KLR 650 3RD GEN

[xj35s]

They stopped making them in 2018 I guess. Now they're fuel injected, the frame is solid welded, no more broken bolts, and the suspension is a little stiffer. The front rotor is now 300 mm but it could have used duals up fornt. I picked it up for about the same price as the DRZ400 I was looking at. Not a dual sport, more edventure bike. A little less dirt friendly but still very capable. 6.1 gallon tank for a 300 mile range. It had 0.09 miles on it in this picture before driving it home. It had 5 psi in the front tire but seems to be holding fine now at 21. I have 195 miles of the 500 breakin oil change. Then I can open the thing up more. It's a torque monster. Only 40 hp and 39 ft/lb and weighs in at 460 lbs. To compare, the tenere 700 at 75 HP but 2 and 1/2 times more in price.

My XL250 lost spark and the parts bike didn't have a good stator. I might just do the $300 CDI retrofit. But I wanted something to rely on this summer. I almost picked up a Honda 300L but nobody had one, and the KLX 230 My wife said I'm too big and look like an idiot on it. So it's her fault I got the KLR650 Adventure!!



Today at Fair Haven NY.

[crashdive123]

Nice.  Should serve you well.

[boomer]

Looks very nice. Congratulations. Always heard and read generally good things about that sled. Keep your knees in the breeze and the shiny side up.

[xj35s]

This might sound stupid, but I kind of am, I don't care if it gets stolen. There is this weird freedom knowing that it's replacebale and heavily insured with road protection.

My OLD Honda is not replaceable. In fact I can barely find parts I can replace. As much as I wanted to be able to run the back roads with it, I would never be able to walk into a convenience store and not have a panic attack. It's crazy to think a 50 year old bike holds more value than a 2022.

This bike I can beat the crap out of for at least 5 years under full coverage warranty. There are many out there with over 100,000 miles. I think Harley's are the only other bikes known for that kind of longevety. I could be wrong though.

I did the first oil change myself the dealer has a two month wait list. I told them they need to hire more people or stop selling equipment. So if a major warranty issue occurs I'd likely lose the bike for the summer. Fingers crossed it's as good as the first two gen's or even a bit better !!


I've already had a bloke from Tug Hill reach out on advrider.com . I'd love to meet up with more folks on KLR's and ride some logging roads maybe camp overnight.

I had 518 miles on the bike when the second tank ran low enough to refill....I want to put this on the back of my Helmet.

K. illing
L. ong
R. ange