3L4NS1R
10th June 2010, 10:54
Been a while since my last adv sojourn!
I've been itching to get the KLR out on the trails, see how it fares compared to the KLX. A couple of months ago I hosted some Singaporean people through the Couchsurfing system. Turns out they are in New Zealand for a year, travelling through the country seeing New Zealand through the trail rides and back roads! (living the dream in other words).
So the long weekend was the perfect opportunity to rejoin them in Tauranga and head to the Central Plateau to check out a few trails around there, not to mention try out my helmet cam that I purchased last year, but haven't really had a chance to use yet.
I headed off from Auckland at a very late 10.30pm, theoretically to escape the long weekend traffic on the escape from the city, but in reality the late departure was because I took ages to pack and change the sprocket (klr's come standard with 15 tooth fronts..) Finally got to Tauranga by 1.30am, and crashed out at my mates place.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_0962.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_1034.jpg
We were on the road at 11 am the next day, slightly later than planned, but hey, we were on holiday! After a bit of a leisurely drive to Tongariro, we were ready to start the 42 traverse by 3.30. With only 2 hours before last light, it was a time trial of the urgent kind. I started off in exceptional style, coming to grief about 38 seconds into the trail... turns out a worn 605 front WILL have a mind of it's own in soft boggy clay...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPqoaBIxpQo
After that amazing start, I took things a bit more easy, until we got to the more fun stuff... More video and pictures to follow once I get them from Robin and edit the video from my helmet cam.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_1037.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_1051.jpg
We hit the end of the trail just as things were getting dark, and waited on the side of the road for our lift to pick us up. In the van on the way back, the heavens opened. Not a good sign for tomorrow...
The next day the rain was still coming down, only now the wind had joined in too, so instead we decided we'd go for a bit of a stroll to a water fall while we waited for the weather to sort itself out...
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_1073.jpg
4 hours later, and the rain hadn't let up. Being stuck in a backpackers with 2 bikes sitting outside in a van was too much of a torture, so me and Robin headed out in the conditions to try our luck on the other side of the mountain on the tukino skifield road, where it is slightly less prone to bogs and impromptu lakes.
We got there again with about 2 hours before last light, so we quickly got assembled, dressed, and hit the trail. This one was a four wheel drive track to a private ski field, so things were fairly easy, and fast paced. It was fun while it lasted, until we came to a locked gate, so we sighed, turned the bikes around, and sped down the mountain - just as well we did, things were almost pitch black by the time we got to the van. I was fine with the headlight, but rob on his yama was struggling to see the rocks and quickly expanding rivers.
The next day was even worse, so we slept in, then sadly packed our gear and left, feeling a bit cheated.
Of course, it wasn't until we were almost back at Tauranga that the sun came out, which did not help the cheated feeling at all!
So I reassembled the KLR (took the mirrors, pack rack, and pillion pegs off for weight and making it fit in the van easier), said my farewells, and hit the road just at dusk. Just as I left Tauranga, the rain decided it'd wash me and the bike, and persisted on it's mission until I got home.
It has been decided that the trip will be repeated once the weather stabilises a bit (mid winter is always a bit more predictable).
So now what you've all been waiting for:
How did the KLR250 perform?
Maintenence: The KLR is a hell of a lot easier to work on. The sprocket change was a breeze compared to the KLX, and general maintenance is more straight forward and logical. Less bits to go wrong, and the bits that do are simple and easy to fix. After market parts actually exist, as opposed to when I had the 09 KLX, which was too new at that time to have after market support.
On-Road Performance: With the stock 15tooth front, it cruises very easy on the motorway, holding around 6000 rpm at 100km/h. The 14tooth made it rev slightly higher at 6,500, but also meant I could accelerate in 6th gear. The suspension is nice and soft for the road, and keeps itself planted. The 12 litre tank gives me about 200kms before reserve (jealous much?). In general it feels much more road capable than the KLX. Oh, and did I mention the plush, wide, comfy seat? 2.5 hrs to Tauranga and my rear was still feeling good.
Off-Road Performance: Here it became a mixed bag. On the one hand, it has a peculiar suspension set up, with air valves on the front forks that allow you to pump air/CO2 into the suspension to harden up the shocks, helping offroad performance. The KLX didn't have this, and always felt like a compromise with too hard for the street and too soft for the trail.
The lower seat position was weird to start with, a lower center of gravity took away some of the manoeuvrability, and the wider seat and tank meant gripping with the knees was a lot harder (whilst standing, my knees were actually over the top, and it was possible to have my two knees touching...)
The tyres were a joke, and the front 605 will be replaced very shortly (had a tkc 80 on the klx that performed exceptionally well) and the vee rubber back will be gone next payday. The kick start wasn't a problem, slightly less convenient than the electric start KLX, but no show stopper.
Reliability: This is a bit of an issue. The electrics have a mind of their own. Usually they start up right away when I turn the key. Sometimes they don't start until the bike is started. Occasionally they don't go at all until about 5 minutes down the track. I'm yet to find a solid cause for this, but it seems cold/damp conditions encourage it.
Overall impression: I love this bike. It's solid, unbreakable (apart from the electrics) and best of all, cheap. It feels better than the army ones, I'm guessing because this one's been cared for by people who actually own it. The main problem I had with the KLX was that I had invested too much in it, and so was anxious every time I took it on the trail lest I binned and put a scratch on it. No such concern with the KLR, I brought it to abuse. So far it's taking it all in it's stride.
I've been itching to get the KLR out on the trails, see how it fares compared to the KLX. A couple of months ago I hosted some Singaporean people through the Couchsurfing system. Turns out they are in New Zealand for a year, travelling through the country seeing New Zealand through the trail rides and back roads! (living the dream in other words).
So the long weekend was the perfect opportunity to rejoin them in Tauranga and head to the Central Plateau to check out a few trails around there, not to mention try out my helmet cam that I purchased last year, but haven't really had a chance to use yet.
I headed off from Auckland at a very late 10.30pm, theoretically to escape the long weekend traffic on the escape from the city, but in reality the late departure was because I took ages to pack and change the sprocket (klr's come standard with 15 tooth fronts..) Finally got to Tauranga by 1.30am, and crashed out at my mates place.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_0962.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_1034.jpg
We were on the road at 11 am the next day, slightly later than planned, but hey, we were on holiday! After a bit of a leisurely drive to Tongariro, we were ready to start the 42 traverse by 3.30. With only 2 hours before last light, it was a time trial of the urgent kind. I started off in exceptional style, coming to grief about 38 seconds into the trail... turns out a worn 605 front WILL have a mind of it's own in soft boggy clay...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPqoaBIxpQo
After that amazing start, I took things a bit more easy, until we got to the more fun stuff... More video and pictures to follow once I get them from Robin and edit the video from my helmet cam.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_1037.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_1051.jpg
We hit the end of the trail just as things were getting dark, and waited on the side of the road for our lift to pick us up. In the van on the way back, the heavens opened. Not a good sign for tomorrow...
The next day the rain was still coming down, only now the wind had joined in too, so instead we decided we'd go for a bit of a stroll to a water fall while we waited for the weather to sort itself out...
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/samholliss/IMG_1073.jpg
4 hours later, and the rain hadn't let up. Being stuck in a backpackers with 2 bikes sitting outside in a van was too much of a torture, so me and Robin headed out in the conditions to try our luck on the other side of the mountain on the tukino skifield road, where it is slightly less prone to bogs and impromptu lakes.
We got there again with about 2 hours before last light, so we quickly got assembled, dressed, and hit the trail. This one was a four wheel drive track to a private ski field, so things were fairly easy, and fast paced. It was fun while it lasted, until we came to a locked gate, so we sighed, turned the bikes around, and sped down the mountain - just as well we did, things were almost pitch black by the time we got to the van. I was fine with the headlight, but rob on his yama was struggling to see the rocks and quickly expanding rivers.
The next day was even worse, so we slept in, then sadly packed our gear and left, feeling a bit cheated.
Of course, it wasn't until we were almost back at Tauranga that the sun came out, which did not help the cheated feeling at all!
So I reassembled the KLR (took the mirrors, pack rack, and pillion pegs off for weight and making it fit in the van easier), said my farewells, and hit the road just at dusk. Just as I left Tauranga, the rain decided it'd wash me and the bike, and persisted on it's mission until I got home.
It has been decided that the trip will be repeated once the weather stabilises a bit (mid winter is always a bit more predictable).
So now what you've all been waiting for:
How did the KLR250 perform?
Maintenence: The KLR is a hell of a lot easier to work on. The sprocket change was a breeze compared to the KLX, and general maintenance is more straight forward and logical. Less bits to go wrong, and the bits that do are simple and easy to fix. After market parts actually exist, as opposed to when I had the 09 KLX, which was too new at that time to have after market support.
On-Road Performance: With the stock 15tooth front, it cruises very easy on the motorway, holding around 6000 rpm at 100km/h. The 14tooth made it rev slightly higher at 6,500, but also meant I could accelerate in 6th gear. The suspension is nice and soft for the road, and keeps itself planted. The 12 litre tank gives me about 200kms before reserve (jealous much?). In general it feels much more road capable than the KLX. Oh, and did I mention the plush, wide, comfy seat? 2.5 hrs to Tauranga and my rear was still feeling good.
Off-Road Performance: Here it became a mixed bag. On the one hand, it has a peculiar suspension set up, with air valves on the front forks that allow you to pump air/CO2 into the suspension to harden up the shocks, helping offroad performance. The KLX didn't have this, and always felt like a compromise with too hard for the street and too soft for the trail.
The lower seat position was weird to start with, a lower center of gravity took away some of the manoeuvrability, and the wider seat and tank meant gripping with the knees was a lot harder (whilst standing, my knees were actually over the top, and it was possible to have my two knees touching...)
The tyres were a joke, and the front 605 will be replaced very shortly (had a tkc 80 on the klx that performed exceptionally well) and the vee rubber back will be gone next payday. The kick start wasn't a problem, slightly less convenient than the electric start KLX, but no show stopper.
Reliability: This is a bit of an issue. The electrics have a mind of their own. Usually they start up right away when I turn the key. Sometimes they don't start until the bike is started. Occasionally they don't go at all until about 5 minutes down the track. I'm yet to find a solid cause for this, but it seems cold/damp conditions encourage it.
Overall impression: I love this bike. It's solid, unbreakable (apart from the electrics) and best of all, cheap. It feels better than the army ones, I'm guessing because this one's been cared for by people who actually own it. The main problem I had with the KLX was that I had invested too much in it, and so was anxious every time I took it on the trail lest I binned and put a scratch on it. No such concern with the KLR, I brought it to abuse. So far it's taking it all in it's stride.