Daniel,

Weight; The frame isn't what makes a KLR heavy, it's the 125lb engine. Occasionally people try to pare the bike down to nothing but frankly it's a waste of time 'cause it can never be truly light. That said there is some "low hanging fruit" that can make a difference without wrecking the bike for the purpose it's intended: silencer can save 6 lbs, LiFePo battery can save 9 lbs and there is 5 - 10 lbs in misc "stuff" (passenger pegs and brackets, chain guards, licence plate holder, rear inner fender, etc.) All in all, I've taken off about 20 - 25 lbs off my Gen1's. I also use an IMS 6.6 and JNS rad guard which gives me good rad protection without adding 11lb crash bars.

There are no inverted forks that are a direct fit. Emig racing makes KXF conversion clamps KLR650 - EMIG Racing but they aren't cheap! You can also have a machine shop press your KLR stem into the donor fork triples.

BUT

It's kinda a waste of time and effort IMO; the KLR's weight and chassis prevent it from using or needing a full on MX fork anyhow. Plus there are several issues to be addressed with the conversion; the biggest is a new front wheel/hub and brake system.When I did the math prior to making the decision to stick with the stock forks and go with Cogent's DDC's, my total came to $2,000 - $2,500 for the USD fork conversion vs. about $350.00 and less than an hour for the Cogent stuff.

After the additional expense, fork rebuilding, respringing, revalving, dealing with the rear suspension travel issue, gauge cluster, speedo, turning radius issues......you still have a smaller hub with a smaller axle, smaller bearings and when compared to the SV caliper 320mm rotor mod, a much smaller brake caliper, pad and rotor......all of which are fine for MX use and less fine for dual sport use.

There is no doubt as to the superiority of the modern MX fork.....but unless you have it resprung and revalved properly, it isn't going to work as good as a set of DDC's and springs in the stock forks.......and even if you do those things, the rest of the KLR isn't up to making full use of them anyhow.

This is all just my humble opinion; I'm not against modifying KLR's, in fact, mine are extensively modified for my use. Usually people trying to "make the KLR into something it's not" by swapping motors, suspension, and other major surgery, end up dissappointed and eventually selling their KLR's for a different bike. By the time you do a frame and fork swap (and all the frame surgery to fit a KLR engine in an alum mx frame) you'd be far better ahead to sell the KLR and buy a DRZ, WRR, 500EXC, etc. ....but it's your bike.

Cheers,
Dave

 

This is all just my humble opinion; I'm not against modifying KLR's, in fact, mine are extensively modified for my use. Usually people trying to "make the KLR into something it's not" by swapping motors, suspension, and other major surgery, end up dissappointed and eventually selling their KLR's for a different bike. By the time you do a frame and fork swap (and all the frame surgery to fit a KLR engine in an alum mx frame) you'd be far better ahead to sell the KLR and buy a DRZ, WRR, 500EXC, etc. ....but it's your bike.

Cheers,
Dave

Thank you for telling me that. As I've stated in other posts, I got used to a DRZ400, where stuff from the enduro swapped to the supermoto and to the dirtbike.

I'll probably end up getting some good progressive springs for the front forks and possibly look into a new shock for the rear...that is if I feel like dumping the money into the rear shock setup.

The bike was only $800, so the more I think about it, I can't realistically see myself putting $3000 into a bike that really isn't worth too much.
Sure, I like the bike, but I got it cheap, so I'm mainly just addressing the main issues for now. If it sticks around for the next year or so, perhaps I'll look into refreshing everything with some newer parts. A resto-mod if you will.

 

The value proposition is something you need to decide for yourself; no right or wrong answer IMO. For me, it was worth it to spend some money on the KLR's as it was still far cheaper than buying a KTM690R and the KLR's have their own advantages (regardless of price), namely longevity, reliability, simplicity and plentiful parts....everywhere. I'm not your typical KLR Owner as I chose the bikes for these advantages, not because of the price point.

As far as suspension goes, here's my post on that;Stock KLR suspension is 1980's tech with a damper rod fork and emulsion shock with weak damping and springrates which MAY be marginally acceptable if you weigh 160lb or less and stay on graded gravel roads at worst. 2014.5 NE and up have better spring and damping rates but are the same crappy old design.
The bandaid (cheapy) fixes are;
- many use progressive springs for the forks and heavier oil. This will help with bottoming, wallowing and brake dive but the suspension will be overly harsh and not compliant. Better than stock though. Rather than using heavier oil, I’d recommend trying an increased oil level first which reduces the “air spring” and can stiffen it up a bit without all the harshness of heavier oil…..especially on high speed damping.
- Eaglemike's raising links; these change the geometry and reduce leverage on the shock which raises the effective spring and damping rates. Hopefully you aren't short! Easy and cheap but it's a "one size fits all" deal and it doesn’t deal with the inherent quality issues with the stock shock body and emulsion design.
or
- a stiffer shock spring. While you likely need a stiffer spring to properly set sag, adding a stiffer spring exacerbates the damping issues and creates an unbalanced (oversprung and underdamped) suspension, particularly as the oil becomes contaminated.

Proper suspension fixes;
- forks: cartridge emulators from Racetech, DDC's from Cogent or Ricor Intiminators all with the proper wt springs. The DDC's are my choice because they work at least as good as the RT emulators AND have the simple install of the Ricor Valves.
- shock; a proper aftermarket decarbon shock. Available from Progressive, Cogent, Ricor, Elka, etc. Again, I think the Cogent shocks offer the best value and use top quality, made in the USA components.
While usage, budget and expectations are different for everyone, spending money on the stock shock is false economy IMO and the more you do, the less sense it makes.....better to spend the money on a decent shock. Many people have done the shock rebuild and spring only to replace it later anyway. I've yet to hear a single regret from anyone upgrading to a good shock.
2 cents,
Dave

 

I'm 6' even and 260lbs, so I think the ride height is absolutely perfect for the KLR. It's tall enough that my friends can't decide to "throw a leg over" if we are messing around in the garage with something, but still short enough so I can flat foot it.

Now I do need to replace my fork seals, springs, and dust boots for the front forks.
Would would you suggest so I don't get the hard, yet bouncy front I have right now. It's actually tiring to ride any long distance because the front suspension is kind of doing whatever at this point, and I know a lot has to be from the fork seals being totally shot.

Also, is there a way to eventually "refill" the rear shock? I don't think mine is bad yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does go eventually.

 

one of my Gen1's

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n499/dpelletier2/20160326_125114.jpg

 

a bit of what it took to get it there:

 

My KLR Shock Post;

The stock shock is a budget emulsion design without hardened internals. It also has inadequate compression damping and springrate for the majority of KLR riders. The 2014.5 and up bikes have stiffer springs and damping but still maintain the 1980 emulsion design.

The problem with the stock shock is that the combination of the soft body and emulsion design means that under hard or long term use the oil turns to a nitrogen entrained mess contaminated with aluminum wear particles (grey foamy sludge) and the damping goes to crap.

Many people put heavier springs on the stock shock and while that helps set the sag properly (which is necessary, read: Suspension and Springs ) the stiffer spring overwhelms the already weak compression damping making the shock "pogo" and the damping situation even worse…particularly as the shock degrades.

Raising links are an option if your tall enough; the shorter links decrease leverage on the shock which effectively increases both springrate and damping. You still have the quality issues with the stock shock and the effect isn't adjustable (without changing links) but it's something to try for those on a budget.

The best solution is a quality aftermarket DeCarbon shock. There are many shocks available; Progressive, Touratech, Ricor, Cogent, Elka, etc. ....they range from $379.00 to $1000.00 plus. For reference a stock Kawi shock is around $800 from the dealer. The best value IMO is Cogent's Adventure; it's a high quality shock, hardened body, DeCarbon design, deflective disk damping and an Ohlins spring. www.motocd.com

I have the full Cogent set up (DDC's and springs up front and an Adventure and Moab on the rear ) of my two Gen1's and the difference in performance and capability is massive. Easily the most drastic functional change of the 50+ mods I've done to my bikes.

 

Rick from Cogent's description of the DDC's (it's from a Vstrom discussion but the principles are the same);


Our own product uses deflecting shims over ports to control compression and a spring popet to control rebound. With our setup, we were able to achieve better control over the compression force curve. Fork action is a product of string rate, damping and friction (mostly) and as suspension tuners, we want to design those things together in a way that makes our customers happy. People have differing needs and preferences. We have seen a lot of installations of all kinds of suspension components that give a result that is less than optimum. When designing the DDC for the'Strom, we started with a set of v Strom forks on our dyno and a specific damping profile in mind ( based on our experience, ride testing, comparisons and customer feedback). We tuned the damping by changing shims, bleed, oil wt and poppet springs until we achieved what we intended. After that we mounted the forks and started the road testing, by me and others. We continued making adjustments until we got the result we wanted. Our kits include springs, spacers, oil and DDC valves that come with instructions to provide a simple and pre-engineered fitment that helps our customers to replicate the intended setup. Customers are able to make adjustments to any of those parameters to do what they want. We are not making laws, just suggested recommendations. We are here to help with any custom needs.

 

You're diggin' deep, for someone who doen't even HAVE a KLR650 (yet), Daniel Kavcak!

Or . . . DO you?

Please tell us: DID you buy the new 2016 KLR650 you mentioned (on the dealer's lot)? If not, do you plan to? When?

"Inquiring minds want to know!"

 

I wasn't the one buying the 2016...it'd be nice to have two bikes, but I'm just going to keep chipping away at my '93 Gen1.

 

@Damocles, that was @jazhielcit2
I was just saying that I thought they were better off getting the 2016 vs. the 2018 because of a $2000 savings or something like that.
$2000 bought me my...um...Subaru (lets not talk about that).

http://www.klrforum.com/off-topic-lounge/64993-new-dealer-2016-vs-2018-klr-650-a.html

 

My error, my apologies!

I think I even replied on the WRONG THREAD!

Senility and its attendant incompetence are CRUEL.

Please pardon and forgive me.

 

Sorry for blowing my own thread up, but what's a good front brake upgrade.
I don't know if my front master cylinder isn't providing enough pressure or if the caliper piston is shot.
I'm used to being able to "stoppie" with the front brake on bikes, but with mine, it just...slows it down.
I replaced my lines with stainless lines and the fluid is super clean now, but the front brake still stinks. Is this an inherent issue of the early KLR's or is it just mine?

 

Here is a braking thread that will help quite a bit,
http://www.klrforum.com/how-tos-tech-guides/34194-master-cylinder-better-brake.html

 

That was a huge help actually, and as quoted below and as Dave said, I think I'll end up snagging an SV650 setup.

It's an inherent issue....particularly for Gen1's. The standard "fix" is the Eaglemike SV caliper adaptor, a used Suzuki twin piston SV caliper (ebay), and a 320mm rotor (I use the EBC from EM 'cause I know it fits perfectly) add a SS brake line and voila!! a front brake that doesn't suck. Personally I feel that the stock master works just fine with the above mods.

....you may also wish to address fork dive and stiffness if you're planning on stoppies; EM fork brace and something to firm up the front suspension; Cogent DDC kit in my case.

Cheers,
Dave

EBC stuff is awesome. I had their SM rotors and pads on my DRZ400 I made into a supermoto and loved their products. Does it matter what year SV650 I use?

 

It's an inherent issue....particularly for Gen1's. The standard "fix" is the Eaglemike SV caliper adaptor, a used Suzuki twin piston SV caliper (ebay), and a 320mm rotor (I use the EBC from EM 'cause I know it fits perfectly) add a SS brake line and voila!! a front brake that doesn't suck. Personally I feel that the stock master works just fine with the above mods.

....you may also wish to address fork dive and stiffness if you're planning on stoppies; EM fork brace and something to firm up the front suspension; Cogent DDC kit in my case.

Cheers,
Dave