypass hose for the thermostat so the coolant is not distributed to the radiator at all until the thermostat opens, and then once the heat is dumped the thermostat closes again and the cycle repeats. The Thermo-bob kit is supposed to stabilize coolant temperatures and allegedly provides a longevity benefit to the engine but I'm not sold on that particular aspect. I haven't done it to my bike, I have over 20,000 miles on it so far, and I ride the shit out of it with no ill effect. Earlier model years of KLR certainly do tend to burn oil above 5000 RPM (some claim that "all" do, but mine certainly doesn't -- it's a 2017) which is the only drawback to sitting at high RPM's. As long as there's oil in there, the engine doesn't care.
	0

07-25-2023, 09:13 AM	#22
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	as you can see, I used an old tour master tank bag from my Concours days as a trunk bag for the KLR. Right now it's doing duty as I collect tools and spare parts for ADV riding. I ran through the first tank of gas. got around 160 miles on the tank and didn't hit reserve. it's a 5 gallon tank though, so that means my MPG is only in the 30s. Certainly not enough for a 650 thumper. I'm not surprised though because one of the first things I noticed starting the bike is the choke is non-functional. I'm pretty sure it's running too rich with the choke engaged more than it should be. I'll be pulling the carb sometime soon and do a clean/rebuild on it. I also bought the tank saddlebags off amazon and installed them. they aren't in this pic. Thank Zipkin for that lead. They are not anything great, but a nice little convenience. They also dress up the tank and blend in to the black theme of the bike. They claim to be waterproof, but looking at them, that's a joke. That's ok though. I can work around that part. Overall, it's ready to and adventure. I'm still looking for some saddlebags. something like these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7QG8P6B...v_ov_lig_dp_it I don't plan to do week long adventures at this point, and probably not even camping. The Smokey Mountain 500 is on my short list for a trip. I can stay in some cabins along that route. Iron Horse motorcycle Lodge, Smitty's Lodge in Tellico Plains, and Two Wheels of Suches in Suches GA. The South Carolina Adventure Route is on the short list too. I'm not as familiar with that track, so not sure about places to stay or eat. It's a bit more civilized route than the SM500, so I'm sure there are places. I'm gonna try to drag LetsRide along with me, but if anyone else is interested, let me know. I don't have a timeline planned for any of this so far...just wild ideas. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	0

07-26-2023, 08:29 AM	#23
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	last night I made the decision to spend nearly 600 bucks for a rear shock for the KLR. It's a Progressive 465. There are very few shock/spring options for these bikes. None are a cheap alternative. :( This is after I found a dirt area to play around and get used to the bike off-road. I hit some rather deep ruts and the rear suspension was bottoming out. I'm sure the shock that's on it is 23 years old, so decided on a new one. At the same time, I'm also ordering some new links, but rather than lowering, I'm raising the bike 1 inch with them. I'll probably have to do the front suspension at some point, but for how, hopefully this will help. __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	0

07-28-2023, 04:56 PM	#24
zero_dgz Join Date: Jan 2020 Posts: 281	Re: Fuel economy, the KLR has a 5.1 gallon tank (usable capacity, if you're careful) and mine will reliably hit 250 miles of mixed road and trails before sputtering out. That works out nearly exactly to 49/50 MPG.
	0

07-31-2023, 01:29 PM	#25
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	Mail call! new links to raise the rear end rather than lower it. New rear shock by Progressive, new fork brace! Now I just need to find time to install all of it. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	1

08-01-2023, 09:56 AM	#26
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	couldn't wait, so I started in on the upgrades last night. Really only took about an hour or so to get the new shock and the links on. I haven't gotten it off the table yet though. I found a small leak from an antifreeze hose, so going to take care of that. might require that I unbolt the radiator to get to the hose. I still have to fork brace to install too. Pictures of her butt in the air coming soon. __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	0

08-01-2023, 02:25 PM	#27
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	turns out my old links were lowering links and not stock. I was flat footing it before. Now I'm on the balls of my feet. The new shock feels nice too! Attached Thumbnails __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	1

08-14-2023, 09:05 AM	#28
Sport Rider Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mooresville NC Posts: 2,116	you can't see it well, but over the weekend I finally got the new front tire on the KLR. That gave me the opportunity to get my tire changing equipment put up and out of the way so I could straighten things up a bit in the garage. Notice my next project sitting on the lift. it's a little Tao 4 wheeler. it belongs to a friend's son. not running right now and not sure why. I'm going to do a little trouble-shooting and see if I can get it working for them. Also note, the big butt of the goldwing takes up most of the pic! Attached Thumbnails __________________ Dave Bikes I've owned: Suzuki GS450T, Yamaha XS500, Honda V45 Sabre, Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic (2), Suzuki VX800, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Triumph TT600, Honda Superhawk, Kawasaki Concours 1000 (3, including a sidecar rig), Buell XB9R, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Concours 14, Honda Goldwing (2), Housen Hawk, Suzuki Intruder 1400, Kawasaki KLR650, Victory V92TC.
	0