Sideways, negative terminal down. Only use the metal bracket, not the plastic battery cover. You will need to make a 6" extension for that small ground cable, just bullet male and female. I shimmed the side of the box w/ some foam to keep the battery tight. My only complaint has been tires, the scorpion AT was my least favorite-go figure. I got crap mileage out of them, I like the ST much better as a road tire. and my un-do's have been windshield, fender, and handguards trying to find the combination that minimizes turbulence and maximizes protecton.
Happy Trails Hway Bar / Engine Guard, with stock KLR pegs mounted on Bar. Acerbis Motard front fender (lessened wind gust problems on hway) Corbin Flat Seal Savers (long) Ebay Fork Brace (the $80 one) Aluminum Skid Plate JC Whitney large top trunk Bar end vibe dampers Bar risers Vista Cruise 320mm rotor kit, with stainless line That's all I can think of...
Came with: +4 Windscreen OEM Tank Bag Now has: Relocated License Plate +9 windscreen Optronics QH-61CW Off Road Driving lights w/Relay Moose 'Bark Busters' with Large protectors Scott Fusion Grips Mirror Vibration Isolators Givi Monokey Mount Rack on Happy Trails Rack Extender Givi E45NJ Topcase Progressive 420 Series Shock Spring Progressive Fork Springs Garmin GPS mount Metzeler Enduro3 Sahara tires 12v Accessory Socket Sylvania SilverStar Headlight bulb Magnetic Drain Plug
I've done a few mods to my bike that no one else seems to have done. One thing I did that everyone seems to like is to modify my clutch arm. ( the one on the engine). I cut the arm in half and added about 3/4" of steel strap in between the two halves. I then welded the piece in and ground the welds down smooth so they can't be seen. I've never had anyone spot the mod without me pointing it out to them. The mod lightens up the clutch feel and is easier to feather on hills and such. I did a simular mod on my Jeep years ago. I welded a extra long bracket on the bell crank to compensate for the heavy clutch. I'm a engineer and a good TIG welder and just can't seem to leave anything well enough alone. I'll try to get a good picture. I bet Gadget Boy is just giddy to see it. If anyone is interested I'd be willing to do the mod for them. I have a spare lever I could mod first and exchange. Ernie
nooner, I'm with ya. I like the unique bike you get with all the tinkering. But the whole "you'll save money" with a KLR gets folks thinking it's all good. Truth is, the huge list of farkle means not just plenty of customizing, but a virtual pipe from your wallet to _______ (name your vendor). That's fine, but for those of us with weak willpower and strong tinkering bents it spells: $$$$$$$$ Â…course, could you imagine the bill for doing the same when Touratech, etc is where you buy your bits vs. klr650.com? :eek1
I though of another mod. I'm a retired musician/guitar player. They make a item for guitars called a strap lock. Its a chrome quick release dodad where one half mounts to the guitar and the other half mounts to the strap. When connected it keeps your high dollar Stratocaster from hitting the stage floor. I mounted the half that mounts to the guitar on the frame of the bike between the seat and the tank on both sides. The other half gets mounted to the straps on the tank bag. This half has a pull to release knob on it. It makes taking the tank bag on and off a lot easier. No more fumbling with D rings around the frame. I believe the name brand I use are made by the Schaller Co. They make guitar hardware. I'd bet they have a web site to check them out. This is what I like to call cross/over engineering. Ernie
Ok, yes a KLR will cost you less....but ther are so many accessories and extras it will potentially cost you more...So Why a KLR?? In my experiences most KLR riders are cheap, but are also tinkerers and do it your selfers. Yes you could buy a KTM adventure, but you would have no money left over for extras like luggage, pipes, guards, etc.... A KLR rider buys the KLR, can afford the initial price or payment, but will...over time...accumulate aftermarket parts and occupy his or her spare time modifying or installing the items. This activity is a stress reliever and emotionally satisfying to the typical KLR owner. Much like Harley riders constantly install new parts and gadgets, KLR riders constantly buy new parts and accessories to suit their riding styles. We are enthusiasts, just on a budget and can't afford it all at one time!! It is fun getting to know your motorcycle on an intimate basis. KLRs allow the fun of Harley accessorizing, the thrill of BMW adventure touring and the youthfullness of dirtbiking all in one bike. At least thats why I have mine!!
The best mod to my ride is deffinately the tires, DURO Medians Frot and rear. I get 6000 miles from the pair. great on the road and good in the dirt. Also looking for riding friends around central Illinois. I moved the plate up. Corbin seat. AWESOME!!!! subframe upgrade Pro gel grips Happy trails highway pegs and Dakar guard. Moose shifter Moose skid plate eliminated the inner fender 14T good in the dirt buzzes like mad at 65-80 MPH Crampbuster on the throttle Cruise lock three finger clutch lever and alot more.
My KtmLR, I got it as a basically stock '93 with 15k on the clock, which busted off when it was kicked off a cliff by some heinous dick. Broke some plastic, twisted the bars, and scratched it up a bit, but otherwise the bike was fine. Me? I hate cookie cutter bikes, or anything for that matter, and the bricklike aerodynamics of the stock fairing seemed like one of the best places to start. Yes, that is the stock fender turned fairing. I cut out tabs where the front holes were, heated and bent the plastic till i had two tabs 90 degrees from original. I zapped two 3.5" holes and shoved some $20 driving lights in there. For the top support, i epoxied a strut that connects to my ignition switch case. It's light, and if i do happen to whack it on something the upper strut will break before anything else and it should bend put of the way. I chance breaking the light, but so what, i'll spend another $20 and glue a new set in. I've got lots of room behind the "windhshield" where i can mount some instruments, but so far i've just got my trusty GPS ziptied to my bars. The fender is a Cycra KTM fender given the Krylon Fusion treatment, as with the rest of the plastic. The front fender makes a better fairing thna stock, and i must have lost 15lbs up front getting rid of the stock monstrosity. It cuts the wind better, it doesn't get blown around as much, and i get clean airflow over the top with a minimal bubble over the tank. If i get real low i can get the air to flow over the top of my helmet at 70, but i don't ride that fast. I love having the visibility up front now, while standing i can basically look down at the area around my tire when rockcrawling. I also get a kick out of the cartoonish evil cyclops alien robot head look. When i first mounted it and stood in front, it actually looked disturbing, like it was staring at the silly humans targeted by it's death ray or summat, idk, there''s just something cold and menacing about it, but i think it's pretty damn cool. No turn signals, i ride mainly offroad and most slab is lonely 2 lane stuff, so i got rid of 'em. On the rare occasion that i have to actually signal my intention to someone i use hand signals. MSR hi-rise ATV bars, Tusk ATV barkbusters, Decalifornicated, Progressives with 5wt, snorklectomy, extremely high plate, i moved it up and still ripped it off somehow, so now it's wedgedf as far up as i can get it, the inner fender hangs down lower. 14T counter, man i LOVE this thing, makes it a whole different bike. Now at +9000' lofting the front is a reasonable request, with the 15t sometimes it would just mush out even with a bit of clutching, now i can get it up and over ruts, rocks, and other fun stuff. Sportin' Kenda K270's front and rear. I like 'em, the front walks a bit if you push it on the road but it picks the best lines in sand. The rear could have a bit more bite, but it's got enough that i'll run it till it's dead. I might try the 606 next. Sealed battery, i replaced lots of non-critical screws with zipties, it's easier to carry 100 zipties than 100 extra bolts and a gallon of loctite, that, and who would steal a bike that had hundreds of ziptie tails hanging off, looking like it was a major structural component? Another good mod was hydraulic brake switches, get rid of the spring and plastic piece of crap on the rear and the little micro sw up front, it's an easy and cheap mod ($19 each) and no more difficult than doing a brake fluid change. I'm a minimalist, so not much in the way of farkle, i just keep doin' what needs to be done to the beast to make it at home in mountain dirt. I plan to get the IMS tank, and i'm working on building a rack to carry this to places like this. I'm leaving around the 12th for a little ride up to Roosville from down in Antelope Wells, so in about a month i'll know what really works and what doesn't.
thanks for the input, I'll try it out today and take it for a spin in the mud to see how well it holds up... I have heard lots of complaints about the scorpion A/T's but am going strong on my second set with great on road and reasonable off road traction. Granted personal opinions differ and no tire on the market is a true D/S where traction is great both on and off road... However on a different note I would not put the pipe on if I started over again. The gain in HP is not worth the money, noise or hassle of tinkering with the jets over elevation changes. Furthermore, first gear is not as low as before. I live at 8,000 ft and ride anywhere between 4,500 and 12,000. Can you say hassle?
so far we have had the guy that spent the most on bolt ons... and the guy that spent the least to turn his bike in to the ugliest thing this website has ever seen. i applaud you for being an individual and using your own ingenuity to design a front fairing for yourself... but... i think some more work needs to be done. jk please guys--- lets see some more pictures of your bike and things that you have done-- even the ugly bike guy post a picture of his monstrosity!
I like ugly, and i'm ugly too, so the bike works for me. I'll have some more pics soon, maybe some water crossing clips if i can get a chance to edit the footage. I'm all about function over form, and what it looks like is pretty low on my list of priorities. I'll spend money where it counts, suspension, reliability, crash protection, and save money to put it where it makes a functional difference If i wanted a pretty bike i sure as hell wouldn't have started with the KLR, it's fugly to begin with. Eventually the bike will be all desert camo and i might mount some tool tubes with nosecones and fins, rocket launcher style. I'm also considering reloacting the coolant tank to possibly make room to shove a normalizing turbo under there, enough to give me 30-31in/hg at high elevation. It gets kind of anemic above 9k.
Thank you for the picture gadget boy!!!!! How do you like the highway pegs on the the engine guard? Do you find yourself using them often? They are sitting on my floor along with the nerf bars at my office right now, so just curious
KLRific, I put h/way pegs on my klr for a 3000km ride a few weeks ago, thinking I wouldn't use them much. I rode 1020kms on the last day between 4am and 7.30pm. The pegs were terrific, giving me a couple more sitting positions and saving my butt from a fate worse than death. I even had my boots resting on them for quite a while at times. I also like the idea they help protect the radiator in a low speed fall over, which often seems to happen to me when I'm coming to a stop on gravel and pull on the front brake a bit too much .