I finally got to ride a KLR. I went to Shaws Motorcycles in Whg today, and took an 06 KLR for a short ride.
I was only able to take it out for a short ride, because of time constraints, but enough to find that it is a really enjoyable bike to ride.
First off, I stalled in second gear after pulling out of the driveway out onto the road. I wasn't used to the revs, and while just leaning and turning left ... I stalled it! The good thing was ... I just put my foot down and held the bike up, no problem. If that had happened on my CB1300S, I would have been limping back to the shop to get help to pick it up !! lol
Anyway .. once I got used to the clutch take up, and the feel of the bike in traffic, I got out onto the southern highway, and opened her up a little. It got to the speed limit really easily, and went on up to 120 and felt very comfortable at that speed for cruising. Unfortunately as I had to have the bike back by a certain time, I wasn't able to take it for a good blat through the twisties, but had enough of a taste to know that it is a fun bike to ride.
One thing I noticed however, was a slightly vague kind of feeling at around 130 - 140k. I think it was the 21" wheel with "skinny" tyre on it. I wasn't used to the different feel out front. Might have a lot to do with weight as well. Another thing I noticed was how soft the seat was, and I know I wouldn't be going too far on that without getting a pretty sore butt. Also ... crap brakes. I know I'm used to using one finger front braking on the CB, as it has awesome brakes ... but really noticed the difference having to really grab a handfull and stand on the back brake as well, to scrub off speed in a hurry. Big difference in brakes though, so it was very noticeably different from the CB!
I realy liked the sit up riding position. It suited me perfectly. However, as I'm 5' 10", I would have liked to have it sitting a little lower, as I was only really able to get the ball of each foot on the ground. I didn't find the bike to be too heavy though, so it wasn't a real problem. It could be an issue in the rough ... maybe.
All in all, I think that the KLR is a really good bike. It's the first big single I have ridden in a really long time, and I'm looking forward to getting on an 08 model KLR now.
And ... I will hopefully be able to chuck my leg over a DR as well for a comparison, as there is one at the local Suzook agent at the moment. It will be interesting to see how it goes.![]()
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