Bottom line is that it's a relatively light weight street bike with good ground clearance and it happens to look like a dirt bike. I had a love/hate relationship with my KLR650. The biggest misconception I had when I bought it was that I thought it was a dirt bike. Aside from some additional ground clearance, it's not much better than your FJR in the dirt. It's also the most underpowered 650cc bike I've ever been on and no matter how much money you throw at it, you can't get more than maybe 2 HP over stock. And you'll get about 90% of that just by rejetting. Which by the way isn't illegal. The suspension particularly sucks off the pavement and, like the power issue, there's very little improvement available at any price. Stiffer fork springs are available and they make a big improvement for street riding and cornering, which is the one thing it really does well. I could keep up with sport bikes in the twisties real easy until the road straightened out and then I might as well be trailing a parachute. With a 6 gallon tank it's got good range but the stock seat is a torture device. I had a Corbin and loved it on the road but off road, ouch! When that thing comes up and hits you in the *** it's like getting whacked with a 2x10. There's almost a cult following for the KLR and there's a wealth of info and support available in the internet here:
Click and here:
click You have to check valves about every 5,000 miles (IIRC) which takes about a day and they do go out of spec. I never noticed any difference in performance with elevation, you pretty much get **** for power anywhere But you do get good mileage. I will add that it is durable. I took mine on the Rubicon on one insanely exhausting day of bouldering and it was after about the fourth time it rolled off a cliff and had me pinned upside down in a crevase I realized just how heavy, high geared, and completely inapropriate it was in the dirt. And I'm a good dirt rider if I say so myself. And I still rode it home and kept up with a group of sport bikes down Icehouse road much to their amazement.
Late edit:
For the uses you mention I'd look for a street legal Yamaha WR426/450 or Suzuki DRZ400E (avoid the DRZ400S!). The down side of each is the small fuel tank. Kind of hard to get from your house to the mountains and dirt and back on 2-3 gallons and nothing less than knobbies will perform worth **** in dirt, rocks, etc. "Dualsport" tires are a con.
Bob, listen to what EH has to say. Seriously, BTDT. I've been dual sporting since 1977, starting with a Yamaha TT500 that was street licensed. Not legal, licensed.. For me, it's SO simple.. The dirt reigns supreme. The street is nothing more than a connector to dirt trails. I've learned over the years that a great dirt bike makes for a good street bike e.g. 'adequate to get to the next trail' but a 'good street dual sport' truly does SUCK in the dirt and will throw you DOWN and then HURT you when you are very far AWAY from help.
..And as you ride more dualsport.. the more 'trails' just call your name... come on ToeCutter, the really nice lake is just at the end of this little simple looking benign trail... you can do it.... :lol:
My current dual sport ride is still being built - a 1987 ATK with Honda XR600 air cooled motor (bullet proof), 4130 chrome alloy frame, the best brakes and suspension. Total cost for the project so far? Less than 3k. And when completed, like yesteryear, it's still good enough to MX on with OTMX crowd.. (Old Timers Motocross, must be 40+ to enter
... interested?) Or if you are 40 challenged, I race with the Over The Hill Gang, OTHG, 30+... :lol: )
If I wasn't into air cooled motors for off-road (another discussion), I'd buy one of the many Honda XR650's that have already been grandfathered in as street licensed vehicles. Find some old fart that never abused the motor and ride that thing for years. The XR 650's can run all day long at freeway speeds (90+ easily) and then do very well on pretty severe trails (much more so than a KLR) with just a slight gearing down.
I have buds that run these bikes in incredible situations - ride to Colorado from Ca, carry extra countershaft sprockets that change the gearing when the off-road stuff starts. The size of the CS sprockets are such that each will fit within the length of chain e.g. no link removal required.
I've been with these guys on true 'off-road' events.. and they can flat keep up. If I wasn't so far inclined towards the 'true-dirt' leaning, I'd be all over a street licensed Xr650.
And yes, you can get one that is 'un-distinguishable' to the DMV for a great price. It's all in the number of vin digits. I don't know the exact numbers, but within the last year or two the # of digits changed from say 17 to 25 with the extra numbers designating the off-road only status of the bike. Bikes with the 17 digits are still good to go. Not sure what the exact number of digits are, the numbers mentioned above are just an example.
Anyway - sorry for the diatribe, but this sh#% I LOVE. Once you start, you won't be able to stop. Dirt riding makes such a better steet rider out of you. Not to mention that the MAJORITY of the earth is now your playground,. not just where the oil tarmac ends... Just be sure to have a good sense of direction or a good GPS... :dribble: ...and if you ever decide to run mx/sx you are more than welcome to my private track.. come to think of it, I think you just might be a racer in disguise... just like me.. :yahoo:
