Motorcycles

Aynone get there bikes out yet? Just rode mine yesterday?

Pic taken 1/2 hour before the mishap last spring. That ice extended 1/4 mile each direction. N. Side of the mountain. It was falling from the cliff on the S side.

I’m sure that 01 is the bike. You can actually tell (Most Times) of a bike thats been taken care of. Your advantage is you actually know the guy. That’s the bike I’d want. 
I remember your mishap, and I’ve had them too. Glad both of us are still around to talk about it! 
Im getting the itch for another enduro sometime in the future.  

Snake - gonna go from an '06 KLR to an '01.Both have roughly 11k miles...But the one I want has been owned for 20 years by the guy who works on my sled and my boat motors. He's meticulous. Also,the bike's been garage kept all these years so the (green green,not Kawi green) plastics have not faded...and it has a stock muffler not the noisy (cool?!) aftermarket muffler. I prefer not to draw too much attention to myself.

I'm not buying another big bike for a few years. I have the Victory Cross Country tour that I bought last year after insurance totaled-out my last one. It's got about 15k miles on it...I had a little mishap in the smokies last March. Too much gravel,a little too much speed,and a little bit of ice.

Was Robbie the owner or GM, or both of the place. I only BS‘d with owner and Ski for 10 minutes one time. Once I got done at House of Harley, I’d take my cop bike over to Ski for Dyno work. 

Ski. He ran Service and did a few other things for Robbie probably. He left there about 2 or  3 years to go to R&D/Harley. That man can fix anything. Best Dyno guy in SE Wisconsin for years!!! He was real people. Is! Lol
So you’re gettin anotherKLR? And then another big bike Too? 

Snake - was that Robbie at the Indian dealership?

I'm gonna get rid of this KLR as I found one in better shape for enough money less to make the 'tax title and license' cost worth the hit.

I'm looking to get an older Honda Shaddow this year.  I think it'll make a good inexpensive starter bike.  

I was under the impression they only built 214 Diesel KLR’s that would also run on Jet Fuel. Problem is now, you can’t get parts. The ones I saw were gas powered. I just saw a video of some guys that bought a Diesel KLR and had some major issues with it! Lol 
If the idea would have worked, it had a 6gallon tank, at 100mpg, giving you a 600 mile range. Also had regular, and Black Out lights. It was a great idea, but never got into full production. Video was very interesting. They got it running for a little bit with either. 

I never rode an Indian. One of my buddies used to run the Indian shop on highway Y near Muskego(I think was the name of town). He works for R & D at Harley now. He used to run the shop at House of Harley where I was at. He liked the Indians, but had worked Harley’s his whole life.  

Snake - the military is unloading some "new" Gen1 KLRs that ar$7-$8k.diesel. I saw a couple recently go at auction for $7-$8K.

I'd absolutely consider a Yamaha for a cruiser too. It's the dealer network when I'm travelling that I'd want. HD has it but I don't really want to buy into the HD culture....BMW...

I love the Indians but they're Polaris and I'm kind of resentful against Polaris for abandoning Victory. Some of the new Indians are beginning to look an awful-lot like Vics though but I can't justify that kind of money for a new Indian. $40k+

The KLR’s I saw in the military would have been GEN 1’s. 
When you start seriously looking CDS, Don’t forget to test a Yamaha. I had Yama’s all my life until I got the Harley bug. Yamaha’s are incredible bikes too. KTM is another I will try before making a decision, on Enduro, But Yama’s make incredible Cruisers/Touring machines. Indians are really making some bikes again too. Never rode one yet, but will ride every brand when I get back in the market. 

A couple nicknames for the bike are "the pig" and "the tractor". It's not fast or nimble but it's rock solid.

There's 3 "generations" of KLR650s. The first is 1987 to 2007. They weigh roughly 400lbs with a full (6gal) tank. Mine's a 2006...Gen2's are 40lbs heavier - 2008 to 2018. Gen3 bikes are yet another roughly 40lbs heavier and weren't made until 2022.

There were 66000 gen1 bikes made,87000 gen2 bikes made. That's a lot of motorcycles....and a big market for parts. That's one of my biggest considerations. Relatively cheap and very available parts and easy to DIY

It wasn't until the gen3 bikes that they went to fuel injection.

My other bike's a Victory cross country tour. Polaris stopped with the Victory line about 5 years ago. Almost nobody wants to work on them and parts are already getting hard to come by...I love my Vic but my local (former Victory) Polaris dealer couldn't even diagnose a simple ABS issue.

My next cruiser will not be a Vic as much as I like them. It won't be an HD either. I've never been one of the cool kids and don't want to start now. BMW or a 'Wing?

Yea, Didn’t realize the Harley engine is almost twice as big. Built more for long Highway miles when needed. 
KLR
Weight 487lb
652cc
Ground clearance 8.3”
Seat height 34.3”
HP 34.6 hp
Torque 39.1

Pan America
Weight 534 lb
1250cc
Ground clearance 9.6” 
Seat Height 32”
HP 150
Torque 94
Didnt realize how big of diffence on size of bike. I still like both of them very much.
Great bikes!

I like the Pan America, but it is likely too much bike for what I want to use it for. Wonderful for dirt roads and graveling, but I would probably kill myself with it on the trails here.

And one of the nice things about the KLR and Pan America is an extensive Accessary line up. You can set it up to your exact preference. The Military uses KLR’s set up for areas at the front lines. 

Thanks Snake....I just got back from a bit around town. Brakes are a bit more responsive. Not too cold to wrench,a bit too cold to ride.

Dave - the first this bike got on my radar was out by you.  I stayed at the Trail riders motel in Granby a couple years ago. Every room was taken by riders but everyone else was riding an enduro-style bike including a couple KLRs. I saw a few more in Utah last year.