500 mile days on KLR650?

[anexcuse]

I'm thinking of buying a used KLR 650, and was wondering if it would be feasible to travel 1000 miles in a couple days on it. It has a Corbin seat on it . I'm no stranger to long bike rides, but not on a dual sport. Thanks!

[Beezerboy]

300 is not bad.... 500.... well, dunno. not as a regular diet for sure, at least not for me. the corbin helps....other things that help are a tall windshield(maybe with a deflector that detaches for the dirt), hiway pegs, Murph's grips, and a good tune up. set the valve clearance so the intakes match each other & the ex match each other (have to mic shims to do that), do the "22 cent mod", an iridium plug, and make sure the engine mounts are tight. consider a 16 tooth counter shaft sprocket. if there is enough off road along the way a lot of guys change to a 14 for the dirt. remember, a D/S is a compromise.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Beezerboy

[yellowdatsun]

500 miles is far. It's not designed as a highway cruiser. You'll find that once you exceed 65 or so it's not very comfortable to ride. The Corbin helps a lot, and highway pegs and a tall windshield will help even more. But there isn't much you can do about the speed. If you plan on doing 65 or lower then it's fine. If you want to ride at 75+ all day then you should consider a different bike. It's only a 650 single, designed for lugging down low, as opposed to high speed stints.

[ParaMud]

You can do it. I recently went on a 300 mile ride and it wasnt the most comforting at 75, but 65 and below it is fun.

If you hit any sort of headwind/side wind when going above 65, you will hate life.

[anexcuse]

Thanks for your imput! My mom lives 1000 miles away in TN and I was just wondering. I will probably buy a 650 for fun and ride it however far or short I feel like. I raced MX and Enduro for years, years ago, and have also owned many street bikes, 15 motorcycles in all, not including my wife's and kid's bikes. I currently have an 04 KLR 250 which is fun in the dirt, but pretty strained on the highway.

Do you think I could fit a KLR 650 in my little 6 ft. Ranger bed with the tailgate down to get it home?

[Flagstaff]

Pretty sure I've done several 500 mile days on my first KLR about 20 yrs. ago. One trip in particular, 2wks through Ut, Id, Mt, and Wy. Wife was on a GS500 so we were evenly matched. Soft luggage and camping. Do remember some issues with the stock seat and wind. Love the Corbin on my Z, can put in consecutive 800 mile days.

Have a Dodge Dakota with 6 1/2' bed and it has hauled any motorcycle I've tried.

Mike

[Beezerboy]

16 tooth c/s sprocket knocks 500 rpm off of whatever speed we're talking. I ride mine at 70-75 all the time (gps miles, not kawi speedo). I leave the 16 on, it's fine even in the dirt.... but I also have a 705 kit, some head work.... etc. the power is a bit more than stock and where you really see it is above 65/70... I still have power to pull away "smartly" for passing. I only did the 705 because the guys that bored the hole for the 685 screwed it up. (the real difference is only 13cc... not worth it unless you have to imo). the stock klr will benifit from a sprocket change 16 for the road, then pop on a 14 for off road... mebby evn a 13. they all fit with the stock 106 link chain. even with a 45 on the back in place of the 43.

[Beezerboy]

if you want to put a bike in the back of a pickup I'd go for something else

the difference between 300 miles a day and 500 is a lot... especially if you do them back to back

[anexcuse]

if you want to put a bike in the back of a pickup I'd go for something else

the difference between 300 miles a day and 500 is a lot... especially if you do them back to back

Thanks! Hopefully I can dig my trailer out of the snowbank soon. I was talking about getting one home from buying it. I don't plan on hauling any motorcycle with regularity, I ride them. ?

I can always drive a cage to visit TN. My wife might come with, then. (I'm not sure if that is good or not...)

[CRF420X]

When I was a young 20 something Marine in the peak of fitness I used to ride the 650 miles each way between Camp LeJeune NC and Long Island NY on a Honda XL600R enduro over a long weekend. I would ride non stop back and forth and it was a death ride each time. I used to put my legs back over the tail lights and lay down on the seat for long periods of time and it was still a major back breaker.

However, the more often I did it the less it hurt. Point being, even with the luxury the KLR650 offers with its wide and comfy seat, you should probably warm up to 500 mile days before just jumping in to it. 200 or 300 miles a day is no big deal but adding an additional 3 or 4 hours to make that 500 mark is brutal unless you have a well seasoned ass...

Edited April 23, 2013 by CRF420X

[anexcuse]

When I was a young 20 something Marine in the peak of fitness I used to ride the 650 miles each way between Camp LeJeune NC and Long Island NY on a Honda XL600R enduro over a long weekend. I would ride non stop back and forth and it was a death ride each time. I used to put my legs back over the tail lights and lay down on the seat for long periods of time and it was still a major back breaker.

However, the more often I did it the less it hurt. Point being, even with the luxury the KLR650 offers with its wide and comfy seat, you should probably warm up to 500 mile days before just jumping in to it. 200 or 300 miles a day is no big deal but adding an additional 3 or 4 hours to make that 500 mark is brutal unless you have a well seasoned ass...

Thanks for your imput! \

Edited April 24, 2013 by anexcuse

[anexcuse]

I just bought a 2005 KLR 650 with only 1,100 miles on it. I am picking it up tomorrow! ? It has a tank bag and a Kawasaki back rack and a soft trunk, otherwise stock. Looks like new. Perhaps I can eventually find my personal limit as far as miles per day.Wish me luck!

[Flagstaff]

Bought the KLR for dirt roads and trails, but..

Today I rode over 350 miles of 2 lane to pick up less than 60 miles of the Great Western Trail in the North Kaibab NF and on thru BLM into Utah. This included severe headwinds where I hit reserve at 164 miles, and had to tip the bike over after another 23 miles to get gas to the left side of the tank. In spots couldn't go over 60 in fifth. PUNISHING. Oh, ya, lots of rain too.

414 miles total. Not 500 , but no question I could comfortably do it on pavement and normal circumstances.

Mike

[Beezerboy]

reserve at 160.... aint right, check/replace the air filter. stock jetting? check the "22 cent" mod. do the "doo hickey", my new 05 was broken in a couple thousand miles. the forks will be low on oil unless someone serviced them... they all are (well.... of the 3 dozen new klrs I;ve checked). pull the springs, collapse forks, fill untill 170mm from the top, ATF is fine. top off with 10 psi air... trust me, it works good. when you have the money, buy Ricor valves for the forks

[anexcuse]

Bought the KLR for dirt roads and trails, but..

Today I rode over 350 miles of 2 lane to pick up less than 60 miles of the Great Western Trail in the North Kaibab NF and on thru BLM into Utah. This included severe headwinds where I hit reserve at 164 miles, and had to tip the bike over after another 23 miles to get gas to the left side of the tank. In spots couldn't go over 60 in fifth. PUNISHING. Oh, ya, lots of rain too.

414 miles total. Not 500 , but no question I could comfortably do it on pavement and normal circumstances.

Mike

That's sounds like some crazy ride! I've found that the 650 doesn't handle wind as well as some of the street bikes I have owned.

I've put on 2000 miles or so on mine but because of various reasons I haven't went on a ride for more than 250 miles in a day, but I'm sure I'll try more at some point. I'm having lots of fun on shorter rides for now!

[Flagstaff]

That's sounds like some crazy ride! I've found that the 650 doesn't handle wind as well as some of the street bikes I have owned.

I've put on 2000 miles or so on mine but because of various reasons I haven't went on a ride for more than 250 miles in a day, but I'm sure I'll try more at some point. I'm having lots of fun on shorter rides for now!

Ya, I do mostly shorter rides on the KLR also. Have a street bike for the pavement. But as I posted earlier, had a KLR as an only bike in the 90's and I'm pretty sure 500 mile days were not routine, but not unusual.

[Beezerboy]

if the bike was wobbly in the wind or in traffic around big rigs it is a sign that the forks arn't properly serviced. going to 170mm of oil adds as much stability as a fork brace (though the brace makes it mo better too). I've measured at least 3 dozen sets of klr forks at tech days and exactly NONE had the book spec 190mm in them. mine brand new was 50cc low per leg.... I measured one that was 200cc low per side... all were done by the dealers.

[Flagstaff]

reserve at 160.... aint right, check/replace the air filter. stock jetting? check the "22 cent" mod. do the "doo hickey", my new 05 was broken in a couple thousand miles. the forks will be low on oil unless someone serviced them... they all are (well.... of the 3 dozen new klrs I;ve checked). pull the springs, collapse forks, fill untill 170mm from the top, ATF is fine. top off with 10 psi air... trust me, it works good. when you have the money, buy Ricor valves for the forks

Missed your post last go thru. Ever ride in heavy headwinds? I was surprised, but not that surprised. I believe jetting is stock which usually works quite well at my 7000'. It's not unusual to lose 25% and more in mileage in heavy headwinds. My racetach front and rear work just fine.

Mike

[Flagstaff]

Last ride, 58 MPG.

Problem either headwinds or combination headwinds and bad fill.

Mike

[markeg1964]

To see if I could make long rides on my KLR, I rode it for about 490 miles last month with an hour break in the middle of the ride and it was fine.  It reminds me a lot of riding an old Harley for the 1970s.  Following is a video of that ride:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5soP4kM8kA