klr protection

[Woodman]

anyone got their klrs kitted out with rad gaurds etc, or are they a waste of time.

[marks]

anyone got their klrs kitted out with rad gaurds etc, or are they a waste of time.

The radiator on my 08 is so pathetically exposed I wouldn't want to ride it off road without the very solid sw motech engine bars I put on a couple of weeks ago.

[RedKLR650]

anyone got their klrs kitted out with rad gaurds etc, or are they a waste of time.

I'm about to kit mine out after the wee off 2 weeks ago

If you go down on the left side, the radiator gets pushed sideways and compressed a bit ( experience has taught me this :-)

Cheers, Stu

[Padmei]

they pay for themselves every time I go out:whistle:

I got mine from Motorrad garage Aussie for about $450 landed. Anyone get a better deal from anywhere else?

[Crisis management]

or are they a waste of time.

Not a KLR owner, (yes, there are people that don't own one of these mechanical delights) but any bike with stuff that can be damaged needs protection, spend the money now and then the scuffs look like honourable scars rather than disabling breakages.

[pete376403]

I haven't got bars on mine and the (minor) off I had on the left side did no damage apart from a few scratches. The rad is not rigidly mounted so there's a bit of latitude.
(I know god will now strike me down and absolutley FLATTEN the rad into a small ally cube next time I'm out)

(my opinion follows - it's worth as much as you paid for it) The side protection bars I've seen on KLRs tend to be quite long and their mounting points are so far away from the rad that they would bend, pretty much negating the purpose.

When 200kgs of rampaging KLR decides to go down there's not much that is going to save it.

[NordieBoy]

When 200kgs of rampaging KLR decides to go down there's not much that is going to save it.

That's what God gave you legs for.

But wear knee-braces before trying this.

[pete376403]

Sorry, have already got buggered knee (RHS) bends almost as far sideways as backwards.
When that bike goes over I don't try to save it, just concentrate on not getting stuck underneath

[Howie]

I haven't got any on mine, although it would be nice to have something for Radiator protection, but most of the ones I have seen pictures of don't look very strong from engineering point of view.

[NordieBoy]

Sorry, have already got buggered knee (RHS) bends almost as far sideways as backwards.
When that bike goes over I don't try to save it, just concentrate on not getting stuck underneath

Don't try and save it.
Just leave the leg underneath as a crash-pad.

[Padmei]

I can testify that the bars are very strong & with the many drops so far the only damage is a few scratches. I have been in positions where I have had to drag the bike sideways over rocky ground to get it up or slide across big tree trunks & you won't be able to tell. The bar ends also do a great job however the indicators are in a very vulnerable position

I would like to see anyone try to stop a KLR with a full tank from going over. It is over in a flash & not much use rooting your body trying to stop it.

[marks]

I would like to see anyone try to stop a KLR with a full tank from going over. It is over in a flash & not much use rooting your body trying to stop it.

when one of these whales starts to tip anyone with any sense abandons ship

[Woodman]

when one of these whales starts to tip anyone with any sense abandons ship
All good advice, can I get them locally eg Nz or do I have to go online. Bloody gorse has started ripping the decals off the radiator gaurds today and the sub frame bolts came loose. Got in a sticky situation up a mountain bike track near Ben nevis, all good fun.

[RedKLR650]

All good advice, can I get them locally eg Nz or do I have to go online. Bloody gorse has started ripping the decals off the radiator gaurds today and the sub frame bolts came loose. Got in a sticky situation up a mountain bike track near Ben nevis, all good fun.

I'm in the process of looking at different options from bringing in the proper ones from the states at the moment :eek:( don't think I could make them as neat for the cost they are selling for ) , so if anyone else with a pre 2007 KLR is interested let me know and when I find the best deal, we'll see if we can negotiate a bit on freight for a bulk deal.:chase: I have a few KLR aftermarket places I deal with a bit so should be easy enough:niceone:

Cheers, Stu:devil2:
0274 342 372

[Padmei]

Hey Woodman welcome to the site. We have a few trips going every now & then, you'll have to drag the KLR out with us.

Did you buy Quasi's bike?

[Woodman]

keep me posted. ride sounds great, am free most weekends etc, dunno if I got Quasis bike or not, actually not sure who Quasi is.:doh: but the previous owner seemed to look after it as there wasn,t a scratch on it.(there are a few now).:doh:

[pete376403]

keep me posted. ride sounds great, am free most weekends etc, dunno if I got Quasis bike or not, actually not sure who Quasi is.:doh: but the previous owner seemed to look after it as there wasn,t a scratch on it.(there are a few now).:doh:
If you've got an '05 KLR then you haven't got Quasis (he of Quasimoto riding apparel) bike - he had an '08

[Padmei]

Ah I should read the details more clearererly...

[Woodman]

Gotit locally, still don,t know about gaurds etc, i might change my mind if I bend something, but have come off twice and only damage so far is when me boot caught the radiator shroud and ripped it off.

[kiwiklr]

I got my guards made up by a local engineer off a design i pilfered off the net($200) and since then have had two low speed offs on gravel roads/tracks that would have caused at best a lot more cosmetic damage and at worst clocked the water pump... money well spent as is the ventura light guard... What made me decide to get them (and ascerbis hand guards) was the bike falling over while I shut a gate on the meyer pass and a rock missing the engine case by bugger all! the clamp on the clutch lever was broken but the miracle of cable ties got me home...Check the photo out below, you can see where my rad cowl got torn off and rear indicator got busted but thats about it.. luckily, i met an old block who had some cable ties to put the shroud back til i got home. I had given the last of mine to a guy a while ago with a F650 whose rack had broken. There should be a special place in heavan for the bloke who invented them and the bloke who invented duct tape as well..

[Woodman]

I got my guards made up by a local engineer off a design i pilfered off the net and since then have had two low speed offs on gravel roads/tracks that would have caused at best a lot more cosmetic damage and at worst clocked the water pump... money well spent as is the ventura light guard... What made me decide to get them (and ascerbis hand guards) was the bike falling over while I shut a gate on the meyer pass and a rock missing the engine case by bugger all! the clamp on the clucth lever was broken but the miracle of cable ties got me home...

Ordered a bash plate and some radiator guards and a rear m/cyl guard off the net last night after inspection revealed a big-ish impact mark on l/h case, and the plastic bash guard won,t last much longer going by the damage already inflicted on it. KLR's don't have a lot of ground clearance do they?

[RedKLR650]

.......... What made me decide to get them (and ascerbis hand guards) was the bike falling over while I shut a gate on the meyer pass and a rock missing the engine case by bugger all!

Funnily enough, the first time my KLR fell over was also when parked at a gate in Meyers Pass when the bike was about a month old :baby:

Stu

[Woodman]

Funnily enough, the first time my KLR fell over was also when parked at a gate in Meyers Pass when the bike was about a month old :baby:

Stu

Note to self: Stay on KLR and let someone else open gate if ever at Meyers pass.

[Moki]

anyone got their klrs kitted out with rad gaurds etc, or are they a waste of time.


Complete, utter waste of time and money...until the bike gets dumped on the left side. If the rad gets munched you would likely still be able to make it home as long as you're moving at a good clip to provide cooling. However, if the mashed rad does not continue to hold it's contents-it's curtains.:eek5:

[Woodman]

Complete, utter waste of time and money...until the bike gets dumped on the left side. If the rad gets munched you would likely still be able to make it home as long as you're moving at a good clip to provide cooling. However, if the mashed rad does not continue to hold it's contents-it's curtains.:eek5:

So as long as I don't fall off it will be ok??

After much thought I have decided that I will no longer allow myself to fall off.

[NordieBoy]

So as long as I don't fall off it will be ok??

After much thought I have decided that I will no longer allow myself to fall off.

Works for me :D