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.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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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.
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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.


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.

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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.
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