It’s slow, heavy, terrible off road sounds like a Volkswagen Beetle has weak brakes numbs you fingers and butt after 100 miles but I wouldn’t sell you mine.
53,000 miles on mine. One owner and the motor is completely factory and still have the doohickey in place. Regular oil changes and reset the doohickey each time. Also check and adjust my valve shims. Take care of it and it’ll take care of you.@@eduardomonteclar392
I love my 2006. I’ve done a few upgrades to it, tall windshield, seat concepts seat, doohickey, thermobob, progressive springs and cartridge emulators, jetted. You can’t beat the fun for the money. I have done lots of 500 plus mile days on the bike. I have other bikes but I’ll never let the old klr go.
Ive had my share of flats but Ive rode many miles i'm still riding my 03 KLR 650 it takes a lot of maintenance to keep any bike running ive had mine since 05 it was down since covid 2019 I just got it running again I did an E-Mike 692cc kit I ported/polished the head myself the vibration is gone with the lighter piston kit.
Nice review. Always good to hear the issues arent just mine. Have a load of fun on my Gen 2 and its very well suuted to my life in the Australian Outback. Handles lits of abuse and goes anywhere loaded up. Find my biggest issues are getting tyres and the back one wears out quick.
This is an excellent video, sir, ya did good. 71,000 is a lot of miles, indeed. I love my 06 KLR, likely keep it the rest of my life. They are what they are, but they're good motorcycles and a plethora of aftermarket parts available.
i have a 1988 klr 650 rides like a champ...besides the abuse lack of maintaniece and etc like you said....great video man i am a new subscriber to your channel
I'm in a motel right now awaiting for a sidecar to be fabricated and installed on my 99', I'm excited. I installed Progressive front springs and a Race-Tech rear shock spring, I wish I had used Race-Tech fork springs, I think it'd work better in desert conditions. thanks for video, it really is a fantastic reliable bike.
@@soaringbumnm8374 it didn't work, the original design was flimsy and the project was abandoned, what a shame, for myself it became too costly to pursue (motel bills and everything). I've got the KLR back and it's of course working perfect.
I've got an 87' Tengai and, it's brilliant , I expected to blow its brains out but it's still going 5 years later..thumping and scaring wildlife out the way as you go....
@SurvivalNomad ha ha, not many miles at all, 14k but had just 9k when I got it.. I do ride it hard though, after caning inline fours I expected to kill it within a year but my knees packed in so I was forced to have a year or two off riding..I'm back on it now though, riding with my 16 Yr old son on a ts50x I've just restored for him.. he's 16, his bike is 33 lol. It gets all the attention cos' there's only 3 on the road in the u.k. and it's bright yellow. My klr is to be restored this winter back to original red/ white. At the moment it's pure unmarked black cos that's how I wanted it... incognito lol.
Having ridden the Hayes diesel version, I can say I really liked that bike for dirt roads and light trails. It got fantastic fuel economy too. When it comes to off road, I would much rather have a Honda CRF450x. Having ridden the KLR off road, I can say the suspension definitely bottomed out easily. The KLR is great for its intended purpose though
We got them as hand me down gov stuff and then they got cycled out. I wish I had one too. I wished I hadn't of thrashed on it either. It wasn't until later that I found out they were so rare. Hayes was actually quite gracious to our bike mechanic and sent him all the old manuals and he became quite proficient with them. I found that they frequently drained the battery because of the extra accessories. That was probably my only gripe with it. It literally could get 90mpg. It was amazing
Man if only a honda africa twin didnt cost as much as a toyota corolla to get how i want it. You save a lot of money getting a klr and its lower tech arguably more simple too which has advantages but also makes me feel poor. The africa twin has cruize control. But the cheapest is like. 14k+ before you even pay sales tax or put a top box on it
my '01 is around 50k miles now, 44k of which was done by me. Doohickey breakage at 11k miles, shifter return spring breakage at 40k. One valve adjustment. it does burn oil at high rpm's and I have let it go low more than a couple of times but she keeps on chuggin.
The 27X thing is a good idea. I’d buy a sticker through you, if you get a printer to make some which fit Gen1, 2, and 3 “dashboards”. You could probably sell me a 27X t-shirt or riding jersey, too. And I’m just a poor, exploring grandpa.
With bark busters, crash bars, a skid plate, flush-mount magnetic oil drain plug, thermo-bob and doohickey upgrade, my 23 Adventure will be a tank. KLX300 for wherever the KLR won’t go.
All those mods weigh less than 6 gallons of gas in a full tank. I agree with the KLX as a better offroad choice. I'm actually looking at downsizing myself.
getin a 02 w 3500 miles new oil n all. modified w pipe jetkick doohiky and prog springs. plates n all thermobob led, green very low mile 3500 3kish im goin tomr
I see alot of these KAWASAKI KLR 650's , late 90s to early 00's models for about 3 grand. With 10k miles on them here in my area. Do you think that's a decent deal?
Depends... if they've been well cared for, good deal. Its not the mileage, its the maintenence. Fir most riders, the engine is way over engineered... which is to say it can handle alot of abuse. If the owner has maintenence records, its probably a good bike.
@@SurvivalNomadAwesome thank you. I ended up buying a Kawasaki KLX250S. It's Amazing for backroads and off-road. Not the best on highway. Still considering getting a KLR 650 in the future.
aww man, it is the first screen that actually looks right on the Gen1! Awww if you see any part numbers on there that would be awesome! Thank you brother! @@SurvivalNomad
Have you thought about putting a thermobob on your bike in the past? I constantly hear stories of folks developing oil burning issues on their KLRs but no one seems to have put a thermobob on to prevent it.
I haven't had an issue with heat so far and I attribute my oil burning to piston ring wear. I've read alot about the thermabob as a solution but the cost in time and dollars hasn't been cost effective. Thanks for watching!
I think the Suzuki dr650 is more simple less heavier and has more power, I think it is a better bike, however I do own a KLR 650 C from 2002 and I don't intend to sell it.
i had a new 06 klr . although the bike has its charms and I enjoyed my time owning it , it is far from the best bike ever. they are like owning a farm impliment. its a very crude bike. they vibrate terribly , burn oil, you have to change the doohickey, they dont regulate heat well at all, all the bolts vibrate loose, the plastics fade horribly and they are underpowed for a 650. once you graduate to a modern bike you wont go back. I went from a klr to a vstrom 650 , the vstrom was not as good off road but literally does everything else better
I also have a vstrom and love it for more on-road use. Unfortunately, it's just too big for offroad and seems to have been eclipsed by new online twins vs. The charming V twin. Thanks for the comment and view!
those gs bikes are amazing, dont knock it till you try it. handling is effortless. and there are gs out there crossing the world with double the miles of your klr while you complain about complexity.
My budget will never justify the GS.... so with my lottery winnings, I might start appreciating them. I see the euro and Harley bikes as mechanical money pits. I can buy 4 asian bikes with superior affordability that can take me around the world for less headache and repair costs ( let alone insurance and carnet costs) than the GS.
@@SurvivalNomad old 1100 gs or 1150s in good low mile condition are like 3 grand. and BMW nailed the geometry on those bikes. 1200 oil head 09-13 is a good deal too. yea harleys blow up after 50k miles. something Italian those grand valve clearance checks make it not worth it.
There are a lot of unnecessary things that have nothing to do with the title, pure clickbait. Considering the mention of the chain and caliper breaking, you are lucky to appreciate your guardian angel because each of these episodes could have been fatal.
@@SurvivalNomad I’m at a point in my life that I can afford pretty much any bike I want. I love my KLR for its simplicity and it reminds me of my 3 1/2hp mini bike my dad bought me from Western Auto back in 1970?. Over all the other much faster and also much more advanced (read more complicated) bikes I’ve owned and ridden, my KLR takes me back to my childhood and I grin every time I ride it. To say people only buy it because they cannot afford anything else may be true for some people but not everyone. To buy a “toy”, ride it for a few years and then get most if not all of your money back is a no brainer. ZERO DEBT is the place to be. The KLR is great wind therapy as well. I agree with you sir, quite possibly the best overall package of any bike ever. I greatly enjoyed your video. Blessings. Brian P.S. Not to mention it is an Excellent Bug Out Vehicle!😁
It’s slow, heavy, terrible off road sounds like a Volkswagen Beetle has weak brakes numbs you fingers and butt after 100 miles but I wouldn’t sell you mine.
Exactly! Hey, my bike is MY BIKE and it doesn't need to make sense to anyone else!
Righttttttt
53,000 miles on mine. One owner and the motor is completely factory and still have the doohickey in place. Regular oil changes and reset the doohickey each time. Also check and adjust my valve shims. Take care of it and it’ll take care of you.@@eduardomonteclar392
Love that reply Tomvana
I agree....hell it looks natural when it's dirty!
I love my 2006. I’ve done a few upgrades to it, tall windshield, seat concepts seat, doohickey, thermobob, progressive springs and cartridge emulators, jetted. You can’t beat the fun for the money. I have done lots of 500 plus mile days on the bike. I have other bikes but I’ll never let the old klr go.
Hey bud i just found your channel i just bought a 2023 klr adventure cant go wrong with a bike. Kawi has been making for over 35 years
Ive had my share of flats but Ive rode many miles i'm still riding my 03 KLR 650 it takes a lot of maintenance to keep any
bike running ive had mine since 05 it was down since covid 2019 I just got it running again I did an E-Mike 692cc kit
I ported/polished the head myself the vibration is gone with the lighter piston kit.
I've thought about the EM 685 kit as an upgrade to address the oil burning but I think I have another couple thousand miles left on the piston/rings.
Good to know... been looking at a big bore kit for mine.
Bought mine used with the 692 cc upgrade, Eagle Mike doohickey, and Watt Man Thermobob. Swapped F sprocket to 16 teeth and it is just great.
Wiser words have never been spoken..... salute!
Thank you Sir!
I too had a 1982 Yamaha Seca 550 in bright red. I now have a 2022 KLR650. Both bikes were/are great.
Nice review. Always good to hear the issues arent just mine. Have a load of fun on my Gen 2 and its very well suuted to my life in the Australian Outback. Handles lits of abuse and goes anywhere loaded up. Find my biggest issues are getting tyres and the back one wears out quick.
Great Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance additional chapter.
Thanks, and I agree with you!
one of the best KLR videos out there!!! thanks 😁
Wow, thanks!
Perfection is the enemy of good enough, and the KLR650 is good enough to do everything, even if it's not really great at any one thing.
Well said Bruce!
This is an excellent video, sir, ya did good. 71,000 is a lot of miles, indeed. I love my 06 KLR, likely keep it the rest of my life. They are what they are, but they're good motorcycles and a plethora of aftermarket parts available.
Thanks for the comment!
Really great review!
Thanks!
Thank you Sir!
Keeping it simple love it.
Dang you are KLR “O.G” owing it for over 20 years . 👍
All it takes is time!
i have a 1988 klr 650 rides like a champ...besides the abuse lack of maintaniece and etc like you said....great video man i am a new subscriber to your channel
Thanks for being part of the team!
Do yah bikes use much or any coolant ? Have to top it up much ?
mine does not leak or consume any coolant i never have to top it off @@digbypowell6208
Love mine because it’s what a motorcycle should be. Have owned many bikes to know.
I'm in a motel right now awaiting for a sidecar to be fabricated and installed on my 99', I'm excited. I installed Progressive front springs and a Race-Tech rear shock spring, I wish I had used Race-Tech fork springs, I think it'd work better in desert conditions. thanks for video, it really is a fantastic reliable bike.
What rig are you getting? I have an 03 with a dauntless enduro.
@@soaringbumnm8374 it didn't work, the original design was flimsy and the project was abandoned, what a shame, for myself it became too costly to pursue (motel bills and everything). I've got the KLR back and it's of course working perfect.
@@isaacwhull look at dmc in Texas....I think they make the Enduro now...I heard Dauntless is no longer in business.
I've got an 87' Tengai and, it's brilliant , I expected to blow its brains out but it's still going 5 years later..thumping and scaring wildlife out the way as you go....
These bikes just keep on giving! How many miles on it?
@SurvivalNomad ha ha, not many miles at all, 14k but had just 9k when I got it.. I do ride it hard though, after caning inline fours I expected to kill it within a year but my knees packed in so I was forced to have a year or two off riding..I'm back on it now though, riding with my 16 Yr old son on a ts50x I've just restored for him.. he's 16, his bike is 33 lol. It gets all the attention cos' there's only 3 on the road in the u.k. and it's bright yellow. My klr is to be restored this winter back to original red/ white. At the moment it's pure unmarked black cos that's how I wanted it... incognito lol.
Having ridden the Hayes diesel version, I can say I really liked that bike for dirt roads and light trails. It got fantastic fuel economy too. When it comes to off road, I would much rather have a Honda CRF450x. Having ridden the KLR off road, I can say the suspension definitely bottomed out easily. The KLR is great for its intended purpose though
Would love to have one of the diesel versions that the 5th group used in the desert.
We got them as hand me down gov stuff and then they got cycled out. I wish I had one too. I wished I hadn't of thrashed on it either. It wasn't until later that I found out they were so rare. Hayes was actually quite gracious to our bike mechanic and sent him all the old manuals and he became quite proficient with them. I found that they frequently drained the battery because of the extra accessories. That was probably my only gripe with it. It literally could get 90mpg. It was amazing
@@ddhh6552i feel like the klr needs to change into something mroe tha. It but then i cant thinm of a way worth doing it that doing ruin the point.
Man if only a honda africa twin didnt cost as much as a toyota corolla to get how i want it. You save a lot of money getting a klr and its lower tech arguably more simple too which has advantages but also makes me feel poor. The africa twin has cruize control. But the cheapest is like. 14k+ before you even pay sales tax or put a top box on it
Honestly I love this video it was just to good
Thank you so much for the kind words
💚 Love my KLR 💚
my '01 is around 50k miles now, 44k of which was done by me. Doohickey breakage at 11k miles, shifter return spring breakage at 40k. One valve adjustment. it does burn oil at high rpm's and I have let it go low more than a couple of times but she keeps on chuggin.
The 27X thing is a good idea. I’d buy a sticker through you, if you get a printer to make some which fit Gen1, 2, and 3 “dashboards”. You could probably sell me a 27X t-shirt or riding jersey, too. And I’m just a poor, exploring grandpa.
Congrats grandpa! I called the 27x sticker a "mod", buts its really a call to sanity. No charge and a silver marker works as well!
With bark busters, crash bars, a skid plate, flush-mount magnetic oil drain plug, thermo-bob and doohickey upgrade, my 23 Adventure will be a tank. KLX300 for wherever the KLR won’t go.
All those mods weigh less than 6 gallons of gas in a full tank. I agree with the KLX as a better offroad choice. I'm actually looking at downsizing myself.
getin a 02 w 3500 miles new oil n all. modified w pipe jetkick doohiky and prog springs. plates n all thermobob led, green very low mile 3500 3kish im goin tomr
You'll like it me thinks
getin a low mile 02 3500 mil doohickey pipe plates, led, thermobob gud tures mint
I see alot of these KAWASAKI KLR 650's , late 90s to early 00's models for about 3 grand. With 10k miles on them here in my area. Do you think that's a decent deal?
Depends... if they've been well cared for, good deal. Its not the mileage, its the maintenence. Fir most riders, the engine is way over engineered... which is to say it can handle alot of abuse. If the owner has maintenence records, its probably a good bike.
@@SurvivalNomadAwesome thank you. I ended up buying a Kawasaki KLX250S. It's Amazing for backroads and off-road. Not the best on highway. Still considering getting a KLR 650 in the future.
Thank you very much for an awesome video brother! What screen is that on your bike? Thank you.
It's a very old aftermarket screen. Company had 3 sizes and I went with the mid size. Cannot remember the manufacturer. Thanks for the comment.
aww man, it is the first screen that actually looks right on the Gen1! Awww if you see any part numbers on there that would be awesome! Thank you brother! @@SurvivalNomad
Have you thought about putting a thermobob on your bike in the past? I constantly hear stories of folks developing oil burning issues on their KLRs but no one seems to have put a thermobob on to prevent it.
I haven't had an issue with heat so far and I attribute my oil burning to piston ring wear. I've read alot about the thermabob as a solution but the cost in time and dollars hasn't been cost effective. Thanks for watching!
N A I L E D I T !
The best part of the GENIII KLR's is that they tanked the prices of the GENI and II's!
can stil go on a flattube
👍🏻🙏🏻😀
I have been all over on my 2007 KLR. Route 66 round trip, PCH-Hwy 1 and 101, California BDR. I have no desire to ride anything else.
Agree!
I love my KLR dude
I think the Suzuki dr650 is more simple less heavier and has more power, I think it is a better bike, however I do own a KLR 650 C from 2002 and I don't intend to sell it.
ktm 950 is heavy, klr is lite 340 lbs offrd
i had a new 06 klr . although the bike has its charms and I enjoyed my time owning it , it is far from the best bike ever. they are like owning a farm impliment. its a very crude bike. they vibrate terribly , burn oil, you have to change the doohickey, they dont regulate heat well at all, all the bolts vibrate loose, the plastics fade horribly and they are underpowed for a 650. once you graduate to a modern bike you wont go back. I went from a klr to a vstrom 650 , the vstrom was not as good off road but literally does everything else better
I also have a vstrom and love it for more on-road use. Unfortunately, it's just too big for offroad and seems to have been eclipsed by new online twins vs. The charming V twin. Thanks for the comment and view!
those gs bikes are amazing, dont knock it till you try it. handling is effortless. and there are gs out there crossing the world with double the miles of your klr while you complain about complexity.
My budget will never justify the GS.... so with my lottery winnings, I might start appreciating them. I see the euro and Harley bikes as mechanical money pits. I can buy 4 asian bikes with superior affordability that can take me around the world for less headache and repair costs ( let alone insurance and carnet costs) than the GS.
@@SurvivalNomad old 1100 gs or 1150s in good low mile condition are like 3 grand. and BMW nailed the geometry on those bikes. 1200 oil head 09-13 is a good deal too.
yea harleys blow up after 50k miles. something Italian those grand valve clearance checks make it not worth it.
5 gals !! Real gallons . Not US gallons . That's why you get 6 US gal in your 5 gal tank
The gen 1 is my favorite,they trashed out the gen 3 with fuel injection,so i will never buy a new one.
Thanks for commenting!
wish I never sold mine😢
The only good news is they're still available!
There are a lot of unnecessary things that have nothing to do with the title, pure clickbait.
Considering the mention of the chain and caliper breaking, you are lucky to appreciate your guardian angel because each of these episodes could have been fatal.
Thank you for your kind review.
The tank holds 22 litres or 5.8 gallons. That's it. If you put in 6.1 gal you pushed your bike to a cheating gas station.
You can lower the bike slowly to the left and reclaim some of the "lost" fuel. You can hear it still sloshing around inside.
It’s the double secret reserve. What you need after using up your standard reserve.
Seems to be some confusion over US and Imperial gallons which are bigger.@@SurvivalNomad
And blah blah blah
If you’re near broke but just gotta have 2 wheels, and you like dinosaur, top heavy, vibration….
Already sold mine.
Thanks for the comment. I must like 🦕 I can afford.
@@SurvivalNomad
I’m at a point in my life that I can afford pretty much any bike I want.
I love my KLR for its simplicity and it reminds me of my 3 1/2hp mini bike my dad bought me from Western Auto back in 1970?.
Over all the other much faster and also much more advanced (read more complicated) bikes I’ve owned and ridden, my KLR takes me back to my childhood and I grin every time I ride it.
To say people only buy it because they cannot afford anything else may be true for some people but not everyone. To buy a “toy”, ride it for a few years and then get most if not all of your money back is a no brainer.
ZERO DEBT is the place to be.
The KLR is great wind therapy as well.
I agree with you sir, quite possibly the best overall package of any bike ever.
I greatly enjoyed your video.
Blessings. Brian
P.S. Not to mention it is an Excellent Bug Out Vehicle!😁