1st gen KLR 650 feedback

Norcorider

Norcorider

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Been watching too many adv bikes reviews on YouTube and now I want one.

But I don’t have too much money to spare 2000$ max

A friend of a friend is selling his mint condition 06 klr 650, asking 3500$

What’s your take on it? Are they any usable our highways or Are they just big fat pigs as internet says they are?

And is it gong to be a pain in the ass to maintain ? I do have another carb bike, so I am okay with that part.


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Norcorider said:
Been watching too many adv bikes reviews on YouTube and now I want one.

But I don’t have too much money to spare 2000$ max

A friend of a friend is selling his mint condition 06 klr 650, asking 3500$

What’s your take on it? Are they any usable our highways or Are they just big fat pigs as internet says they are?

And is it gong to be a pain in the ass to maintain ? I do have another carb bike, so I am okay with that part.


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I've never owned one, but I have ridden one. A lot of KLR's have covered a lot of miles for a lot of people. I've never met anyone who knew what the bikes limitations are who regretted owning one.
If you've owned/ridden a big single before you know generally what to expect performance and riding experience wise. If you haven't, then you need to temper your expectations. Highways are entirely possible, but not as easy/relaxed as with a larger displacement, multi cylinder bike.

I view them as nice bikes for tooling along secondary roads, and exploring off the beaten track or off road. They're light handling, not particularly powerful, maybe a bit unremarkable compared to some others but I think it's their versatility that makes their excellent reputation.

While my GasGas 700 likely makes nearly twice the HP of a KLR and is a far better off road companion, when I'm sitting in Warkworth sipping a coffee after 2 or 3 hours of hooning around in the forest, unopened road allowances and the scenic back roads I'm 100% certain I could have done the same ride, in the same time and had as much fun (for the most part) on a 20 year old KLR.

As for maintenance, they're reliable as a stone axe, and they have nearly as much technology as that stone axe.
 
He pretty much covered it all including stone age reliability. I rode mine in Australia for years 3 months at time then it would sit. Come back a year later and when I switched to lithium battery ..bang started instantly.
The girls knocked it over in the drive way 3 weeks before I arrived and could not pick it up.
Poor thing lay there unloved. Got it upright ....it coughed farted a bit and was fine.

Depending on what you are doing tires are important.
Off pavement 606s are brilliant - go exactly were pointed and tractored in a straight line regardless of the surface. Wear out very quickly on pavement.
I usually had K60s on which lasted forever, slippery as hell in the wet ( no ABS eh ) and decent off pavement traction on the edges.
There are lots of KLR resources on line.

Vibration can be an issue for some ...I use Grip Buddies ( not grip puppies ) to tame it.
at 70-90 it cruises along tho will do 110.
Stock seat is horrid....Sargent seat is magical. Lotsa good memories of my 2004.
Huge tank is a bonus. Headlights mostly useless, turn signals sacrificial organs...always busting/drooping/.
Brakes??? hehe ...sort of. Decent travel on the suspension and many tuning options.
klr.JPG
 
Norcorider said:
Been watching too many adv bikes reviews on YouTube and now I want one.

But I don’t have too much money to spare 2000$ max

A friend of a friend is selling his mint condition 06 klr 650, asking 3500$

What’s your take on it? Are they any usable our highways or Are they just big fat pigs as internet says they are?

And is it gong to be a pain in the ass to maintain ? I do have another carb bike, so I am okay with that part.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I think you’ll either love it or hate it. I’ve never met a KLR rider who wasn’t in love with his machine.

That said, if you need more from a bike than what a kLR can deliver, it will disappoint you.

My first big adv type bike was a tossup between a Suzuki TS200r and a KLR. I went with the Suzuki…it killed the KLR on everything but range and fuel economy. Back then people bought KLRs for adventuring off road, not for highway touring as they are mostly used for today.

I still ride a vintage DRBig, Suzukis entry into that market. I wish they continued that bike, it’s comfortable at distances, highway range 550- 600km, and it’s a torque monster - at 1500rpm it’s making more torque that a Klr at peak.

1780574588662.jpeg
 
As a former KLR owner (2008) I would say go for it if you find the right one. They are the jack of all trades, master of none. I sold mine @ 92K km (bought at 4000km), traveled half way across the country, plenty of pavement, lots of gravel roads, some off road two track and even got myself stuck in a rutted out muddy ATV trail. Loved every minute of it (in hindsight :ROFLMAO: ).

No real difference between Gen 1/2, IMO just better styling and lighting. Plenty of aftermarket support and knowledge on taking care of it. Very simple machines to work on for the most part.
 
Thanks all for your inputs , after watching bazillion videos on YouTube to do scientific research , I have come to a conclusion that KLR (any generation) doesn’t match my riding style.

If I do go adv route one day, there are other bikes that suit me better. Ciao!


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tat2 said:
No real difference between Gen 1/2, IMO just better styling and lighting. Plenty of aftermarket support and knowledge on taking care of it. Very simple machines to work on for the most part.
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Hold on a sec... are you the one person that liked the styling of the gen2 better than the gen1?

Former KLR owner here:
Could it annhilate speed bumps and allow me to disregard all things cast wheels couldn't? Yes
Did I avoid receiving a single speeding ticket in my 3 years of ownership? Yes
Is it a big fat pig as the internet says it is? Yes
What's my take on it? Don't
 
Mad Mike said:
I think you’ll either love it or hate it. I’ve never met a KLR rider who wasn’t in love with his machine.
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Not quite the same thing, but another 650cc single cylinder big thumper.

I read this immediately after writing a multi paragraph essay in another thread about why I love riding my BMW G650GS... I own two of them. Definitely in love with my pair of German tractorcycles.

@Norcorider one nice thing about the KLR is, they're really popular. Some motorcycles in the garage are worth damn near as much as money as the bike because you know they're popular enough that you can list one and cash out quickly and without much, if any, loss. Maybe the best advice really is to give it a go, because if you buy it for a good price, when it comes time to sell, odds are you won't really be too much out of pocket, if any. Just... maybe right now isn't the best time to buy. That would be my bigger hang up.
 
I’m just gonna put this out there, I’ve had four bikes already that i was going to replace my 2011 KLR with.

Nope just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it.
 
adri said:
Not quite the same thing, but another 650cc single cylinder big thumper.

I read this immediately after writing a multi paragraph essay in another thread about why I love riding my BMW G650GS... I own two of them. Definitely in love with my pair of German tractorcycles.

@Norcorider one nice thing about the KLR is, they're really popular. Some motorcycles in the garage are worth damn near as much as money as the bike because you know they're popular enough that you can list one and cash out quickly and without much, if any, loss. Maybe the best advice really is to give it a go, because if you buy it for a good price, when it comes time to sell, odds are you won't really be too much out of pocket, if any. Just... maybe right now isn't the best time to buy. That would be my bigger hang up.
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Ok, but the market is generally the barometer. In Germany, KLR outsold GS650, outside Germany the KLR outsold the GS by 5:1.

Both are dependable, but the GS has a number of quirks and the availability of parts and aftermarket stuff makes the Killer a slam dunk winner.

I guess if you ride in Germany or close by euro countries, things get closer. But over heat or in the rest of world, a kLR is the hands down favorite
 
Mad Mike said:
Ok, but the market is generally the barometer. In Germany, KLR outsold GS650, outside Germany the KLR outsold the GS by 5:1.

Both are dependable, but the GS has a number of quirks and the availability of parts and aftermarket stuff makes the Killer a slam dunk winner.

I guess if you ride in Germany or close by euro countries, things get closer. But over heat or in the rest of world, a kLR is the hands down favorite
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I can chime in here. I rode a KLR for a demo day and rented a GS1200 for a few days. Highway for the KLR felt like I was making it work really hard, and not where it belonged. GS had no issues here, and could pull on the highway, without it feeling stressed.

I think ultimately it comes down to usage, and also not sure if a GS is a good direct comparison to a KLR, as clearly one will end up costing much more than the other, in maintenance and in upfront purchase costs.

Edit: can't read and didn't notice gs650 lol
 
Mad Mike said:
Ok, but the market is generally the barometer. In Germany, KLR outsold GS650, outside Germany the KLR outsold the GS by 5:1.

Both are dependable, but the GS has a number of quirks and the availability of parts and aftermarket stuff makes the Killer a slam dunk winner.

I guess if you ride in Germany or close by euro countries, things get closer. But over heat or in the rest of world, a kLR is the hands down favorite
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But what does this have to do with me saying it's easy to love a 650cc thumper? I wasn't comparing the two. But yes, I do keep one of mine in a country very close to Germany, and yes, when I thought I might need a regulator I was told I would have to a wait an entire 1-2 days before it would arrive lol
 
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