[wreckah]

so, what do you all think about kawa tards?

are they any good? reliable? fast? heavy?

here's some...

KLX650

KLX650-R ?

 

[MrTucker]

the KLX is basically a DRZ in green clothes. at least the newer ones are, so they should be pretty solid :thumbup

 

[crashtd]

:stupid i haven't seen any kawi tards really, wonder why? :O

n2 has the kawi dirt bike of death, i wonder if he'll ever put 17" wheels on it :O

-:banana

 

[BikePilot]

Actually that's only the KLX-400.

The two pictured are KLX650's and were made long before kawasaki and suzuki got together and are 100% kawasaki

The KLX650 is a pretty solid bike, but nothing really special. It makes decent power, better than the air cooled 650's, but not as much as the LC4's, Husqvarna 610 or an uncorked XR650R.

They were never available as a 'tard from the factory (at least not in the states).

The dual sport version was quite heavy - pushing 400lbs wet and the suspension was non-adjustable.

The dirt version was lighter, but kick-start only and tended to boil over in really slow going (no cooling fan).

Aftermarket stuff is really hard to find for either bike, stock fuel tanks are super small and the bike isn't known for fuel economy.

IMHO they could make a good street tard, especially if your on a tight budget, but if there's room for an XR650R, LC4 or 610 in the budget I'd go that route

So, are they good? I'd say yes.
Fast? Compared to a DR650 or XR650L yes, compared to a SM610 no.
Heavy, yeah a bit heavy, but not really abnormal for its class.
Reliable, yep, only isuse I've heard of with them is cooling and that's mostly just the off-road only version in tight off road riding with little airflow.

have fun

 

[MrTucker]

I stand corrected! I knew the newer KLX400's were basically DRZs, but they 650's looked like the DR650 so I just assumed

 

[n2wheelies]

:stupid i haven't seen any kawi tards really, wonder why? :O

n2 has the kawi dirt bike of death, i wonder if he'll ever put 17" wheels on it :O

-:banana

do you really think that would be a good idea jensen?

im afraid it would spit anyone off that thing the first time the back end stepped out on asphault..

spindly swinger and forks... :yikes

 

[BikePilot]

Just FYI DR650's are air cooled and have a single backbone frame, KXL650's are liqued cooled and have a traditional kawasaki premiter frame

 

[wreckah]

aah, thanks for the info guys,

they're really cheap over here, and most of them already in 'tard modus i'm thinking winter ratbike, summer funbike :devious

 

[wreckah]

i've mailed a seller about his KLX650...

1800 EUR, and there's some crosswheels included

dammit, temptation! :banghead :laugh
gotta sell some more TLS parts first! :rotfl

 

[BikePilot]

Looks cool:thumbup The fuel tank looks different than on any of the US models, hopefully bigger

I just pulled out an old copy of dirt rider where they tested a '96 KLX650 (off road only us model) by riding a stock one in the colorado 500 (500 mile trail ride). Overall the test was very complementery. They said the suspension was improved over the '93 model and it never overheated as the earlier one did. It was perfectly reliable and they said the chassis very composed even when pushed hard:thumbup

 

[wreckah]

i have read the same things about it :thumbup i will need a KLX-C, and not a KLR or KLX-R (i'd like an electric starter)

compared to a DR650 and XR650L from those years it was slightly better so it seemed, even though it's a bit heavier due to the electric starter and watercooling. Very composed offroad, and very stable highway. me likes :yes (and easy wheelies too :devious )

 

[BikePilot]

Yep, I think that about summs it up:thumbup

 

[PutteLiten]

Wrecha, why a Kwack??
besides it sounds cool with Team Green :laugh


The front breakes needs an upgrade on the last one. Imho.

 

[wreckah]

yup :yes

i went to check out the bike above here yesterday, and i couldn't help myself and bought it...it's only money right? :laugh

front brake needs work yes, no electric starter, no dash, but i do get the offroad wheels with sparkling new knobbies on them

needs a little TLC, but i'm cool with that, gonna look for a manual somewhere now.

only problem is, that the fuggin' coppers pulled me over for having no worky rear light :banghead (i was aware of that),
i did maybe 200 metres testride, and just when i stopped at the seller's place again, there were them awful blue oyster lights...no explanation needed, i was booked right away! that's going to be 150 EUR or so :banghead

putte: why a kwak? because they're so cheap over here. I will tell you in a few months why they're so cheap probably :laugh

got me a winterbike! :banana

 

[BikePilot]

Sweet:thumbup

Enjoy the bike, should be great fun.

Baja designs does a nice LED tail light/plate holder($45 IIRC). I have one on my CR250. Its not super bright, but not bad. Very light and compact, has brake and tag lights built in. I used a hydro pressure switch for the brake lights and that worked out great.

The earlier KLX's had smaller rads (and no cooling fans) as compared to the later ones and tended to boil over at times (probably not a problem in the winter in Belgium:lol).

An oversized rotor works wonders for braking.

have fun :banana

 

[wreckah]

hey josh, thanks for the info! i was already looking for a licenseplate holder

the coppers gave us a hard time about the license plate location yesterday too...

so, it's a 1997 KLX650R to be exact. it has fat bars on higher bar holders and acerbis protectors. it is very tall! :scared suspension felt great, and the front has brand new fork seals. It has a DAM exhaust (belgian i think) and sounds good, not TOO loud I got the stock offroadwheels with spacers in the deal, with sparkling brand new knobbies on them.


i am gonna make it a tiny bit more streetlegal: i am going to mount an indicator system. I have a complete set of indicators plus turn signal relay lying around from my TLS, and i will fab up something with that, maybe add a horn too, god knows how many i have in the garage :laugh and i also will put a small bar-end mirror on.

i don't know about brake lights yet, as the rear light didn't work yesterday, but if it doesn't work, i'll add a pressure switch :thumbup

other than that, it's going to stay pretty much the same, maybe i will upgrade the front brake, but i wan't to know if i can manage with the small disc first.

oh, yeah, i'll mount a tiny bicycle speedo too

pics will follow next week, as i haven't taken the bike home yet.

cheers, jan

 

[BikePilot]

Sounds like a great plan:thumbup

Trailtech makes a spiffy bicycle style spedo for motorcycles. Basically its just a big bicycle spedo but with motorcycle specific mounting. I think they call it the Endurance. Its pretty popular for dual sport conversion around here. I haven't used one yet though. Kinda pricey for what it is I think
http://trailtech.net/store/501-20.html


Be sure to make use of those knobbies too:devious

 

[PutteLiten]

Did the police complain about haveing the plate above the fender??
Damn, our cops would be happy if we placed our there. Visible and will never get dirty...
Up here we tend to put them inside... :laugh
sometimes we dont even get a ticket for it...

Mine is pure legal though. The only thing Im pretty sure I would get ticked for is the STOCK (ok, so it's the HRC race ssytem...) exhaust. It's damn high! Even when I have earplugs. Riding wihtout is not really an option...

A problem with that small disc is that it might overheat if you push it.
Should work OK for street though

There are pnumatic break swithces, not to expensive. I have on on my XR for the Magura break lever.

Lunch, have to go....

 

[wreckah]

can't wait to start cleaning this bike up :devious and riding the tits off it of course :laugh

gonna practice my kickstarting too, don't want to be kicking it 100 times and sweating like a pig in front of the lovely ladies at my office :rotfl

i think this bike would be great for another adventure too :devious

 

[PutteLiten]

Heh.

The first week it usually took me about 15-30 minutes to start my XR...
Second week I started to understand what made it start, and what didnt.
Nowadays I can start the XR from cold with one or two kicks. Even after standing still for weeks.
Kick starting a 4 stroke thumper is pure technique, using weight is only a substitute for poor technique. You know me, Im not a heavy weigth.

About kickstarting a 4 stroke thumper.
I don't know about the Kawi.
But my Honda is extremly picky with the choke. And how it' to be put is dependent on
1.) cold or hot engine
2.) air temperature

Cold engine with temperature lower than 18 C. Full choke. (IMPORTANT - if it doesnt start on the second try, then half choke, or I can kick untill Im blue faced...)
Cole engine with hig air temp. Half choke

Warm engine, been running the last 5-10 minutes. No choke
Warm engine, but been of more than 15 minutes. usually (...) half choke.

And, there is a "pre-start" procedure as well.... (this is how I do it, there is most likley another pre-start procedure on the Kawi)
Cold engine:
Before making the "start kick", pull the de-comp, kick 2-3 times fast to put some gas into the "system".
Find the high com, de-compe and go past it 2-3 cm.
Kick WITOUTH touching the throttle.
On pure feeling, you will know when to give throttle... Before you know your lady, that means, you dont...
Once started, I have to be resonably fast to turn choke to off.
ready to go.

Warm engine doesn't need a pre-start procedure.


Tip: stand on the foot pegs and use the bike stand when the bike is started cold. Good thing for normal sized people on high motards...

And aobut bicycle speedos. make sure it can measure more than 150km/h. Not all bicycle speedos do that.

Dont forget to give us a ride report on it