I'm mildly excited...

[Padmei]

got 320 kms before reserve & filled up at 380kms

The riding was strange though as I'm breaking it in lots of roll ons & offs & not too much of keeping a steady speed.

yeah the bars are bloody heavy but have saved a bit of broken plastic already.

[NordieBoy]

Saturday ride from Mot up the Mot valley to Murch, Mauriaiaia Saddle etc...
Over in the NZ forum on ADV...

Cap'n Lobster should check it out...

[JATZ]

Saturday ride from Mot up the Mot valley to Murch, Mauriaiaia Saddle etc...
Over in the NZ forum on ADV...

Cap'n Lobster should check it out...

. I work 1 saturday in 6 and guess what..........
it's this saturday

[Padmei]

Won't be long guys before I'll be making you green with envy

[marks]

I'd be quite keen to read about your ongoing experiences getting used to Gonzo. What problems/mods etc etc...

[Crisis management]

I'd be quite keen to read about your ongoing experiences getting used to Gonzo. What problems/mods etc etc...

FFS Mark, it's a Kawasaki, it'll go like shit for a while and then explode, everyone knows that!

Cons seem to be:
uncomfortable seat.
High oil consumption at higher speeds.
Soft suspension.
Lots of plastic to break.
A bit fat.

Pros:
Fuel capacity / range.
More comfortable than a DR (like thats saying something...)
Better braking than the previous model.
Mechanically reliable & cheap to maintain (did that go audio?)

Disclaimer:
I don't own one and could be making all this up.

[marks]

FFS Mark, it's a Kawasaki, it'll go like shit for a while and then explode, everyone knows that!

I think its the opposite - they make less power (about 32hp) than a dr650 which makes them fairly sedate and they last for freaking ever (as long as they don't run out of oil - poor oil ring tension on the new models causes bore glazing if thrashed for any extended period....)

I'm more interested in getting a low km earlier model as I don't have a good history of staying vertical and don't really want to be surrounded by exploded plastic. One of the Aussie owners of a new KLR was quoted 2K for new plastics and fairing bits after a messy 'off'.

[pete376403]

But with the earlier models, what you save in plastics repairs you'll pay for brake upgrades, suspension upgrades, doohickey upgrades, seat upgrades, luggage rack upgrades, lighting upgrades, to start with. Then you start farkling.

[Crisis management]

I'm more interested in getting a low km earlier model.

But with the earlier models, what you save in plastics repairs you'll pay for brake upgrades, suspension upgrades, doohickey upgrades, seat upgrades, luggage rack upgrades, lighting upgrades, to start with. Then you start farkling.

Listen to Pete, Mark, the early models seem to have a bit of a reputation for being basic in every way. Comments I kept finding were "Looks like an adventure bike but I'd hate to take it off road..."

Mind you, there is a sort of mad joy in riding something entirely inappropriate and succeding, so maybe it's worth the shot.

[Padmei]

I gotta be honest & say that when I was looking, it was what the 08 Klr looked like that made up my mind.
Once I saw the brochure it was me I saw sliding around desert roads on the advertising photos - yep I am that shallow...
I think if I wanted a good offroad going bike I would have got a DR but I wanted a fairing. If I wanted a good road bike I would have got an older Tiger or Vstrom.
I was looking at 01-03 BMW650 for the same price so thought this was better value to get a new bike with warantee (& the fact that I've never had something as new & expensive as this before). KTMs are tooo expensive & Yamaha XT are more expensive & not quite right in my eyes.

As a newbie to adventure riding I don't really have anything to compare it to & dont really want to set the world on fire with my exploits.(I have 2 young kids,mortgage,business etc so time is pretty precious).

All in all it seemed to fit the bill.
I have been following the KLR650net forums for some time & there are a lot of people selling their year old bikes for various reasons - build quality, oil consumption, not enough power, seemingly negligent attitude from Kawasaki regarding model defects.


Of course the net does bring out those on the outer edges so I read between the lines & yeah it does have teething problems (well after 20yrs so did the older models).
The only real negative I havealready noted is that at 6ft the noise over the screen is deafening.

I have only put 500 kms on it after 2 weeks as I'm not that well at the moment but am looking forward to those long evenings to go for a cruise after the kids go to bed.

I honestly don't know if i'm in a position really to advise others to buy one as will be learning to ride to suit the bike rather than have the experience to compare to others.

How

[Padmei]

Um how do I delete this message I submitted twice?

[pete376403]

I gotta be honest & say that when I was looking, it was what the 08 Klr looked like that made up my mind.
Once I saw the brochure it was me I saw sliding around desert roads on the advertising photos - yep I am that shallow...

The reason I got mine - a bunch of mates had various adv bikes - DR650, Funduro, Dakar - I wanted to join them on adv rides and the 1100 Suzuki might not have been entirely appropriate. I was considering the older model KLR when I saw the pics of the '08 on the net and at that point - thats what I was going to get. Motorad had no idea that a new KLR was coming out - neither did Kawasaki NZ at that time. Motorad had my $2k deposit for nearly 6 months before it was delivered - I was THAT determined to have it. So far I haven't been disappointed.

[pete376403]

The only real negative I havealready noted is that at 6ft the noise over the screen is deafening.

What sort of helmet have you got?
I use either an FFM K3 flip front or an HJC CLX-S. I wouldn't rate the noise as that bad.

[Rollestonchick]

congrats on your new bike. Awesome

[Padmei]

Took gonzo for a play up the Maitai & onto th slippery slopes of the Motutapu. Now I see why they say to get better tyres - needless to say my experience shutting my eyes & relaxing when downhilling my moutainbike came into play
Had a great deal of fun, especially dropping into a ford that I should have scouted out first. Is it common practise to bottom out the front suspension, cover the headlight with water then launch uncontrollably out of the stream bouncing off both sides of the track having the whole bike steaming?