KLR's

Thought I would start this for info resource as much as anything. I am guessing that 80% of those I have ridden with have at one point started on, owned one and or still have one.
I have rode KDX's, 81' 175 and a 97' 200....easiest to ride bikes i ever mounted.
When I found this KLR is was local so being bikeless I went to have a look. It had been neglected, sun baked, sorry rattle can paint job that was peeling and flaking, and no doubt rode hard and put up wet. I found it on a fresh post on craigs list so he had not even really got it going yet. It took some coaxing to get it going but karma was in play and once she came to life and I got her out for a spin....I was bit. He wanted 2200 I actually left at 1700 but  circled the block and came back and we settled at 1800.
First order was to get her back in shape so I have replaced and or serviced everything back stock, brakes, tires, cables, makeup, personalized it with trunk and hand guards. Loved the bike but I still felt a bit reluctant on it as it was top heavy, tall and weighs 3 1/2 times as much as I do. Every bar I stopped at I dropped it trying to park, and that was before I ever got IN the bar  20% chance I would even drop it turning around in my drive to back it in the garage. Not going down without kicking, and loving the bike when moving, I started tuning her to fit me. Work in Progress:

I found and read up on the lowering links, so was well aware of the bottoming out of the shock that I am currently looking to resolve. I dropped the front tubes 1 1/2" and the lowering links dropped the rear for a total drop of 3". It took just over 2 1/2" out of my kickstand to get it to work. Nelle was born! I now feel so much more comfortable on it and confidence has gone up and instinct "when in doubt, throttle out" has come back. Even with my buck and a quarter 5'8" frame, it feels so much like my 81' KDX but with road able.

The issue I want to address now is the shock bottoming out. As it is now it rides perfectly for me, I get little to no pogo'ing and I can transfer my weight to the rear wheel to lighten the front wheel but not get it up over obstacles (rocks, logs, water puddles) so I don't want to change the height but I need to stiffen up the rear somehow. I get a bit aggressive and when I get a bit of a launch the landing yields a big THUNK. As a mechanic I don't like hearing that.

I know there is a lot of info around, more so that I have found for adjustments for heavier riders, surely it applies since I have some extra leverage with my links despite my light load.

Scott

I have no clue how to fix your shock bottoming out.  I hadn't read about that anywhere yet. 
But I will say that KLR's are sweet!  Simple, gutless, low maintenance bikes that just keep on ticking!
Mine is up for sale now because I never ride it.  I just took it for a spin today and I see that I have put on 300 miles since I changed the oil in Nov 2015.
If it doesn't sell and I have to keep it I think I'll put some money into the suspension.

I have no clue how to fix your shock bottoming out.  I hadn't read about that anywhere yet. 
But I will say that KLR's are sweet!  Simple, gutless, low maintenance bikes that just keep on ticking!
Mine is up for sale now because I never ride it.  I just took it for a spin today and I see that I have put on 300 miles since I changed the oil in Nov 2015.
If it doesn't sell and I have to keep it I think I'll put some money into the suspension.

Hey Savage, good to cya here, seen you around the forums but don't think I rode with ya yet, that needs fixin
Planning on posting this same thing on the Adv site too, current discussion in the KLR 650 only bikes thread.

What info on your KLR you selling?

One idea is to try a lower seat and use stock or 1" drop links.  It should result in the same seat height and closer to the stock suspension geometry.  The KLR seat foam is thick enough to trim quite a bit out and still use the stock cover. 
The other way is to get a shorter rear shock.  The Progressive 465 comes in stock and 1" shorter lengths.  Rick over at Cogent Dynamics will make shorter shocks for the DR650 so he would probably do the same for the KLR.

Good info Roger and I have seen that out there. I know the options to get my feet to the ground, but it degrades my saddle and or does nothing for my CG. I have it set to ride just perfect for me and the lower Center of Gravity I can handle things I could not before due to the top heavy and weight, and me being a bean pole. It reminds me much of my 81' KDX175, twice as heavy and lazy until you put the spurs to er'.

I believe the lowering links change the suspension dynamics enough to cause excessive bottoming? At least on some bikes they do, not sure about the KLR however....

Good info Roger and I have seen that out there. I know the options to get my feet to the ground, but it degrades my saddle and or does nothing for my CG. I have it set to ride just perfect for me and the lower Center of Gravity I can handle things I could not before due to the top heavy and weight, and me being a bean pole. It reminds me much of my 81' KDX175, twice as heavy and lazy until you put the spurs to er'.

Yep.  Making it work for you is a big part of the fun.

I believe the lowering links change the suspension dynamics enough to cause excessive bottoming? At least on some bikes they do, not sure about the KLR however....

It does, actually it extends the lever in the mounting of the shock. More leverage on the shock and spring makes it easier to compress. So spring and shock upgrade is the way to fix it, just need to find how and what is out there.

Got a hit on the Adv site http://www.topgunmotorcycles.com/KLR_springs/klrsprings.html
Kinda what I have found but they should be able to do some math and see if they can make something work. One of my main concerns was how much that thunk I am hearing is my chain....

what forum would be complete without a KLR thread? Just got mine in October and while it ran great, visually it was a bit of a groaner. so i've spent the winter removing several coats of crappy paint from the plastic bits, replacing one that was to badly damaged and turning into more of a distance runner rather than a haul&ride bike. it's getting close.

Hi ya Bluebone,
I seen your post in the "Intro..." thread and meant to reply, just hadn't got to it yet. Seems that KLR's seem to find lots of 50 some year olds  and get them back into riding again.
I got mine last April, early riding season and I didn't want to take it down for paint. It also needed pretty much everything else so...I got tired of the "Barbie Doll Pink" that was coming out from under the lousy rattle can make up applied by the PO. So I taped it off good, did a bit of peeling and such and kinda used the pallet I was givin to come up with what I now have. I vowed I would take it down over this last winter but...ya well, need a bigger heater in the garage
Some seemed to have started the dual sport on a KLR and still have them, others have moved up and on, but still remember their KLR with fondness. No doubt, still the Jack of all trades, Master of none.

Lol.....seems like no matter what you do it's not easy to make a KLR look pretty. I spent many hours with nothing but shop rags and lacquer thinner scrubbing the plastidip off the plastics. Now that down to the original red in thinking I need to respray them all in a shiny black. Especially the front fender. I wonder if anyone's KLR looks the same from one year to the next.

Hey Asis,
I fixed my issue with the shocks bottoming out by doing the following:
Front shocks changed to Progressive springs and chopped my original KLR spring spacers to Progressive's recommended length.
Rear shock spring removed and Top Gun 8 kg spring put in.  Used an automotive spring compressor to get the the shock apart. Super easy.
I still have the stock bones on my bike.
Made all the difference in the world on how my bike rides!

http://www.topgunmotorcycles.com/KLR_springs/klrsprings.html

http://www.klr650.com/Progressive.htm

........... I need to respray them all in a shiny black. ........

Something to consider if you plan on painting a bike black, from an officer at the KCPD:  many stolen bikes get painted black to cover the original paint.  Police pay special attention to black bikes.

I had to go back to stock links to stop the bottoming on my KLR, but I'm pretty big - 6ft, 215lbs. I have no trouble with the height on my KLR because I'm tall enough to deal with it.

To my understanding, the issue is geometry: with shorter links, it's easier to compress the shock due to the angles. To really fix the problem, you need longer links and a shorter aftermarket shock.

However, prepare for sticker shock!!! They are $$$$$$$

As for color... I really am partial to Kawasaki green.

For those who may be wondering, these are the part numbers for the green plastics (thanks to bikebandit.com microfish!)

55028A - Cowl
35004A - Front Fender
35023A - Rear Fender
36001B - left sidecover, note model year specific '01-'04
36001E - right side cover, note model year specific '01-'04
49089A - left side radiator cover
49089C - right side resevoir cover

Total for all new plastics from bikebandit as of this post... $708.98! Yikes!