Anyone had a radar detector on a klr?

[kiwiklr]

Has anyone ever run a detector on a KLR, is there any problems with vibration? How robust are the current crop of radar detectors?

[bully]

watch out for the bell sti, while the best you can get, i think, i had three fail, maybe the heat, maybe the vibes, who knows.
oh yer that was on a sports bike.

[Bass]

The definition of a pessimist is someone who puts All Bran on their prunes.

The definition of an optimist is someone who puts a detector on a KLR :laugh: :lol:

:chase:

[CrazyFrog]

Radar detector on a KLR....snigger...:laugh:
In all fairness, I don't blame you for wanting one, all my (recent) tickets have been for between 110-120kmph, just bullshit really, nuisance value but them demerit points add up.
You'll find the gravel dust and vibration is what kills the detector, they can handle a fair bit of heat. Oh, and don't forget the rain cover, they don't like moisture much.
Mine got pinched :crybaby:, I didin't bother replacing it after I sold my Duke as I'm mainly riding gravel these days, the cops are few and far between. Except for on West Bank Rd during the Dusty Butt after the boys had rarked up the locals by hooning on their patch....

[Tony W]

I have made a mount for my Valentine 1, on my DRZ 400.
It's not that I often exceed 110kmh, but that I usually can exceed the allowable in 50kmh and 70kmh areas.
I would not leave it mounted when off the tarmac though. The vibes would probably be too much.

[kiwiklr]

Radar detector on a KLR....snigger...:laugh:


Oh yee of little faith! my killer will sit on 130 all day and has embarassed many a harley and road bike on the whoop di doos... i usually like to sit round the 120 mark and while i did about 3500k's over xmas with out a ticket ( Under budget of once) its a pain in the arse having to worry about the revenue men....

I have been looking at the waterproof ones advertised in the bike mags from radar direct...

[pete376403]

If you put the detector in a box with suitable insulation/padding it should be ok.
And yes KLRs will go plenty fast enough to leave you walking if you get pinged.

On the '08 model there is a nice detector-sized recess in the space above the headlight, behind the screen.

[kiwifruit]

130 all day

130 INDICATED :dodge:

[nigelp]

I have a ram mount for my XF650 dual sport bike. Mount holds everything firm and true even in the rough stuff. I have the dust cover for it also and the good thing about the ram mount is that it has a magnetic base on it.

My 2cents anyway.

[RedKLR650]

130 INDICATED :dodge:

That a KLR can easily exceed 130, as I had a wee 3 month demerit point walk last year :Oops:, mainly due to the 137kmph clocked at by Mr Plod when I foolishly thought :crybaby:there was only me and a sheep truck coming the other way on a long straight in the middle of nowhere between Kurow and Omarama. Sadly there was a ECILOP 4WD tucked nicely in behind the sheep truck :eek5: , and to be fair, everything considered, I was very grateful :innocent: that he only put me down as doing 137 :scooter:

When he asked me where I was headed, I told him Makorora, at which point he informed me that I was very lucky as it was a LLOOOONGGGGG way to walk to Makorora, and then wished me well on my journey.

He was only doing his job, so no bad feelings, but that day a Radar Detector would have let nme know long before I saw him

Happy Trails...... Stu :scooter:

[shards]

The KLR that Marks bought from me has seen 165 (indicated) with the stage 2 dynojet and open pipe. And for those who snigger, the speedo was calibrated via a friends GPS to only be 2% over. And that was achieved on a road way less than 2k long.

[marks]

I rode my green 08 with a standard pipe and snorkel back in the airbox today. It wouldn't reach a 165km/hr if you dropped it from a 2km height.

Its like someone cut its nads off - its still pleasant to ride in a wheelchair kind of way but a pipe and airbox mods certainly make a difference (perceived or real - who cares:woohoo:).

Once the greeny has its rings done and I've finished putting my extras on the 09 we'll have a few impromptu drags.:scooter:

[Bass]

Oh yee of little faith! my killer will sit on 130 all day ...


That a KLR can easily exceed 130, as I had a wee 3 month demerit point walk last year
:


The KLR that Marks bought from me has seen 165 (indicated) with the stage 2 dynojet and open pipe.

Bottom trolling works really well, eh?

[pete376403]

Hey Mark, if Shards put a 685 piston into the 09, what became of the standard piston? That would be a good fit into the greenie.

[marks]

Hey Mark, if Shards put a 685 piston into the 09, what became of the standard piston? That would be a good fit into the greenie.

The 09 piston is sitting on my desk.
If motorads repair doesn't fix it the 09 piston hopefully will.

Bike went in today - should be back Wednesday(ish).

[Oscar]

Radar d


...killer will sit on 130 all day...

Yeah, I had a speedo like that once....

[kiwiklr]

Bottom trolling works really well, eh?

Sounds like something you Auckland boys get up to in your glad wrap shorts, none of that down here in the south..are you suffering from KLR envy? It happens a lot when a KLR flys by some one and disappears off into the distance and an hour so later they see the KLR rider with a big grin on his face haveing a cuppa...

[Bass]

Sounds like something you Auckland boys get up to in your glad wrap shorts, none of that down here in the south..are you suffering from KLR envy? It happens a lot when a KLR flys by some one and disappears behind into the distance and an hour so later they see the KLR rider with a big grin on his face haveing a cuppa...

Fixed!

Mate, Invercargill is my home town, so I know southern B/S when I hear it.
Did about 18,000 km in outback Oz last year and only saw one KLR. The guy aboard it was complaining about falling off lots, at the slightest hint of moisture. Maybe that's why you prefer a cuppa while the rest of us are out riding, eh?



Aw shit..... I really shouldn't troll like that. It's just too easy..... something about fish, barrels and firearms comes to mind.

Sorry mate. I'll try and behave in future.

[marks]

Fixed!

Mate, Invercargill is my home town, so I know southern B/S when I hear it.
Did about 18,000 km in outback Oz last year and only saw one KLR. The guy aboard it was complaining about falling off lots, at the slightest hint of moisture. Maybe that's why you prefer a cuppa while the rest of us are out riding, eh?
Aw shit..... I really shouldn't troll like that. It's just too easy..... something about fish, barrels and firearms comes to mind.

I wonder, with similar preparation, if the KLR would be a little happier than the DR with your 50kg luggage strapped to its back.

The KLR seems like a slightly longer and definitely heavier bike with (I believe) a more front end weight bias - all things that I would have thought would make it a big more settled with the big piles of crap you and Jamie had strapped to the back.


Sorry mate. I'll try and behave in future.
umm yeah sure .... we really believe you....:oi-grr:

[Bass]

I wonder, with similar preparation, if the KLR would be a little happier than the DR with your 50kg luggage strapped to its back.

The KLR seems like a slightly longer and definitely heavier bike with (I believe) a more front end weight bias - all things that I would have thought would make it a big more settled with the big piles of crap you and Jamie had strapped to the back. :

Dunno, maybe. Would have thought that the forward bias would be a disadvantage in deep sand etc however. Steering damper may be next.
Anyway, it was the total weight that swung the decision finally. Figured that I would be picking it up fairly often. As it turned out, not nearly as often as I first thought.
Jamie recently did the top of the S.I. on his farkled DR with 2 mates, one on a KLR and one on a standard DR. He wound up riding all 3 machines out of one particular obstacle and had nothing complementary to say about either of the other 2, especially the KLR.
However, it was more than a little knarly and the concensus in here (as I read it anyway) is that the Kwaka is aimed a bit more at the road than the trail - so horses for courses I guess



umm yeah sure .... we really believe you....:oi-grr:

More B/S, eh? Behaving's no fun anyway - on that I'm sure we can agree

[marks]

Jamie recently did the top of the S.I. on his farkled DR with 2 mates, one on a KLR and one on a standard DR. He wound up riding all 3 machines out of one particular obstacle and had nothing complementary to say about either of the other 2, especially the KLR.
However, it was more than a little knarly and the concensus in here (as I read it anyway) is that the Kwaka is aimed a bit more at the road than the trail - so horses for courses I guess

comparing a well farkled anything to an unfarkled anything is a bit unfair. A few simple mods can make a massive difference to DR/KLR's etc.

you are right that the klr is more road biased - which is why I like it.

[Oscar]

I wonder, with similar preparation, if the KLR would be a little happier than the DR with your 50kg luggage strapped to its back.

The KLR seems like a slightly longer and definitely heavier bike with (I believe) a more front end weight bias - all things that I would have thought would make it a big more settled with the big piles of crap you and Jamie had strapped to the back.


umm yeah sure .... we really believe you....:oi-grr:

Hmmm....KLR v. DR............:girlfight:








































































Cripple Fight!!!!:bleh::bleh::bleh::bleh:

[Padmei]

Fixed!

Mate, Invercargill is my home town, so I know southern B/S when I hear it.
Did about 18,000 km in outback Oz last year and only saw one KLR. The guy aboard it was complaining about falling off lots, at the slightest hint of moisture. Maybe that's why you prefer a cuppa while the rest of us are out riding, eh?



Aw shit..... I really shouldn't troll like that. It's just too easy..... something about fish, barrels and firearms comes to mind.

Sorry mate. I'll try and behave in future.


Out of interest what were the most popular bikes ou saw over there. Reading the TBAM it seems everything is either vstroms or KTMs over there.

[warewolf]

Behaving's no fun anyway - on that I'm sure we can agreeIf you can't be good, UPLOAD PHOTOS or it didn't happen... :bleh:

[Bass]

Out of interest what were the most popular bikes ou saw over there. Reading the TBAM it seems everything is either vstroms or KTMs over there.

We really didn't see that many other bikers to be honest, but then as places go, it's kinda large.
Having said that, Beemers come to mind. We are talking a small sample though.

[kiwiklr]

Ouch.... we might be cheap but we are cheap, good luck negotiating with your bank manager if you ever fall off your hun machine

[Bass]

comparing a well farkled anything to an unfarkled anything is a bit unfair. A few simple mods can make a massive difference to DR/KLR's etc.
.

Exactly right and also the point I was making in a roundabout way. That's why I allowed the comparason between stock and farkled.
I actually think that both the KLR and the DR are good value for money, but that to some extent, you get what you pay for. In both cases, if you want knarly off road performance, some extra cash is required. (Some concessions to Oscar here.)

I believe that the KLR has a BIG following in the States but when I was making a choice, we were heading for some really rough territory and it was a bit too heavy and with too much vulnerable stuff hanging out in the breeze.
Remember, I said that I expected to fall off pretty often?
So far, I have no regrets at all. (And I do fall off pretty often)

[warewolf]

I believe that the KLR has a BIG following in the States but when I was making a choice, we were heading for some really rough territoryKLRs are more popular in the states, but that's probably because they have lots of motorways. I read somewhere that KLRs were being made/assembled in the USA, which would help local sales. Haven't been able to track that down again.

Here's a wild theory. I reckon the likes of advrider have influenced the market here, and increased the sales of KLRs in recent years. For years and years I'd only ever seen one KLR in the flesh, whereas DRs of all flavours were rife. Nowadays they're like opinions and arseholes: everyone's got one. :eek5:

Suzukis of all types are very popular here, they have a much stronger marketing machine and atypically high market share. Kawasaki's marketing has been pretty rubbish in comparison. Aussie mags often complained about lack of test bikes and media support etc. I'm sure that has some bearing on the long-term popularity of the two bikes.

[Oscar]

KLRs are more popular in the states, but that's probably because they have lots of motorways. I read somewhere that KLRs were being made/assembled in the USA, which would help local sales. Haven't been able to track that down again.

Here's a wild theory. I reckon the likes of advrider have influenced the market here, and increased the sales of KLRs in recent years. For years and years I'd only ever seen one KLR in the flesh, whereas DRs of all flavours were rife. Nowadays they're like opinions and arseholes: everyone's got one. :eek5:

Suzukis of all types are very popular here, they have a much stronger marketing machine and atypically high market share. Kawasaki's marketing has been pretty rubbish in comparison. Aussie mags often complained about lack of test bikes and media support etc. I'm sure that has some bearing on the long-term popularity of the two bikes.

I'd agree with that - KLR's are very popular on ADVRider.com and the like (although the term "KLR Rider" is used to describe cheap bastids). I think that up until recently, I'd seen more KLE600's and KLX650R's than KLR's.

[pete376403]

Marketing of the "new" ('08) KLR was totally non existant here. Motorad didn't know they existed until I showed them the pictures, web links and so on.
Long after I got my one Kawasaki NZ (Lyntech) were still advertising the previous model only.
In all the NZ mags there has been, as far as I can find, one rather brief article on the '08 (Bike Rider magazine).
If the stories on Advrider are to be believed, the KLR is in the top four of all Kawasakis sold in the US over the last 20 odd years. And the huge following they have in the states is not only because they are perceived a highway cruiser, there are plenty of ride reports of KLRs going to and returning from very gnarly out of the way places.

[warewolf]

I think that up until recently, I'd seen more KLE600's and KLX650R's than KLR's.True dat, so it's not so much Kawasakis being invisible, but just the KLR. KDXs are very popular.


Marketing of the "new" ('08) KLR was totally non existant here.That's exactly it.


And the huge following they have in the states is not only because they are perceived a highway cruiser, there are plenty of ride reports of KLRs going to and returning from very gnarly out of the way places.My point was that if you are linking the gnarly stuff with motorway work, the slightly more roadified of the two (klr/dr) would be more popular, even if due to benefits perceived rather than real.

[Woodman]

Why do KLR;s evoke so much criticism??

Tall poppy syndrome maybe?

[Padmei]

Why do KLR;s evoke so much criticism??

Tall poppy syndrome maybe?

I don't think its tall poppy but nice try:laugh:

I find it weird though. How many times do you hear someone slagging off a transalp? or XT?

When Aslan was down here for the DB we swapped bikes for a quick spin (He has a DR). They both felt different when riding but although we liked the characteristics of each others bikes we were both pleased we had chosen our own type of bike.

[marks]

Tall poppy syndrome maybe?

Fat poppy syndrome?

[Bass]

Fat poppy syndrome?

Well, you seem to be pretty happy with your KLR and given the selection of machinery you have, you are probably in a better position than most of us, to make comparasons.

[kiwiklr]

[QUOTE=Woodman;1921123]Why do KLR;s evoke so much criticism??

Tall poppy syndrome maybe?

Who cares?

I have had plenty of bikes over the years, And I love my KLR,it's the 2nd one I have had, it was cheap (not as cheap as now actually) There are heaps of bits you can get to personalise it and improve it, I have ridden mine from Dunedin to Tauranga with only the ferry and fuel stops (couldn't walk properly for two days after but...) and Reefton to Dunedin via the coast, in one hit! I regularly ride to Wellington, I can go over the passes and off highway roads that abound here in the south island... It goes plenty fast enough ( 130km on my speedo all day... forgive me if it isnt totally accurate) Has never broken down, when i binned it on the Molesworth and the skippers it cost bugger all to fix..

I never feel compelled to slag off anyone elses ride (except harleys, but hey!) cos i am happy with my own...

[marks]

Well, you seem to be pretty happy with your KLR and given the selection of machinery you have, you are probably in a better position than most of us, to make comparasons.

I liked my XT660X
I like my DT230
but I love my KLR(s)

for my sort of adventure riding and modest skills its as close to ideal as I'm gong to get.

[Bass]

I liked my XT660X
I like my DT230
but I love my KLR(s)

for my sort of adventure riding and modest skills its as close to ideal as I'm gong to get.

So you were on the New Year's honours list then?