Thinking of buying 08 Kaw KLR650 Dual Sport, Anyone have one?

General General Discussion
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I have been jonesing for a bike for a while, and I know a Dual Sport is the hot ticket for me. I do not wish to lay over on my arms as you must on a crotch rocket, I am 37 years old… not trying to “rice around” and pick up chicks. I rode motocross bikes since 1983, last new bike purchase was 91 KX500 and I kept it until about 97 or 98. I have been with no 2 wheeled machine for over 10 years. I have still ridden my ATV’s and my Rhino… but anyways…

I never thought I could handle a street legal bike because I was always a bit of a loose cannon on two wheels. I rode fast, wrecked hard and had fun. I felt that if I put myself on a streetbike, I would be dead inside of a week.

Well, some years have passed, and god forbid… I may have matured just a smidgen! My wife would never admit to such a thing, but I feel that it has happened.

So to those out there that own and ride Dual Sport machines, what are your feelings on the dual sport (jack of all trades, master of none…)? I understand it’s not a long duration cruiser and it’s not a KX500… but can it do well enough for me to be happy driving 15 miles to work and 15 miles back and occasionally running it over the hill on my property and taking some tight single track trails and hill climbs?

I have read MANY reviews (google searched “Kawasaki KLR650 reviews”) and most are VERY favorable. A few mention poor acceleration, but I don’t think I need it to be a dragster to do what I want. Some say it needs a 6th gear, that at 65mph it is wound pretty tight in the revs. Again, I do not feel that I will taking vacations on the bike, especially seeing that I do have a wife and 3 children!

Is it a viable mild off road machine? Can it be somewhat comfortable on the interstate for the rare instance that I do choose to ride it a short ways on the open highway? Do the engines last a fair amount of time before overhaul is required? I dont want to get involved with a machine that needs an engine overhauled every year or two. I would like to have a machine that can be ridden and not wrenched on. My history with the 2-smoke race bikes was great and fun, but I did top ends on them every 3rd race. It was a never ending chore of wrenching to ride. Often spending as many hours a week wrenching as I did riding.

I suppose with newer technology and materials most all engines are lasting longer than they did 20 years ago. I just do not know how much of the modern technology has been infused into this large displacement thumper (single cylinder) engine. I appreciate any feedback from those of you that ride or wrench on these types of machines.

Am I a freaking idiot like my wife claims for wanting one?

Thank you for any input…

Larry

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I’ve not owned or ridden one, but as a former owner of an aftermarket motorcycle shop, they are pretty much a reliable,trouble free machine requiring little maintanance. Change the oil regularly, keep the airfilter cleaned and oiled, and all you will have to replace is the tires and chain. If it has a foam air filter take the extra effort in cleaning and oiling the airfilter with Maxima air filter oil. But then you probably already do that with your ATV and Rhino.

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I have an 07 KLR fun bike. I also own a ZZR1200, BMW R1200GS. The 08s are suppose to be an upgrade. Haven’t heard anything bad of the 08s. Get it and have fun. If you are in the Northeast drop me a line.

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I do like the KLR. I have a F650 GS now, but the KLR is easier to handle in off-roading than the BMW. I was thinking about getting a 08 KLR when I got the BMW, but I ride the majority of the time on road. IMO, you will enjoy it. It’s Interstate use will be based on your weight and cargo, but for short trips, not usually a problem.

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It’s Interstate use will be based on your weight and cargo

Not that the plan as of now is to do any significant interstate driving, but if so I would expect no cargo other than what I place in the BOB mounted on the rear rack and my weight is 185 lbs. I’m an average/ordinary guy, 5’9" and 185. God did bless me with the stature of a giant, thank god he was nice enough to give me ample brains and genitalia to make up for the lack of physical dominance…:smiley:

Interesting in you saying that the Kawasaki version is less highway, I thought from the google-fu research I was finding that the Kawasaki was much more geared to street bike use than off-road use. If I understand it correctly the Suzuki takes current 1st place as an off-road dual purpose bike followed by the Honda XLR thumpers. I’m not sure if Honda even makes the big one lung any longer… I honestly never considered it. I have had good experiances with Kawasaki machines across the last 30 years, so I was pre-determined to stick with what I know works unless I found major conflicting data to sway me another direction.

I would say for sure that whatever brand I get, it will see some degree of dirt. Not likely to see mud, as I won’t even take my Rhino into mud holes like I see guys do on You-Tube. I paid $12,000 for the Rhino, it better last me 10+ years! No jumps or mud for my toys. I would use it out in my own property, mainly in dry weather on some single track or ATV width trails. We do not have a level spot within 100 miles of Pittsburgh, so hills are a way of life here.

6

I just bought a Yamaha WR250R dual sport after over 15 years of not riding. I looked at all of the usual suspects like the KLX250, KLR650, XR650L, etc. After a lot of research I chose the WR250R because of its build quality, fuel injection, stock HP, and overall refinement.

I ride mostly off road and the WR250R has been a pleasure in all of the normal East Coast off-road scenarios like single track trails, logging roads, mud, and creek crossings. It really feels like a dirt bike off-road. On road, it’s fine at 65-70 MPH and gets there easily. I’m still in my break in period but I’ve been over 80 MPH and that’s plenty on what’s basically a dirt bike. I’d feel comfortable in town, on rural roads, and with limited highway use. I wouldn’t want to do any 200 mile highway trips but 20-30 miles down a rural section of interstate would be okay.

I was tempted by the 650s but common wisdom seems to be that they are more road bikes than dirt bikes. Their weight seems to hurt their off road abilities especially in tight trails or if you lay the bike over. The 650s were just too heavy in my book.

Check out the WR250R, I’m glad that I did. Also, the 09s go for around $6K but a new 08 can generally be found for $5k or bit touch more. I got a brand new 08 for $5100 OTD in Norfolk, VA about a month ago.

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I caught the dual sport motorcycle bug last summer after not having been on a motorcycle in almost 20 years.

After haunting motorcycle dealerships for several months, one of the best pieces of advice I got was to also shop for a used dual sport. One of the greatest things about the dual sport class of motorcycles is that they’re very reliable and many of them have remained relatively unchanged for several years.

There are scads of lightly used dual sports out there for less than half the cost of a new one. I’d strongly recommend checking your local craigslist before you purchase a new one.

It sounds like we had similar goals in mind. I started watching for a used DR, KLR, or XRL 650 and ended up purchasing a low mileage used Honda XR650L. My total investment is around $2K, which left me with a lot of money left in my bank account versus buying a new one.

I haven’t felt nearly as guilty when I drop it or fall over.

As others have said, the 650’s are big, tall bikes. At my size (5’10", 200lbs) I feel like I’m right at the lower limit of being able to ride it. After spending almost a year on it, I think I’m going to install a 1" lowering link so that I’m closer to flat footing it at traffic lights, etc. At the stock ride height, the balls of my feet are comfortably down, but I don’t have a lot of room for error.

I also took a short ride on a Suzuki DRZ400, which is also a nice bike, and seems to get dramatically better fuel mileage. I’d say it was very similar in size and level of power to the 650’s.

A good friend who was influential in my purchase just transitioned from a 650/ DRZ 400 size bike to a Yamaha 250 also. He’s very happy with the smaller bike for his dual sporting, as it’s more fuel efficient and much more nimble off road. Most of his (and my) riding is on secondary streets and back road cruising and the smaller bike’s are just as capable for that. I wouldn’t want to take a freeway trip on a 250, but I avoid the highway on my XRL 650 also.

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Great thread. I’m in a similar position to the original poster and David Pennington.

I’ve been out of motorcycles for a while and am thinking about getting back into them. I have no desire to have the fastest bike around. I don’t expect to spend much time with it on the interstate, and I definitely want something off-road capable.

I just started doing some research and came across the Honda CR230L. I like that it’s light and sits close to the ground. But, I don’t know much about them at all. Do you guys have any thoughts or information?

Thanks.

Joe Mamma

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I’m sorry I was comparing the off-road to on-road ability of the KLR to my F650GS. Yes, the other companies make more off-road geared bikes, but, IMO, you give up a load of on-road riding comfort and handling in comparsion to the KLR.

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Having worked on Kawi’s and BMWs and Suzukis for a couple years now (5 years) I would look at the V-strom or a used BMW F650GS Dakar or standard GS.Or if money isnt really an issue the new BMW f800GS is a sexxy “dual sport” bike. The KLR’s are nice but need a lot of work when riden the way they are intended to be riden (off road). The kick stand switch is a problem with them and has been for years. Even on the new ones they didnt get it right. The switch can stick and kill the bike, while riding. Dont get me wrong they are tanks but for the $$ there are WAY better bikes out there. Just food for thought.

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Had one and sold it. High winds, light weight and tall profile of the bike made it a sail that wanted to constantly blow me off the road. Was reliable though.

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I know that there are more dirt oriented as well as more street oriented bikes out there, but for the low cost of the KLR650 (Retails for $5300) and the current $600 rebate promotion going on at Kawasaki as well as the ability to actually take it off road for mild use… or more wild use with some upgrades… it seems like a hard bike to beat.

I am not in any way a city boy, I spend a lot of time out in my property as well as in the surrounding property. My children have ATV’s and I have a Yamaha Rhino that we ride on trails around us. Mind you, the trails are not severe, they are semi maintained by the folks that own the mineral rights and operate the oil wells scattered around this 2,000 or so acres. So when the rain tears massive ruts into the roads or the creek jumps the banks onto the roads, it gets graded and repaired. So really I think the KLR is looking more and more like a good bike for me.

With the updates applied for the 2008 model year, it seems as if Kawasaki made an already respectable dual sport even better on both the on and off road fronts. Much improved headlight system, better suspension, and more comfortable seat.

I have been looking and researching many bikes, and the more I read, the more firmly set I seem to be getting towards the KLR. I will not get the 08 I was looking at, the 08 had issues with piston ring tension that had a high occurance of oil burning from too low of ring tension. Late 08 this was fixed, but I do not want to deal with the headache of getting an 08 and finding that they need to take the bike back and do the new piston and ring upgrade to it under warranty. PITA.

Anyways, here is a picture of my property and its immediate surounding.

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Any hills? I ride a Suzuki 650 at work. The 650 gives a good balance of power and range, meaning, if you need to get onto a highway for a short trip or buzz into town and bring stuff back, the 650 has the leg for it. I like the power of the 650 engine vs a 250 or 350. The Kawasaki is a good bike for play. IMHO

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I have owned a number of dual sports, KTM, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki. I don’t know anything about the Yamaha. If you are going to ride single track trails, I would stay away from the 650’s. I would look at the Kawasaki 250 KLX dual sport. It is light, and built as a trail bike with a license plate. You want to be able to groove the trails and a 650 is just too big and heavy and not as nimble as the 250’s. You can always bump up the HP with jets and pipes. My .02.