I use Honda GN4 10-40, have used Valvoline Blue Diesel oil, straight 40 wt in a pinch, Castrol GTX, all kinds of oil and never get a false neutral. Do you have an aftermarket skid plate? If you do, the lever is hitting it. If not, I bet your shift lever is cracked.
I've owned KLRs since 1998, yet to hear of that happening. It's not an issue at all in my opinion. They both flex but when you go to bend them straight again, the stock one cracks / breaks. The other ones don't. I used to carry a spare OEM shift lever, sure enough, I was at Neduro's off road riding school session at Ocotillo Wells and another KLR rider fell over and broke his OEM lever. His weekend would have been over had I not given him my spare...
Been trying to figure out where to install my aux lights, and looking through the mod and pic threads, don't see hardly anyone doing this to their KLR. 1. Is there a good reason people don't mount extra lighting on this bike? 2. Is there a preferred or more suitable way to do it, if I'm set on it? Just looking for inspiration, my current thinking is to bolt on at the bottom edges of the fairing sides, but don't want to be too close to the turn signals. Thought about mounting on forward side plastics, too... so many options, and no examples out there to actually look at before buying hardware and experimenting.
Unfortunately the Pre 2008 KLR electrical system is underpowered so you only really have one choice for adding something electrical and a lot of people choose a external power outlet. The 2008+ have more electrical power so maybe you can add more not sure though, I have a 2004?
Actually, I have no problem with the stock shifter as such, it's just that the Moose is said to be a bit longer. I have some aftermarket pegs I really like, but they make slipping my big dogs underneath the shift peg a pain. IMHO, changing the pegs makes an enormous difference in control and security.
There's not a lot of spare wattage available, to be sure. I'd rather use mine for heated gear this time of year, and even then, it's easy to flatten the battery. If you mount aux lights, I'd suggest LEDs mounted to someplace hard, like the fork legs. There are some good brackets available for this application. Also, swapping in an HID headlight frees up some watts. They give great light (mine came with my Britannia fairing), but cut consumption by about 20 watts over stock.
I have reduced all my wattage use by either led or HID lighting and I mean everything. I also have LED spots mounted on my engine guard down low to make that majical triangle of light as large as posible for on coming vehicles a bigger visual object to see. I can run all of this and my heated vest on high and grips on low...but I'm at max voltage use according to my voltmeter, needle like. A 2" round automotive unit mounted into my Britannia Composite dash. I find that with such a gauge I can see exactly what is being used at any time. Hope this helps
Friend of mine put a small spot on each of his barkbusters. Looked cool, worked well, and could be aimed by turning the bars...
No, you only know that your neutral light doesn't come on. I wouldn't define that as a false neutral. That is where neutral is in the KLR gearbox. A false neutral is where one should not exist, i.e. between 3rd and 4th gear.
I really don't want to get in a pissing contest over it -- I put many miles on an old BMW that could find a place to rest between just about every gear. Let's call it an "undesired incursion into neutral," then. I'm pretty sure it's not my technique, as it doesn't happen on my other bikes, even on the dry-plate machine. Strangely enough, a real neutral can be difficult to obtain under the exact same conditions.
Hey guys I've been running into issues where I can't wear MX boots on my KLR. The shift lever seems super low and close to the peg in comparison to my WR450. Haven't tried adjusting the stock lever yet, but wanted input from anyone also running into this issue. Can the stock lever be adjusted up far enough that a MX boot with a regular size toe box be able to shift easily? Or am I better off finding a different shift lever? If so which one? And if I can make the adjustment how easy is it? It looks different from my other bikes...
No I have not on my '98 but just got a new XCR Vance & Hines exhaust and have decided to order the header pipe before I do have issues with mine. Your question has definitely confirmed my decision. Thanks I would like to say "thanks" to Willy's for starting this thread. It's gaining momentum fast and I'm sure before spring we will see this as one of the bigger ADV threads. It's great to have "our" community within the community. Thank you
I installed a Moose 1/2" longer shifter, and when I installed it angled it up slightly from the stock position. Works well for shifting in a standing position and with MX boots. I carry the stock as a spare just because I am paranoid about breaking it in the middle of nowhere. I also have Moose 1/2 offset Onyx Hybrid pegs which are great for standing and give some additional room for bulky boots. I only wear a size 10 boot and it was much better, can only imagine it would be better for a larger size foot as well. As far as adjusting the angle, just loosen the bolt, pull the lever off and put it back on at the different angle. You will need to match up the splines, but that is the only slightly annoying part of the process. I guess I should add that some folks have just learned to shift with the side of their boot.
My pleasure.....I too always wanted a KLR specific thread and hated always searching through many other non KLR threads just in hopes to read something that pertained to us. I think as you say, this thread will grow fast. I just hope we can keep it from becoming an arguementative thread and more of an informative thread....so far after our rocky start, it has been a joy to read and follow along with. Great posts gentlemen, and ladies, ......keep it growing strong!!!
I tried moving the shift lever up, but could not get it just right. I ended up getting some lowering brackets. The have bottomed out a few times though.
I have the same brackets, they are great! They allow your legs to drop that much lower to be moe comfortable on long rides and also allow larger boots to get under the shifter also. Now I don't off road much at all, so getting hung up isn't a real concern for me. But some do complain and rightly so about this. The brackets are angled back a bit but if you do catch them hard enough on lets say a solid rock, you could tear away your footpegs from your frame! That would be my only real concern when using these brackets when doing the off road thang!....Hope this helps....
