Tex Ernhardt Baja Ride
On Wednesday January 16th 2013, Tex Ernhardt, triple threat master rider/driver/pilot Bruce Redding and a dozen friends took off from Phoenix, AZ on the 14th Annual Tex Ernhardt
Mileage! Smileage!
For years I
Mis-drilled Shaft Hole
The Skipper recently gave me a print out concerning a factory machining error in the inner left cover of some
Rod Morris
In a previous article we reported a blown 4-dog gear on the main shaft of Rod
Yamaha,
Any of the
Bullet Proof KLR650 In Trouble
Luis T. of San Diego, CA called me the other day stating his late model KLR650 with only 25,000 miles was using 1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles. Luis had called me a couple of years ago about a noisy
Choke It – But Don’t Kill It
I learned about the downside of carbureted motorcycle enrichening systems the hard way. In the first instance I loaned my KL-650A to a former riding companion for a long ride in Baja. On the second day he rode the bike hard for 20+ miles with the choke full open. Oil consumption increased dramatically thereafter resulting […]
Dangerous EPA Mandate
In the good old days before the Environmental Protection Agency got going, motorcycling was in some regards safer. For example; if your carburetor float valve should stick open, the fuel would go through the overflow tube in your carb’s float bowl and end up on the ground. Now it goes into your cylinder and ultimately […]
Oil and/or Filter Changes
Since I began riding motorcycles in the summer of 1955 there have probably been hundreds of millions of dollars (or more) worth of perfectly good oil filters thrown away at oil change time. How can that be you ask? Simple, because many people believe that if you change the oil you should also change the […]
Springs and Things
The two best vendor reps I ever dealt with were Mike Henderson formerly of Progressive Suspension (I’ve lost track of him) and Garry Gallagher formerly of Metzeler Tires and now our go to guy at EBC brakes. Back in the 80’s Garry taught me almost everything I now know about motorcycle wheels which to this […]
Buyer Beware
I’ve always been amazed by the number of poorly designed and unnecessary components that are sold to KLR650 owners by the aftermarket. Some of the worst are: The upper subframe long bolt from hell! Before you drill through the welded-in distance collar, look inside your frame’s backbone and you’ll see that the necked down […]
More Trail – Less Flail
I don’t know who came up with the term “more trail – less flail” or its sister term,
KLR650 Shrinking Fuel Capacity
The list of problems that I’ve discovered relating to the KLR650 since March 1990 is much too lengthy to deal with in a short article. Most of them I’ve written about in Kawasaki Dual Sport News, Dual Sport News, multisurfacemotorcycling.com and at present on topgunmotorcycles.com, run by Major Todd Vosper, a retired Marine Attack Pilot […]
KLR650’s Forgotten Bearings & 3 Tiny 0-rings
It has long been obvious to me that the all important periodic maintenance chart in the factory service manual is ignored by most KLR650 and DR650owners. I recently asked a long-time rider of the KLR650-A when he had last lubed his swingarm and Unitrak lever bearings. His answer should have shocked me but didn’t. Not […]
YAMAHA WR250R Followup
On August 29th 2009 we purchased a new Yamaha WR250R from San Diego’s “House of Motorcycles” (619 229-7700). Sean Warner, General Sales Manager, arranged for delivery of the new
Motorcycling’s Dangerous SIDE
As a result of the recent terrible accident in Imperial Valley, CA the ongoing debate concerning motorcycle safety has intensified, especially in two wheeled circles.
KLR Subframe Bracing
Henry Nottingham, House of Motorcycles (619 229-7700), stellar parts guy who has been selling me motorcycle parts and accessories for “nigh onto” 37 years recently called and asked if I would try to help “Nick”, a KLR650A traveler. Henry, great guy that he is, didn’t have a #148 KLR650 main jet in stock but wanted […]
Yamaha WR250R
(Editors Note: As you’ll see in the opening paragraph, this article was meant for publication last summer. We apologize for the delay – we “lost” the article somewhere in the email “ether” but will follow up soon with more articles on the WR!) Our new 2009 Yamaha WR250R was purchased on August 29th 2009 from […]
Rake and Trail is Important
Back when Honda announced the coming of the XR400, I was so excited that I told the sales manager at House of Motorcycles (619 229-7700) to please put me at the top of the list. Although I didn’t like the XR400’s proposed rear suspension set-up (harsh ride) or their radial valve head, I figured I […]
Tough in Baja
On our latest two-dayer in Baja, Rod Morris and I enjoyed challenging conditions in the mountains. After crossing the border on our KLR650A’s we headed east from Tecate into rather fierce 40 – 50 mph gusting head and crosswinds that would steer your bike for you if you weren’t alert. I stayed in 4th gear […]
KLR650 / DR650 “Carbonmakers”
Every time I turn the WR250R key to the on position and hear the fuel pump pressuring the injection system I get the “willies”. Why? Because, to paraphrase Kevin Cameron “Motorcycle fuel injection systems are very reliable, but if one fails, be ready for a long walk”. Fuel injection systems are far more complex and […]
Front End Stabilization
I recently did a “Fuel For Thought” article on our website relating to the difficult dirt road conditions that Rod Morris and I encountered on a recent 300 mile trip in Northern Baja. As I wrote in the article I made some changes to the front end which resulted in improved handling in deep chopped […]
Cold Start-up and Integrated Transmissions
In a recent issue of “Cycle World” magazine, Paul Dean discussed the problem of sticky clutch plates in motorcycles with integrated transmissions and clutches. As Mr. Dean pointed out, damage to shift forks and gears can occur if you do not first “free up” and unstick the steel clutch plates from the fiber ones before […]
Big Single Engine Abuse Common
The KLR650 and DR650 have engines that are among the most abused in
Technical Insights; first seen in Kawasaki Dual Sport News Feb./Dec. 1997 now found on topgunmotorcycles.com
There have been lots of bad ideas furnished to KLR riders on the internet. Three of the worst are: Replace your 08/09 strong forged thick bladed “doohickey” with a weaker machined aftermarket copy of the original. Equip your KLR650 with 16/43 final gearing which is likely to decrease engine life and lower your fuel […]
Killing Engine Efficiency
As we’ve said many times, don’t expect improved performance, good gas mileage and long engine life if you have increased aerodynamic drag and overall weight followed by over-gearing your big single; especially if that big single has one spark plug like the KLR650 A surprising number of KLR650 riders are still changing from 15/43 (stock) […]
KLR650 “A” and “E” Horsepower
When Todd Vosper and I did our comparison test of the 2005 and 2008 KLR650s we weresurprised that the 2005 pulled the 2008 on an uphill roll-on test. We knew better than to
More on the KLR650 Balancer System
If you don’t think keeping the balancer chain in a KLR650 engine free of slack is important, just ask Kurt Grife, Jim Bellach, Corby Hall and numerous others what happens when the chain comes off its sprockets. You will at least lose your engine or at worst go down when the rear wheel locks up […]
