I like to buy parts when they are cheaply available, not when I need them. Unless in an emergency of course.
Purchased brake pads in a store closing sale a few years ago. Two bucks plus shipping. They still sit on the shelf and they are there when I need them on a Sunday morning.
Or a ten-pack of Hf123 oil filters for €2.89 a piece including shipping.

Like Grandma used to say, they don't eat bread and they don't use up oxygene.

It's have, not need. Good stock keeping goes a long way.

 

partial list of oil filter options for a KLR650.

OEM Part: 16099-004
Fram: CH6070
EMGO: 10-30000
K&N: KN-123
Luber finer P7027
Wix: 24951
NAPA: 4951 (made by wix)
Amsoil: 24941 (made by wix)
HiFloFiltro: HF123
Vesrah: SF-4002

 

LOL, funny you brought this up. Shame about the KLR but dang if they didn't have a spin on for my '06 r1200gs the other day! I was gallivanting around heading the off road way up to play on the southeast side of the GA BDRX, nothing silly, spirited trail ride. Hitting some nice bunny hops on the ridges maybe 25-30 mph, landed the "last" one, scraped, banged, thunked, riding buddies heard it over comms, then the T7 was barking "youre dumping oil"..... I had a real skid plate to install but hadn't as it didn't work with my present crash bars and the new crash bars didn't work with my remus headers so I'd been processing options. Seems the best option would have been no crash bars and new skid plate, and for now that's where I'm at.... Regardless I had ripped the OEM skid plate off, bent the crash bars back, and the factory skid plate mount ripped the oil filter off.

2 hours later I had a new STP oil filter, 2 quarts of oil and we were back on the trails. Had to give up the day though, it was a 13 hour run and we peeled out early or we wouldn't be home till midnight. took a twisty way home on asphalt, I'll be back though, its coming on fall and I do love woods run in the SE with the leaves changing.

I did pack out all my trash One of my hilarious buddies snuck a pic of the dilemma for posterity.

 

Hah. I was literally in that same position last night, changing the oil in my R1100R.

Not doing any jumps on it, tho.

 

So, last night I decided I needed to change the oil.

Good idea, the oil was gross.

However, it turned out the oil filter I got was wrong. Mistakes happen, whatever. This is the first time I did an oil change on a KLR, so I didn't know what it looked like. So, I didn't find out that I had the wrong filter till I drained the oil and took the old one out. Don't want to put the nasty old one back in.

No problem. Fram CH6070, lots of places stock Fram. Walmart, for one. Well, they don't stock that one. Ok, auto parts stores have motorcycle filters. AutoZone does. And it's open late.

Here is where it gets dumb. AutoZone primarily sells STP filters and a small selection of other brands. They have some K&N, but not the KN-123 that would fit. The STP filters situation is bizarre.

They have motorcycle filters on the shelf. The website has no means to look up motorcycle anything. Ok, fine, it's an auto parts store. So, the main system doesn't have it, but maybe there is a book with a listing in the store. Nope. There is not.

And the STP website has no listing either because STP doesn't actually make filters. They just sell branding. If you go to their site and look for filters they just send you to AutoZone. Which has no motorcycle search.

I get that this is a really insignificant part of their business, but why bother with selling stuff you can't look up at all?

O'Reilly and Advance Auto do stock KN-123, tho.

Notes about oil filters, from a former Parts Professional (not a counter jockey, which is all you're likely to see now):

1 - Fram oil filters are garbage. I'm sorry if your grandfather spun one onto every Ford pickup and 8N tractor he had (like mine did), but modern (80s+) Fram is just a trash product. They live off their name, not off of any good engineering that goes into their filters. Things like cardboard end caps and crap media that disintegrates are not uncommon. Modern vehicles have much more stringent oiling requirements than a 60's Ford, and spending $2 more on a good filter is likely to get you a lot more than that in engine life.

2 - Like you said, STP doesn't make filters. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in their branded filters either.

3 - No idea why Autozone doesn't have a bike lookup on their website. I'm pretty sure O'Reilly's does. I do not like Autozone, but as a former O'Reilly's employee, I'm far from unbiased.

4 - Most parts stores have a book or three for oil filter lookup. Problem is, none of the counter jockeys know how to use the books anymore. Hell, if there isn't someone determined enough in the store, the books may just get thrown away. If it doesn't fit into "Year, Make, Model" on the monitor, they don't know what to do. Even my local O'Reilly's ditched the customer-facing book.

5 - If you want a quality product and don't necessarily want to pay the performance brand premium, you can't go wrong with Wix. O'Reilly's carries Wix, the Napa premium filters are all Wix, and Wix makes the economy filters for both Napa and O'Reilly's.

6 - As others have mentioned, stocking up on economical KLR filters isn't a bad idea. The KLR is about as finicky as an 8N tractor, and trash filters aside, a bulk purchase of economical Hi-Flo 123 filters (which I'm not saying are trash) is generally worth it. I usually throw 3-4 on an order from Eagle Mike whenever I order a farkle or replacement part.

 

Fram oil filters are garbage.

I wouldn't use one on a car, but for an oldschool bike they will do in a pinch. Especially since I can see the innurds of the filter.

The big thing here was what I could find locally. Not truly an emergency, but emergent enough.

stocking up on economical KLR filters isn't a bad idea.

Gimme a break guys, I haven't had a chance to. I've only had this KLR like a month. 🤣

I normally do stock up, which is how I was able to do the R1100. I had a stash of filters since the previous boxer I had, which was like 7 years ago. '

The KLR is about as finicky as an 8N tractor

Funny you should say that. The oil that came out was definitely tractor-like... 😬

 

Oh, and I wound up getting the filter from NAPA. There is a hub store literally less than a mile from me, but I keep forgetting it exists because the "front" of it is basically a windowless office in a giant industrial block.

 

Like others on the thread, I always keep at least one new filter and plenty of oil on hand. I buy from Rocky Mountain ATV since they have a good selection, prices are good and you get those store credits.

 

Here’s what I buy. Change out the filter every other oil change and they’ll last you a long time for only $11.

4pcs Oil Filter HF123 For Kawasaki KL250 KL600 KL650 KLR650 KLX650 1977-2016 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 4pcs Oil Filter HF123 For Kawasaki KL250 KL600 KL650 KLR650 KLX650 1977-2016 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

correct me if I am wrong - but I venture to say that the KLR would run perfectly fine with NO filter - just that metal tube. Of course it is designed to have a filter - and so it should, but with regular - around 1500 to 2000 mile oil changes with a decent mineral oil (you all know which one) I doubt the filter makes much difference to the longevity of what is basically a two wheeled Fordson Major tractor!

 

correct me if I am wrong - but I venture to say that the KLR would run perfectly fine with NO filter - just that metal tube.

Sure it would, but the question is for How Long?

I doubt Very much that even Your lowly KLR would last 100,000 miles, much less 240,000 miles with No Oil Filter.
But you may do as you wish to your own motorcycle.

 

I was speaking of the quality and brands of parts. I've forgotten more about parts than most of those knuckleheads will ever know....

 

Late to the party, but incidentally, I just picked these up on Amazon:

Amazon.com: Wix 24951 Cartridge Lube Metal Canister Filter - Case of 12 : Automotive

Buy Wix 24951 Cartridge Lube Metal Canister Filter - Case of 12: Carbon Canisters - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Not as good a deal as the ebay 4-pack Mule posted ($6.67 ea vs $3), but Wix is a known good brand, one I've always sought and had good results with. I would get Napa Gold or Mastercraft (Oreilly) if I could, knowing that Wix makes both, but the Wix name is all that's available here.

The 12-pack is essentially a year's worth of filters. $80 may sound steep, or even $7 each, but cheaper than an early engine overhaul. I like the security of knowing my filter won't perforate or fall apart (not saying those Goldenmotor filters will, I just don't know anything about them).

 

would get Napa Gold or Mastercraft (Oreilly) if I could, knowing that Wix makes both, but the Wix name is all that's available here.

I don't think wix makes the NAPA gold anymore, but i can't Remeber where I saw / read it. I just remeber being bummed out... I still use them in my pick up.

"NAPA Gold oil filters are currently manufactured by PGI, according to recent reports from automotive forums.
This marks a change from the past, as WIX Filters was previously the manufacturer of NAPA Gold filters, a relationship that was well-established and recognized for its high-quality construction and synthetic media."

 

I use Wix in my cars.

You guys are all correct - there are tons of better options than trying to deal with Autozone. The problem is, they all are ordering something and waiting for it.

This was about trying to find something locally because I was sitting there with oil drained and the old filter in my hand and the new filter not fitting.