Anyone have any suggestions for cutting the rear fender? I know... A Dremel and a steady hand. I've just been looking at it for about an hour and I finally know where I want to cut it at. Now I just need to know how to.
Dremel and a steady hand, for the flat sections, but I use a fine-toothed hacksaw blade when the lines go around a corner. I use just the blade and wrap a rag around it for my hand. Go slow and keep the blade straight in either case. Use a rasp to even things up, then scrape the edge with a knife to remove the burrs. Then use 600 wet or dry paper to clean up the edge. Resist the temptation to radius the edge too much, you usually get a better-looking result by just slightly knocking off the edges and polishing with wet 600.
I couldnt stand the rear fender or the fairing so I decided to do a little trimming. I think it is a huge improvement. Now I have to do something about those signals.
Nice job, KiLeR06. I trimmed my rear inner fender and mounted my plate the same. I replaced my turnsignals with some pretty cheap ones from Lockhart Phillips. I put flushmounts in the rear on the side of the fender inboard of the luggage rack. And I put dark shorties up front. I realize these are a lot less visible in use and ride accordingly.
That fairing looks great, 06. Ain't it cool when such radical surgery comes out looking so good? I gotta big pile of plastic from when it hasn't. I bet even the stock signals would look great on there if you shortened them. What's in the box behind your fairing? AKduc's pic's make me wanna put on my new-fer-Xmas (thanks, Gina!) heated gloves (and I'm not even riding, just sitting in my computer chair trying to get up the cajones to go out in the garage).<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_3809705", true); </SCRIPT>
The rear fender and light look very nice. The front fairing sounds like a good upgrade. Do you have any photos, suggestions or hints for this upgrade?
We can let this thread die! after reading this thread for the first time in December I've applied many of the ideas discussed here to include - -removed the coolant resivoir & relocated horn -removed all plastic, ordered KTM front fender, working on rear fender -removed front fairing and all brackets, installed single Hella 500 driving light W/ H4 bulb conversion -removed all safety switches/relays -removed OEM skidplate -removed passenger footpegs -removed chainguard & countersprocket guard -removed all instruments/guages + speedo cable, someone also mentioned eliminating the Speedo mechanism on the front hub with a spacer, I'll have to look into that some more. - gutted the steering lock mechanism from under the ignition switch -removed the rear brake fluid resivoir guard -I may fully remove the rear rack since I usually use a backpack for commuting, although it is a useful handle when reverticalization is required. -I will get to grinding off all unused brackets in the near future! Can't wait to weigh it all when it's done. more $0.00 suggestions accepted! Regards, Jethro
Had a brief (2-plus flippin years, total) hiatus, courtesy of the State of California Workmen's Compensation Fund and Institute for Blind Surgeons. But I'm not BITTER. Anyway, the bike now has 28,000 miles on it, a couple of trips each to Moab and Baja, an attempted IBR 1,500 miler (in November, too soon after surgery. I'm a genius) still looks and runs damned good. The ORIGINAL O.E.M clutch is finally showing signs of wear and that lovely O.D. Green plastic has faded slightly. All the mods done in this tired old thread are still in place. In the next month or so the bike will get new wheel bearings, cables, clutch and normal maintenence items, then a set of USD forks, digital instruments and a modified KLR600 subframe, seat, and rear fender with reworked, lighter weight luggage racks to match. Good to be riding again.
Those who "eqivilate" ought not throw stones. Or try to ride fast. Takes them longer to read stop signs.
Hey didn't you hear about the KLR Speed Nationals to be held at various locations during 2009? The event pays 1M to win the overall. The overall consists of average speed of two 5 miles passes, best of three 1,000 foot passes at a drag strip, points (10, 9, 8,...) for flat track races, points for a series of three enduro's, and time (fastest) for the Silver State Classic Challenge. All will be calculated and totalled with the winner takes all. This event is sponsored by an unknowned (green) motorcycle company that will remain anonomous.
The aluminum 600 subframe weighs 4 pounds, for those of you who PM'ed me on the subject. Attachment points are the same as a 650, but the bottoms of the lower supports will need to be milled down to fit into the sandwiched 650 brackets. Other than that, it's pretty much a bolt-on deal. The airbox is physically smaller, so get the airbox with your subframe. The 650 box wont fit, no matter how long you stare at it. It uses a flat filter, and the carb boot is longer. The battery box is the same. There are no passenger peg mounts as they were on the main frame of the 600. You'll need to fab a new rear tank mount, which will allow you to use a 650 seat. The sub is much shorter than the 650 and the support angle is a lot less extreme. Should be plenty strong.