Matt's New Toy!

[mdmead]

The tires on my KLR were toast when I bought it. A reminder:




I ordered new (but right-priced) Shinkos late last summer with plans to install them over the winter. That didn't happen. But I did get it done today. I haven't changed bike tires in 25+ years, but I did find my motorcycle tire irons and completed the job without pinching a tube!




The weather has been pretty nice and I'm starting to have some guilt-free time to play... Now it's time to RIDE!

[doyoulikeithere]

Ahhhhhh

[doyoulikeithere]

Oh
Ya.

[doyoulikeithere]

[mdmead]

Nice!

I took my bike with me on my last trip to our cabin at Tollgate, but only took one ride. One section was a little too technical for a big KLR, but both the bike and I survived. No pics as it was getting dark. I've been on a family vacation for the past couple of weeks and will be home in a couple of days... and then the girls are going to Grandma's in CA, meaning I should be able to squeeze in a few guilt-free mountain rides! Will have pics then!

[doyoulikeithere]

I'm lookin forward to you pics Matt !!
My poor old vans have not been getting any attention.
Might even end up selling the GT. It hasn't been driven in a few years now.
On the other hand, I may need a new KLR next year with all the mileage I'm racking up on them !! Way over 25000 kilometers a year easy.
The 4x4 is only plated occasionally, and I only seem to drive the awd to the grocery store or to the park with my dog on the weekends.

[doyoulikeithere]

Oh Ya.
Has your bike had the doohickey fixed?
Those 96-07 KLRs are a timebomb if that hasnt been fixed yet.
If its not done, you should do it it sooner rather than later.

[mdmead]

I'm aware of the doohickey issue, but haven't yet fixed it. It is near the top of my list of projects.

[doyoulikeithere]

I have done 3 of them now. Its real easy, takes me about 2 to 3 hours depending on the cold-ness of the beers.
my 96, the doo was busted and a big chunks was in the oil pan.
My 06, the doo was ok, but the spring was broken and a peice of it was in the oil pan.
Buddies 08, the doo and spring were both just fine, changed them out anyways... Pic above...

The Gen 1 are notorious for breaking. The Gen 2 (08 to now) seem to be fine.

Good luck Matt. See if you can borrow the tools locally. KLR folks seem to be pretty good people, just like Astro folks are.

[Wiley]

Damn you people, my top end has been on the kitchen counter for a couple weeks now.....great pics though.

[doyoulikeithere]

Damn you people, my top end has been on the kitchen counter for a couple weeks now.....great pics though.

what? are you re-shimming your valves or something? I still need to do that too.

[mdmead]

I'm not sure why I've had so much trouble getting out and riding this summer, but up to this point, I had only ridden once at our cabin in OR, and it was a fairly short (although a bit technical at times) ride. Yesterday the stars aligned and I managed a multi-hour ride in the Cascades just west of where I live in S. Central WA.

The terrain and landscape ranged from scrub with lots of rock to lots of trees and either smooth forest roads or more rock. (We have a lot of rock in this area!)

The wildfires raging in many parts of the state had some effect on the views, but they still weren't half bad!

Cool looking tree spotted early in the ride. Wind does a number on anything growing around here.







Red ants nest! Little bastards!







Looking off towards Yakima; the smoke from the fires is obscuring the views.



Mt. Rainier off in the background.







Lunch stop down along the Naches River. The yellow jackets were fierce! Been a really bad year for them around here.











From the top of Little Bald looking off towards Mt. Rainier. I've posted winter/snowmobiling pics from here before.







Looking out over the William O. Douglas Wilderness Area.









Warming shelter. Has a new metal roof; used to be pretty wet on the inside with a fire in the woodstove and a snowload on the roof!



Last pic before I had to boogie home on Highway 410.

[astrozam]

You are living in paradise Matt, hope you get to get out and enjoy it more, heard the fires have been tough out on the west coast, hope you get some rain.

[doyoulikeithere]

Wicked Pictures Matt !!
How fast do you ride on the highway?
I put super low gears on my bike by running a 14 47 sprocket combo with a 108 link chain. I love it !!
I can ride up anything with those low gears and I always thought that people always have trouble with klr in the bush because first gear isnt really low enough.
My bike goes anywhere now, And on the highway, I can still hit at least 140 kilometers per hour according to the KLR speedo, but I get her worked up to 6500 rpms to do that. I commute everyday on the highway and usually wind her up pretty good. round trip 60 kilometers as fast as I can usually
Steep is invisible to video...

https://video-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvide ... e=55DEAA67

[mdmead]

How fast do you ride on the highway?

When I replaced the chain and sprockets, I dropped one tooth on the front. I was debating on going bigger on the back too, but didn't. I'm not really sure what the answer is for me. It's certainly not geared as low as I'd like, but I don't want to give up any more on-road cruising either. My goal is to stay off of the 55+ mph roads, but I always seem to need to use them to get home. Hwy 410 mentioned above is posted at 55 mph, becoming 60 mph as you get closer to civilization and I was running the speed limit. (I need to compare my GPS speed to the speedo; before the new tires it was a solid 10 mph slow!) This KLR is certainly like a tractor and will lug way down in 1st without stalling; that helps!