klr 650?????

[M2GH5]

hi all, new member here with a few questions.

im in the market for an on/off road motorcycle. i really like what bmw has to offer but they are a bit too pricey for me at this current point in time. ive been looking at the klr 650 by kawasaki. the price is one of the things that got my attention, being only $4999. is the klr 650 a very reliable bike? how is it for riding long distances? on both road and off road on the trails? how is it on smaller jumps? im looking for a fast yet reliable on/off road motorcycle. any other input on this model would be great. thanks in advance, mike.

 

[yater]

I don't own a klr 650 but I've done a LOT of research on the topic. The general consensus is: The KLR is a road trippin' beast--most everyone votes for the KLR for extended road trips. It is a handful offroad and jumping is out of the question. Most prefer the more dirtworthy DR 650 for dirt duty. Reliability seems to be rock solid. Among dual sporters, the KLR remains a VERY popular bike so you might want to check the yahoo KLR 650 group. I found tons of information there.

 

[pyrofreak]

Also the XR650, or maybe even a CR500AF would be worth looking at. What dirt/street ratio are you comtemplating?

 

[trsrdr]

I own a KLR650 along with a KDX220 and a bigger streetbike. The KLR is the most fun bike to ride on the street I've owned and that includes a Ducati Monster. It absorbs potholes and has enough power to be fun in the twisties and can drone down the interstate at speeds in excess of the limit. Off-road it is a bit heavy. For fire-roads and gravel, it's hard to beat, but on single track or rugged terrain, the weight is just too great. The 6.1 gal. tank doesn't help, plus it's made of steel, so a dent will be the result of a hard getoff. A buddy of mine has a DR350 that he converted to a street legal bike. It wasn't the S model so it's lighter. He rides moderate highway distances and in the woods, he is pretty fast. It can jump somewhat and is a tractor on hills. You'd have to get an older one probably or a newer DRZ400, which I've read good things about. I like the KLR because I can take a trip on it, then explore wherever I want within reason. I've take a couple trips 500 miles one way to the mountains and rode some backroads there. It's all about compromise.

 

[xr50layke]

my cousin had a KLR650 and it broke down one thing after another. if you want a bike to hop down the road from trail to trail, dont get any 650 get like a KTM street legal bike or an XR400.

 

[JasonJ]

I had a KLR 250 and hated it, they were know for eating the top ends so keep after valve adjustemts. I rode a KLR 650 and what a beast. I was very unimpressed on the road with the weak braks and alarming front end suspension dive. I would NOT want to take the bike off road period. Small jumps would probably be worse than big jumps, since the soft fork would probably just eat up the face of the jump leaving you with a nose down attitude as the rear of the bike hit the face of the jump, your looking at a 500 LB nose dive with no fork to take the hit :yikes: . I poped the rear shock on my KLR 250 going over a small down tree at speed.
Check out the Honda XRL, always a great bike, the DRS is nice but a bit underpowerd on the highway. The new KTM Adventure LC8 is saaaawwweeeet but goes for 11K! Still much lighter and cheaper than a BMW and just as much bike. You can find a used LC4 KTM on (that internet auction site wich shall remain un-nammed but starts with an E and ends in the same word that follows Tampa ???? ) between 3 and 4K too.

 

[M2GH5]

thanks for the replies everyone.

hmmmm......... seeing as i wiill be on the trails just as much as on the road i may just get the bmw that i was looking at. the f 650 gs.

does anyone know the seat height and the weight of the bmw f 650 gs? there website doesnt list it.

thanks again for the re[plies, mike.

 

[trsrdr]

As for the forks on the KLR, they are easily fixed like most off-road bikes with springs for much less than $100. My bike has between 13,000 and 14,000 miles and apart from a valve adjustment that I did myself, I've had no problems. Most KLR riders report no major work to be done until you have around 70,000 miles or so. Of course maintenance would affect that number. It's no true trail bike, but you won't find another one that you can ride 400 to 500 miles to a riding area, then explore backroads or fireroads and then ride home in relative comfort at interstate speeds. The BMW is more street worthy, but at almost double the price. Just an owners opinion.