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2022 KLR 650 extended shift lever Head to Head comparison IMS vs. Happy Trails

21K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  TopCone33  
#1 Ā· (Edited)
Forgive the long post but it's a long story bro... You can just skip to the end for the nitty gritty and look at the pretty pictures along the way if you don't have time for my B.S. no worries. Big loveāœŒšŸ¤£šŸ‘

The standard shifter is probably fine for you if your shoe size is under 11u.s and you don't wear MX boots or equivalent large snake boots, work boots or whatever... The shifter does work good with jungle boots (but mine fell apartšŸ¤£šŸ‘Ž) , tennis shoes also fit the shifter well in size 11us. Aside from that you bigfoots are probably going to need to shift with the side of your boot unless you change either the foot peg height by lowering them or the shifter length. This is well known I am not trying to act like I discovered this fact .
To begin my need for a new shifter,
I wanted more protection from this fat pig. I needed something besides my crash protection. Better ankle protection! And shins too to start.

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Enter my super hero bootsāœŒšŸ˜Ž

Daave had posted in one of the threads that he loved his O'Neil element mx boots ( in black). & (@ $140 RMATV) I took his opinion as a fellow KLR rider as a sound endorsement. Not waterproof but very good value IMO. Waterproof socks are a thing if you're concerned 🤣 Having worn them for a month now and probably a thousand miles they are great boots. But you CANT shift the stock shifter with them very easily at all... I Also glued my jungle boot soles that fell apart to the bottom for awesome traction and a little height to further rip off Daave's idea. Hey, the soles were brand new the glue just let go one day.

So I tried to cut and extend mine so my boots would work...

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Cut a piece of 3/16" lawnmower blade, Welded and ground down and painted it after after.

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well I ground too much off of the welds that my cheap harbor freight wire welder tried to give me. Man I need a new welder 🤣 needless to say and you've probably guessed it broke off first ride and tumbled off into the weeds never to be seen again! I just laughed šŸ˜‚

In comes Happy Trails... So I ordered a new one for $57.94. it looked heavy duty. It said in stock on the website so I figured I'd have it in a week... This was my first experience with Happy Trails. Nothing else I saw of theirs appeals to me but the shifter looks overbuilt in all the right places.
4 days later... I received an email stating that they are "behind schedule and it should ship by June 17th but they'll try to get it to me faster" or something like that. Remember that the website said nothing like this it said in stock... I tried to be understanding considering the times we are in. Fast forward almost a month later and no shifter and no email saying why and the ship date has passed. I tried to call happy trails and that's not a possibility. No one answers the phone. Just voice mail or email. What a disappointment. Now I'm feeling almost scammed 🤣 I find out from another member on here ( KLR- MULE) about email being the only way he could cancel his order because they were stalling him too... What kind of business model is this anyway? So I send an email that says basically " you guys said it was in stock last month what's the deal. I can have a competitors here by Thursday. If you can't get me a shifter by Thursday cancel my order, refund my money and you'll never hear from me again." Imagine having to shift with an electrical connector clamped on the end of your shifter for a month waiting on an in stock one that you already paid for... I know I'm a dumbass for modifying the only one I had with a shitty welder in the first place but don't rub it in... I paid for it hurry up already. So the next day I hadn't heard anything and got impatient & ordered an IMS extended shifter from eBay for a gen2 for $38.
As soon as the confirmation comes thru I also get an email from happy trails saying my shifter had shipped sorry for delay their coating company is behind schedule super busy small company blah blah blah.

When it rains it pours! Now I have 2 shifters. That both arrived this week! the IMS only took 4 days to arrive after order was placed. The Happy Trails took a month and a complaining customer lšŸ˜‚

I'm not sending back either one. I'm doing a head to head with these shifters and offering up the one that doesn't fit me right on the KLR forum at a nice discount for someone else who wants one that is very lightly used (2days no scratches and including brand new bolt) and isn't sure if it will fit them or maybe tight on money? Whatever. Oh yeah And no shipping delayāœŒšŸ˜ŽšŸ‘Ž

Side by side comparison

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Happy trails extended shifter on gen 3 KLR:

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The Happy Trails shifter is literally built like a tank! It is heavy duty and even has a plate to distribute the forces to prevent a puncture to your engine case and it sits further out to give extra clearance. Pretty cool for crazy off-road activities when you'll bend one. For someone with a large foot not using mx boots or even someone with a medium foot with mx boots that won't fit the OEM shifter, the Happy Trails would probably be a good choice for you. Expect to wait at least a month for shipping is the only downside unless you want this onešŸ¤£šŸ‘ to me it seems way overbuilt and a few ounces heavier than the IMS. Also my foot kept trying to shift that circular plate on the case side to prevent puncture. Really hard to find it everytime with MX Boots on IMO I'm not a professional MX guy either so take that for what it's worth. Now to Happy Trails credit they overnight FedEx'd that thing to me immediately after my email. I literally had it in my hand Very shortly after their reply & confirmation ALL on the same day. Good job!šŸ’ŖšŸ˜ŽšŸ‘ I still had to complain to be considered important though.

IMS extended shifter:
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Notice how far the tape measure is away from the shifter. It's placed in the same spot on the foot peg at the same angle. The Happy Trails sticks out further.
I would consider the IMS standard duty. Although saying that shouldn't be misleading.. It is made very well. The quality is good. And it's plenty strong enough IMO. If it bends, maybe I can bend it back & drive with a bent shifter I've done it a few times... If it breaks Pick a gear .. drive slow🤣 but once home I can easily have another to my door in 5 days or less. What appeals to me about it the most is the angle of the arm coming off of the spline shaft. It sweeps Up which clears an MX boot very well without having to raise the shifter on the splines risking hitting your front sprocket cover. And no extra dingleberries hanging off the bottom to confuse the top of your MX boot which hasn't much feeling to it. This shifter would also be appropriate for ANYONE with a large foot wearing ANY TYPE of shoe apparel on their feet IMO all the while offering a much more adjustable shifter out of the gate. It's a perfect fit for me.

This is the IMS EXTENDED SHIFTER 313117 that I used on my 2022 KLR 650. IT FITS ALL MODELS OF KLR 650 for $38
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SO... Anybody want to buy a HAPPY TRAILS EXTENDED SHIFTER for $25 shipping included in the lower 48 beyond that we'll have to talk .šŸ’ŖšŸ˜ŽšŸ‘

 
#3 Ā· (Edited)
I looked at them but 10mm is only .40" wasn't sure if it would be enough for my boots... this IMS IS PERFECT. 1/4" less would make a difference in the angles. & More relevant to the purchases, I Couldn't find Tusk in stock at the time for less than $40 but they would've probably worked out for me too...šŸ¤£šŸ‘Ž I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT take away... IS ThEY ALL FIT THE 2022 CAN I GET AN AMEN?āœŒšŸ˜Ž
 
#24 Ā·
I put the tusk on my KLR and I cant even fit the thickness of my size 16 MX boot between the peg and the shifter. It works fine for my regular size 14 W hiking boots, but I had to get 16 in an MX boot to fit. Problem is, my last ride, I hurt my ankle because I didn't have my MX boots I bought to prevent ankle injury. Im done riding until next spring.
 
#6 Ā·
I believe the upward sweep of the IMS helps in my case. If rotated downward on the splines it would extend further forward by I would guess a half inch? I need it like this in this position for my boots thoughšŸ’ŖšŸ˜ŽšŸ‘
 
#11 Ā· (Edited)
That's why I posted, just to add to your findings. Someone will benefit from this. Keep in mind much of the clearance depends on the pegs themselves. IMS pro pegs here with JNS lowering brackets.
I recently acquired some lightly used Tusk adv pegs and will mount them to see what the clearance ends up being. I really want the 1/2" rear offset moose hybrid pegs to open things up even better but they've been backordered for ever.
 
#13 Ā·
Actually as Dpelletier says the lowering brackets are probably the best way to address this issue... Just twice as expensive but maybe twice as good of a solution and way more adjustable than anything else šŸ˜ŽšŸ‘
 
#14 Ā·
Really good comparison. I live in Idaho and have always used Happy Trails. 3 different shift levers, 3 different KLRs. I may be falling into that old grumpy don’t like change group I realize. I like that they’re built like a tank. But this is great info, thanks for taking the time to post.
 
#15 Ā·
If it fit me better I would have kept it because it is built like a tank! It's really nice even though they pissed me Off I can't lie and say it's junk. 🤣 Don't expect one anytime soon tho🤣
 
#16 Ā· (Edited)
Just to add to the pile, here's a picture of the setup on my 2005 with a Tusk shift lever, JNS relocation brackets, and Krator pegs.

I just took it out this morning, and I'm very happy with the setup. With my size 9 Corazol boots, shifting was a breez. I don't expect to have any issues with my size 10 Tech 10 boots either. I could probably do alright with the stock shifter lever, but the Tusk came on the bike, so I'll just keep running it.

I did leave the shift lever adjusted slightly higher than the peg, which makes getting a boot under it that much easier.

Braking was the big improvement. Without adjusting the brake lever, I can now get full braking force out of the rear brake. Before the relocation brackets, I would need to contort my foot down at an awkward angle to get even moderate braking force out of the rear.


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#17 Ā·
The gen 2 jns brackets moved the height down and back but the gen 3 only goes down. I'm guessing with a silver frame, that's not a gen 3? Either way, this is actually going to be a good thread for real life combo ergonomics using different brand components.
 
#20 Ā·
We are all curious what the different combinations do for different size feet and boot styles. There are a bunch of choices out there! Maybe someone will chime in with one of the universal fit shifters on eBay? Do they work?🤣 Good info guys keep it coming! Pictures are good toošŸ’ŖšŸ˜ŽšŸ‘
 
#21 Ā·
Hello ZZnoTop, this is precisely why this is the best motorcycle forum in the world. I bought the same boots you did 3 months ago and attempted to wear them home on my 22 adventure, only to pull over in 3 blocks because I could not shift the bike "size 10 1/2". So I wore them around the house/yard thinking breaking them in would help.....NOPE. So your thread gives me hope, I think based on your excellent description and photos, I too will order the I.M.S. variety. Thank you SiršŸ‘šŸ¤
 
#22 Ā·
Anyone know where any of these extended shifters can be bought currently? Everywhere I have looked has been out of stock, including nontraditional parts venues such as amazon and eBay. I recently upgraded with Alpinestars Belize boots, love the boots, but have to shift with the side of my foot awkwardly cus there is no way the boot can fit under the OEM shifter.
 
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#25 Ā·
I did finally find the IMS lever in stock on Amazon of all places. Put it on the bike last week and I can now fit my big off road boots under the lever to shift. Quite a difference from the stock lever.
 
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