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How fast KLR650 go up too?

80K views 39 replies 21 participants last post by  Toney 
#1 ·
I have been looking to get a long distance tourer. I have slim down my choices, KLR650 or the VERSYS. My question in regards to the KLR650, what is the top speed on this bike? are they quick and fast enough on the free way?
 
#2 ·
Quick?? That's a tough one.. When at freeway speed, they'll get out of their own way fast enough, but they're no speed demon.. :)

Stock, they're more than fast enough for freeway speeds, but if you're doing nothing more than touring, I'd suggest going one tooth taller on the front sprocket to drop your engine speed a bit.

I haven't ridden the new KLR model, or a Versys, so I don't know which would be better, but my hunch would be the Versys would be a better bike for strickly freeway riding..
 
#35 ·
HOLD THE PHONE! The Versys comes in a 1000!!!! I own one. It's the best bike I've ever owned including the 1500 and 1800 Goldwings I've owned. It's not a trail bike by far but 120 HP will more than get you down the freeway and pull the front wheel at 50 MPH while doing it. I've ridden the Versys 650, it does way better than any KLR on the freeway but is a little "buzzie" compared to the 1000 at speed. If you buy a 650, don't ride the 1000 or you'll regret the 650 purchase. A good rule is the more holes the better. The 1000 has 4. Now they have a Versys 1000 SE LT. It's a killer bike but costs as much as 3 KLR's. It's over 17K. My V1 is a 2016 and I've been thinking about trading for the new SE. The cruse control would be nice but for the stack of hundreds it would take, I'll just keep mine. I may buy a KLR again as a second bike but you can't have the Versys.
 
#4 ·
My 08 with basic mods will get up around 100 mph on the freeway. It comfortably does 85ish. I also agree with Wanderer, though, if you're going to be seriously touring at freeway speeds, you might want a bigger, less buzzy bike.

Given, the two choices you listed, I would pass on the KLR. You check out the VStrom?
 
#6 ·
i was at the dealer today. the speedometer of the klr indicate 120mph. But with all the luggage and add on, will it be enough for highway traveling? I am interested in bike that would do both on and off road, and i don't want to spend ton of money for a bmw.
 
#7 ·
The speedometer on my eff-two-fitty goes to 120, too, but with the 4.30 rear end it pretty much tops out at 95 or so. It's got torque up the wazzoo, though.

So does the KLR.

The KLR is a great bike, but marginal for loaded touring. And, in my opinion, it's not a bike for sustained high speeds.

Listen to the advice; you may be better served with a Versys or V-Strom.

Tom
 
#8 ·
I think it's time to start spillin your guts and tell us what your plans are because you'll just waste everyones time by keeping us guessing. Mentioning the Versys suggested you weren't interested in off-road, but you say you are so we need to get your plans out in the open here. What level of off-road? What mileage do you mean when you say long distance touring, how often will you do the long distance touring, how often will you off-road, will you be off-roading locally as well. Spill it!
 
#9 ·
Ok, this is the breakdown of what I want to do. Long distance road trips, i live in california. Something like going cross country, and up to alaska. I like a bike that excel in both off and on road. I will do as much off road as i can at the same time i want it to be capable of hitting the highway with out lag. All of this with luggage I will be hauling. I've test ride the GS1200 by BMW and gs800, the gs800 was perfect compared to the larger gs1200 dual sports. But its kinda pricey for a bike. So i thought something of litre dual sportbike would be to much for the application I like to do? I see many picture of KLR owner taking the bike long distance. maybe its just enough for What i need?
 
#11 · (Edited)
I'm all stock with a few drops and a duct taped left shroud, and bent handle bars. (Get the crash/rad guards) I get the speed wobbles over 140 Km/hr on occasion. You burn a lot more fuel doing that speed running down the highway. At 70mph I'm at 5000rpm and it is comfortable but it after 3 hours your gonna feel it if you don't have a corbin seat, which I don't. I have had it up to 175 km/hr if your looking for top speed. It was on flat ground and I still had another couple hundred rpms before red line.

Oh and I have some cheap saddle bags on it as well.
 
#12 ·
I'm not sure of what you are asking? Are you asking how fast they will go? I've had mine over 90 mph once but was not looking at the speedometer so I can't say if it was right on 90 or 95 or 96, etc.

I use a 16 T front sprocket and that helps. When that speed happened I was wearing Michelin T66's on my rims and they were a faster tire than the MEFO's I run now. I seldom exceed 70 mph on my KLR. High speed is not only uncomfortable but it is extremely unsafe. I do a lot of gravel road riding and some real trail riding. I live in Wasilla Alaska so when you get on a trail it gets rough and wet. Sometimes I must abort the ride because the conditions are too rough and I really don't want to beat the hell out of my bike. I like the looks of it without any major damage.
 
#14 ·
You are right on with that.

If I had the money to buy a KTM 990 I would love to have one of them. The Motorcycle Shop in Anchorage is a KTM dealer. Whenever they have one I stop by and drool for awhile. As it is I don't ride as much as I did when I was younger, it seems that with the home in Wasilla and the cabin out in the Bush I'm working too much. I have a lot of nice stuff but a 990 isn't in the cards until I'm too old to really put it through the paces. I can't ride off-road like I could when I was twenty anymore. The KLR does what I need, it is a motorcycle and compared to my 1966 250 CC Yamaha Big Bear Scrambler it is a Cadillac! As a matter of fact I've had a lot of motorcycles that were not nearly as comfortable as my KLR. Hell I took a 1978 GS 750 Suzuki on a 11,770 mile ride in 5 weeks back in 1981 with no panniers, no trunk, just a little bolt on wind shield and a huge duffel strapped to the back! The GS was faster than my KLR but on long trips it was no picnic.
 
#17 ·
... The '09s can top the 200 mph mark. ...
It's gotta be the red one that can do that, but a color called "Sunbeam Red"? - c'mon...

Tom
 
#18 ·
My bike goes the speed of light. Well, the headlight does.
 
#19 ·
The KLR is the ONLY bike in it's class ($$$$) that can manage BOTH off and on road travel. It is a SIGNIFICANT traveler off road. And as has been stated already, it does ok on road. It is NOT a V-STROM or a VERSYS. It is a KLR. The benefit is that it can go just about anywhere in the world, whereas the other two, definitely Can Not.
 
#21 ·
Air Up your Tires! 34psi front & 32psi rear and try again.

Stiffen your rear shock spring.

How loose fitting is your riding jacket?

Ride your own ride and say 'good enough' for what you truly need.
 
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#23 ·
New 2018 klr 650 owner I bought mine to commute to work an I am almost thru the break in I ride mine 110 miles round trip on a major interstate an a busy highway I personally think the bike cruises good at 70 mph without pushing it to hard an you still have plenty of torque left to pull out of a situation. I have alittle wobble at 85 but clears up around 90ish. I'm comfortable on a light weight bike on the highway may not be for everyone. It would I got caught in a good rain storm today on the highway an it was no fun at all that's when the larger heavier bike becomes the advantage for me. If you did try to carry alot of gear at highway speed it would strain the bike in my opinion I'm sure it would kill the gas mileage I'm getting 205miles on a full tank.
 
#24 ·
I have both bikes you are talking about if you mean the Versys 650. Both are 2018's and I have toured to the east coast from Ontario on both of them. I stay off the four lane freeways as much as possible but have done sections of a few hundred km's on both. Both are great touring bikes. I find the KLR a bit more comfortable than the Versys cause it is an inch taller and my legs aren't as cramped. The Versys can handle any speeds on the freeway but I limit myself to around 100 - 110 kph on the KLR. If I could only have one bike it would be the KLR.
 
#25 ·
I’ve had mine around 120km it cruises fine there with full knobby tires. The previous owner drove it to work which was a 65 mile drive one way on highway. He said he runs 23 psi in tires and no wobble. I found the 23 good on highway buy terrible on gravel. I cut the pressure to 12-15 on gravel.
 
#26 ·
Wow, I find your tire pressures extremely low for both types of usage.

On well worn K270 front & D606 rear with 32F / 30R psi my Gen 1 was perfectly stable at 105 mph indicated this fall on a 485 mile mixed surface ride. Also as stable as any other bike along, at 30 - 60 mph on loose gravel roads, still at 32F / 30R psi. I don't air down cause I don't like to air back up.

Legal highway speeds in WY are from 50/65 mph on state secondaries to 70/80 mph on Interstates. My Gen 1 will 'roll with the flow' and a little extra if I wish, all day long. My wife used to ride double with me at times, til she got her own bike.
 
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#28 ·
I strongly encourage people to use 2 psi more in the skinny front tire vs the fatter rear. Be they Solo, 2 Up or Full Touring Gear.

Any time one engages the brakes the weight transfers forward, the skinny tire needs more pressure to support that weight. Downhill and hard on the brakes whether dirt, rocks or asphalt the front tire loading is even more pronounced.

By running way down into the low teens of psi in the dirt, gravel & rocks your front tire can be in danger of a tube pinch flat. Which could include a bent rim.
Other possibility at that low of pressure on both ends is slippage of the tire beads on the rim beads, this can rip the valve stem right out of the inner tube.
I'll urge all to consider 20F & 18R psi as Minimum for anything harder than dirt & sand on these 400+ lb bikes.

Another couple of issues with those low tire pressures is severe scalloping of the front tire tread & wearing the tire Out from the INSIDE.
The chaffing of tube to tire by too much flexing literally rubs the rubber off of the carcass cords inside. Then the exposed cords literally saw thru the inner tube. And a replacement tube won't last long inside of that tire either.
 
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#30 · (Edited)
Thanks pdwestman. I never checked mine with a low pressure gauge after i let air out and my high pressure starts at 20psi it was below that. All I know is our roads here have 1” fracture rock and with 23 the bike was all over the place. Once i bled some off it was alot better. My cousin has a 07 klr he runs lower pressure(15 he said) on gravel all the time. But pretty much the only place he rides.
 
#31 ·
RE: "Higher" tire pressure -

An unmentioned advantage that I've found for running high pressure is that there's more air in the tire to slowly leak out of a puncture, allowing more time to get home before going totally flat.

I once found that my front tire had picked up a thorn sometime over the weekend, but because I'd had such high tire pressure I was able to get home safely before I even knew about the puncturing thorn. If I'd had low tire pressure, I'd probably have been stuck doing a tire/tube repair out in the field instead of at home - which was much more preferable!
 
#38 ·
If you can ride 10 miles of road construction, you can ride 200 miles of graded gravel roads, on nearly any bike. Just ride a little slower & enjoy the scenery a little longer.
 
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