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 “No Toro” (No Bull in English) Baja ride from Phoenix to Cabo San Lucas, Baja Sur. Since the ride really gets cookin after on overniter in Ensenada, […]
For years I’ve carried in my wallet a small laminated 50 word paragraph from an article written by the late great Gordon Jennings. I’ve quoted it before but here goes again. To paraphrase; Mr. Jennings wrote that “the typical” motorcycle has 8.5 square feet of frontal area producing 60 pounds of drag at 60 mph […]
The Skipper recently gave me a print out concerning a factory machining error in the inner left cover of some “E” Model KLRs (2008 -2009). For a compulsive the fix would be to carefully measure the depth of the hole to determine the exact length of the error followed by having an aluminum plug with […]
“Grease your long bolts” If you don’t like rust on your cross bolts, it’s best to apply a film of water proof grease to the bolt shaft before installation. This is especially important when you’re getting ready to install the long fat cross bolt that goes through the front of the “uni-trak” lever on […]
I’m not aware of any conventional forks that function better than those found on the original 1987 through 2007 KL650 A. The new “E” model forks have (according to our calculations) 10% greater cross-section area and have a four bolt fork alignment axle cap, but I like the longer travel and smoother damping characteristics of […]
In a previous article we reported a blown 4-dog gear on the main shaft of Rod’s KL-A13. He was about to transport the transmission, crankcases and a piece of aluminum knocked out of the crankcase, for inspection. All internal parts and the crankcases including the bearings were carefully examined. Fortunately the crank and gear box […]
Any of the “big 4” could build a great multi-surface motorcycle, but alas they never quite seem to get there. Too little fuel, too much weight (especially up front), poor suspension, and treacherous off-road handling, among other things, keeps most of them on the street. Back in 2009 I bought a new Yamaha WR250R which […]
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 “A” model engine which was partially fixed, and just in time, by an aftermarket […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I don’t know who came up with the term “more trail – less flail” or its sister term, “less trail – more flail”, but both are brilliant in their simplicity. There are other factors involved when it comes to what makes any given motorcycle steer a certain way like triple clamp and fork off-set, rake, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 “in the crate” unit and Kevin Bosley, their fine prep guy, did the set- up work right down to filling the tank with the called for […]
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. As the wrong-side driver/killer roams the highways in his probably repainted Honda car, we ask “could the loss of innocent life have been prevented”? In an effort to reach a […]
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 […]
(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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The KLR650 and DR650 have engines that are among the most abused in motorcycledom. Over-gearing, over-loading, and poorly modified carburetion – among other things – have caused short engine life, excessive fuel consumption, and oil burning in many big singles.As I write this I’m sitting at my favorite restaurant, La Fogata in Tecate, Baja, Mexico. Before I ate […]
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 […]
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) […]
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 believe Kawasaki’s propaganda, but still we expected improved power in the new model. Since our 2008 was burning a litre of oil every […]
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 […]
