2017 KLR 650 Build
- Thread starter Gallowbraid
- Start date
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
Some one much wiser than I once said, "I'd rather be riding my motorcycle thinking about God, than be sitting in church and thinking about my motorcycle."
I couldn't agree more...today was a good day for speaking to God.
I couldn't agree more...today was a good day for speaking to God.
You can't put a price on your head protection. Hence why I went Shoei as well. It makes me cringe everytime I see these squids out there riding with no protection other than a helmet. They're just asking for it. Same goes for no leathers.. Not even textiles.
Yup. When I see cheap gear I always think to myself... "$50 helmet for a $50 head..."
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
Took the ol' pig out today for what was supposed to be a short ride. I headed out the front door around 9:30am with the intentions of being back home just before noon. The air was cool this morning but I opted for my vented, mesh summer riding gear as I knew the temps would climb rather quickly once the sun got a little higher in the sky. I've been dialing in the rebound and dampening settings on the rear shock and wanted to hit up some washboards to test the new settings. A short trip down Lynch Mountain Rd in the Sautee Nacoochee Valley provided confirmation that I've almost gotten things dialed in. A great little dirt road with fantastic views across the valley, Lynch Mountain is one of my regular "short cuts" I take to get home when I'm out and about.
For some more washboard road conditions I made my way over to Bean Creek Rd, another one of those out of the way short cut roads that winds between two main roads in White County. Bean Creek Rd runs along, you guessed it, Bean Creek. The air was cool and damp, and even though we haven't had rain in days the morning fog had moistened things enough to keep the dust down. Perfect riding conditions!
I stopped at the end of Bean Creek Rd to make some minor adjustments to the rear shock and then headed for today's real test: Tray Mountain Road. A little history on Tray Mountain Road. This road runs between Hwy 75 north of the town of Helen and Chimney Mountain Road off of Hwy 356. The Helen side of things up to almost the top of Tray Mountain where there is a dirt parking lot for the Appalachian Trail is nothing more than a modestly maintained dirt road. The FS keeps things smooth and tidy on this side of the mountain and there are several rental cabins and homes there so it sees regular traffic. From the Appalachian Trail parking lot down to Chimney Mountain road is another story. This side of the mountain sees very little maintenance and is a destination for a lot of 4WD traffic in the region. Most of the road is just double track with plenty of rocks strewn about for you to test your tire placement skills on. About 1/2 way down this side of the mountain there's a 30 or 40 yard section that sees quite a bit of run off and a culvert that the FS installed years ago has been diverting water and creating a bit of a ledge over the past several years. It's gone from the point where you could just see the top of the culvert sticking out of the ground to now having the culvert fully exposed and a 2 to 2 1/2 foot drop off the back side followed by some serious ruts.
I was heading up this side of the mountain to get in some practice on clutch/brake/shifter work while standing and to hone in my line selection skills on the new bike. This is the first real rough off road riding I've done on the new bike due mostly to the fact that I had been running the stock plastic skid plate. Since I recently installed a new metal aftermarket plate I felt confident I could ride this without damage. I turned off of 356 and headed down Chimney Mountain road. This is another one of those short little dirt roads in White County I really enjoy...so much so that my wife and I almost bought a barn turned house out here once.
After crossing over the small stone bridge below I made the right turn onto Tray Mountain Road.
I began the slow climb up the mountain keeping an eye out for storm damage from Irma and any fallen trees. There were several trees early on that had been cut out of the way and I didn't want to come around a blind corner at speed only to be skewered by a sharp branch sticking out. There are several good dispersed campsites spread across Tray Mountain and one of the best for hammock camping is located shortly after the turn off on this side of the mountain:
Plenty of anchor points for hammocks, a nice established fire ring and the rushing creek right beside you. What more could anyone wish for? Well, I wish people wouldn't do this:
That's just disgusting. This is one of the problems with Tray Mountain. Because of it's remoteness and the lack of any regular FS patrols this kind of dumping happens all the time. Along with folks running off the trail/road and creating their own hill climbs and obstacles, this crap will get Tray Mountain gated and closed on this side of the mountain. I'm going to try to get back up here tomorrow or the next day with the Sequoia, a trailer and a lot of trash bags if I can. Unfortunately I couldn't carry this stuff out on the motorcycle.
After glaring at that mess I continued up the mountain, taking my time to pick my lines through the sharp rocks sticking up from the road and practicing my clutch/brake/throttle modulation. The road provides a wide variety of obstacles to tackle on a bike.
Picking a line through those rocks in a 4WD is as easy as just driving up the road; a motorcycle requires a little more finesse and thinking ahead. Many people new to riding a motorcycle will suffer from target fixation when riding in this type of terrain. The bike naturally will flow to where you are looking and if you get hung up starring at that big rock you don't want to hit guess what? You're going to hit it. This is a great place to practice looking ahead and planning your line out for 20 or 30 feet ahead. I settled into a nice rhythm, maintained steady momentum in 2nd gear and began to just flow through the obstacles. When you get it right riding this type of terrain is heaven. When you get it wrong you'll bounce around and wear yourself out trying to fight the bike. Today was a good day...for me anyway. I came around the final corner before the most difficult 30 yards of Tray Mountain I mentioned above and was greeted by this:
That my friends is a front wheel drive Honda CRV on street tires right in the middle of some of the gnarliest off road trail NE Georgia has to offer. These two gentleman were supposed to meet some FS employees at the Appalachian Trail parking lot at the top of Tray Mountain to help clear fallen trees and do some clean up. When they arrived at the parking lot they received a message that the meeting point had changed to the lodge at Unicoi State Park. Unfortunately they entered that into their GPS and it directed them to drive down this side of Chimney Mountain rather than turning them around and sending them back the way they came. At the point where I've met them here they've already successfully dropped the vehicle over the culvert behind them and there is physically no way for them to run around and go back, they're committed. I wish I'd met them 30 or 40 yards sooner.
I got off the bike and proceeded to help spot them down this obstacle and around the stump. With a little pushing and some precision wheel placement they managed to get out of this rutted section and back down into the rock garden I posted above. One of the occupants had run down Tray Mountain before approximately 10 years ago. At that point in time they probably would have had no trouble. Today, however, they managed to tear all the plastic trim off the drivers side of the vehicle and dent the drivers door. After they passed by I decided I'd climb the culvert obstacle and then turn around to follow them down and make sure they got off the mountain. I should have just turned around...
The culvert is further down the trail in this photo:
On a lighter, smaller bike I would have just approached the culvert straight on and hopped up over it trials style. The KLR is a bit of a pig though and even though I'd recently mounted the new skid plate I haven't changed out the stock drain plug on the oil pan for a low profile one and was afraid I might shear it off if I tried this. I opted to try going up the right side of the culvert by running the bike up hill and then using gravity to turn my line back to the left to bring the front of the bike back down and haul the rear end up over the culvert. This worked pretty well but some loose rocks caused me to lose my footing as I brought the front end down and the bike took a nap on it's right side. The crash bars and skid plate did their job and the important bits of the bike suffered no damage. I got her back on two wheels only to discover that the bar end weight on the throttle side had gotten squeezed against the throttle tube. This was acting kind of like cruise control in that you could twist the throttle and it would remain in place without rebounding. This would be great for cruising on the interstate but total crap for technical riding like this.
I messed with the throttle cables to see if I could tension them enough to overcome the friction the grip was causing against the weight, but to no avail. I broke out the tool kit so I could remove the bar end weight, but even with the bolt removed it was firmly planted on the end of the bar. I opted for option three which was to roll back the grip and poke a hole in the rubber so that I could peel off the portion of it that was shoved against the bar end weight. This did the trick and now I have an excuse to order new grips since I wasn't a fan of the stock ones anyway.
I got turned around and headed back down the mountain. I caught up with the two fellas in the CRV and told them I'd ride ahead and stop at any obstacles they may have difficulty traversing. When they came to this muddy rutted hill:
We had to pick some careful lines, add a few logs to the bottom of the deeper hole on the left and maintain momentum to get the vehicle up and over the hill. After two tries they were home free. From here I followed them the rest of the way down the mountain and got them back to the highway. My front tire was feeling a little soft at this point and I suspected I might have gotten a pinch flat from riding at a lower pressure through some of the rocks. The pressure was still more than good enough for highway travel and, being only 10 minutes from home, I turned the bike toward the garage and ended my ride for the day. Now that the suspension and protection are in place and have been dialed in it's time for the next round of modifications to get the bike setup for some camping trips:
1. Luggage
2. Electrical upgrades (12v port for air compressor and 5v ports for GPS and cell phone)
3. On board air
4. New GPS mount for the 60CSX, this one is worn out and will drop the GPS on rough terrain
I'm also going to order a spare clutch cable and route it right next to the one that's installed now. This way of the original fails all I have to do is swap the connections over and continue, the cable is already in place. Sealing up the ends will prevent debris from entering the spare cable. I need to get a spare tube for the front and rear tire...I have a front fender bag with storage for tire irons and one tube, the other will need to live in the luggage that's on order.
It's also time to start researching a new tent that will live on the bike. My former tent is no longer weather proof and will need to be retired.
For some more washboard road conditions I made my way over to Bean Creek Rd, another one of those out of the way short cut roads that winds between two main roads in White County. Bean Creek Rd runs along, you guessed it, Bean Creek. The air was cool and damp, and even though we haven't had rain in days the morning fog had moistened things enough to keep the dust down. Perfect riding conditions!
I stopped at the end of Bean Creek Rd to make some minor adjustments to the rear shock and then headed for today's real test: Tray Mountain Road. A little history on Tray Mountain Road. This road runs between Hwy 75 north of the town of Helen and Chimney Mountain Road off of Hwy 356. The Helen side of things up to almost the top of Tray Mountain where there is a dirt parking lot for the Appalachian Trail is nothing more than a modestly maintained dirt road. The FS keeps things smooth and tidy on this side of the mountain and there are several rental cabins and homes there so it sees regular traffic. From the Appalachian Trail parking lot down to Chimney Mountain road is another story. This side of the mountain sees very little maintenance and is a destination for a lot of 4WD traffic in the region. Most of the road is just double track with plenty of rocks strewn about for you to test your tire placement skills on. About 1/2 way down this side of the mountain there's a 30 or 40 yard section that sees quite a bit of run off and a culvert that the FS installed years ago has been diverting water and creating a bit of a ledge over the past several years. It's gone from the point where you could just see the top of the culvert sticking out of the ground to now having the culvert fully exposed and a 2 to 2 1/2 foot drop off the back side followed by some serious ruts.
I was heading up this side of the mountain to get in some practice on clutch/brake/shifter work while standing and to hone in my line selection skills on the new bike. This is the first real rough off road riding I've done on the new bike due mostly to the fact that I had been running the stock plastic skid plate. Since I recently installed a new metal aftermarket plate I felt confident I could ride this without damage. I turned off of 356 and headed down Chimney Mountain road. This is another one of those short little dirt roads in White County I really enjoy...so much so that my wife and I almost bought a barn turned house out here once.
After crossing over the small stone bridge below I made the right turn onto Tray Mountain Road.
I began the slow climb up the mountain keeping an eye out for storm damage from Irma and any fallen trees. There were several trees early on that had been cut out of the way and I didn't want to come around a blind corner at speed only to be skewered by a sharp branch sticking out. There are several good dispersed campsites spread across Tray Mountain and one of the best for hammock camping is located shortly after the turn off on this side of the mountain:
Plenty of anchor points for hammocks, a nice established fire ring and the rushing creek right beside you. What more could anyone wish for? Well, I wish people wouldn't do this:
That's just disgusting. This is one of the problems with Tray Mountain. Because of it's remoteness and the lack of any regular FS patrols this kind of dumping happens all the time. Along with folks running off the trail/road and creating their own hill climbs and obstacles, this crap will get Tray Mountain gated and closed on this side of the mountain. I'm going to try to get back up here tomorrow or the next day with the Sequoia, a trailer and a lot of trash bags if I can. Unfortunately I couldn't carry this stuff out on the motorcycle.
After glaring at that mess I continued up the mountain, taking my time to pick my lines through the sharp rocks sticking up from the road and practicing my clutch/brake/throttle modulation. The road provides a wide variety of obstacles to tackle on a bike.
Picking a line through those rocks in a 4WD is as easy as just driving up the road; a motorcycle requires a little more finesse and thinking ahead. Many people new to riding a motorcycle will suffer from target fixation when riding in this type of terrain. The bike naturally will flow to where you are looking and if you get hung up starring at that big rock you don't want to hit guess what? You're going to hit it. This is a great place to practice looking ahead and planning your line out for 20 or 30 feet ahead. I settled into a nice rhythm, maintained steady momentum in 2nd gear and began to just flow through the obstacles. When you get it right riding this type of terrain is heaven. When you get it wrong you'll bounce around and wear yourself out trying to fight the bike. Today was a good day...for me anyway. I came around the final corner before the most difficult 30 yards of Tray Mountain I mentioned above and was greeted by this:
That my friends is a front wheel drive Honda CRV on street tires right in the middle of some of the gnarliest off road trail NE Georgia has to offer. These two gentleman were supposed to meet some FS employees at the Appalachian Trail parking lot at the top of Tray Mountain to help clear fallen trees and do some clean up. When they arrived at the parking lot they received a message that the meeting point had changed to the lodge at Unicoi State Park. Unfortunately they entered that into their GPS and it directed them to drive down this side of Chimney Mountain rather than turning them around and sending them back the way they came. At the point where I've met them here they've already successfully dropped the vehicle over the culvert behind them and there is physically no way for them to run around and go back, they're committed. I wish I'd met them 30 or 40 yards sooner.
I got off the bike and proceeded to help spot them down this obstacle and around the stump. With a little pushing and some precision wheel placement they managed to get out of this rutted section and back down into the rock garden I posted above. One of the occupants had run down Tray Mountain before approximately 10 years ago. At that point in time they probably would have had no trouble. Today, however, they managed to tear all the plastic trim off the drivers side of the vehicle and dent the drivers door. After they passed by I decided I'd climb the culvert obstacle and then turn around to follow them down and make sure they got off the mountain. I should have just turned around...
The culvert is further down the trail in this photo:
On a lighter, smaller bike I would have just approached the culvert straight on and hopped up over it trials style. The KLR is a bit of a pig though and even though I'd recently mounted the new skid plate I haven't changed out the stock drain plug on the oil pan for a low profile one and was afraid I might shear it off if I tried this. I opted to try going up the right side of the culvert by running the bike up hill and then using gravity to turn my line back to the left to bring the front of the bike back down and haul the rear end up over the culvert. This worked pretty well but some loose rocks caused me to lose my footing as I brought the front end down and the bike took a nap on it's right side. The crash bars and skid plate did their job and the important bits of the bike suffered no damage. I got her back on two wheels only to discover that the bar end weight on the throttle side had gotten squeezed against the throttle tube. This was acting kind of like cruise control in that you could twist the throttle and it would remain in place without rebounding. This would be great for cruising on the interstate but total crap for technical riding like this.
I messed with the throttle cables to see if I could tension them enough to overcome the friction the grip was causing against the weight, but to no avail. I broke out the tool kit so I could remove the bar end weight, but even with the bolt removed it was firmly planted on the end of the bar. I opted for option three which was to roll back the grip and poke a hole in the rubber so that I could peel off the portion of it that was shoved against the bar end weight. This did the trick and now I have an excuse to order new grips since I wasn't a fan of the stock ones anyway.
I got turned around and headed back down the mountain. I caught up with the two fellas in the CRV and told them I'd ride ahead and stop at any obstacles they may have difficulty traversing. When they came to this muddy rutted hill:
We had to pick some careful lines, add a few logs to the bottom of the deeper hole on the left and maintain momentum to get the vehicle up and over the hill. After two tries they were home free. From here I followed them the rest of the way down the mountain and got them back to the highway. My front tire was feeling a little soft at this point and I suspected I might have gotten a pinch flat from riding at a lower pressure through some of the rocks. The pressure was still more than good enough for highway travel and, being only 10 minutes from home, I turned the bike toward the garage and ended my ride for the day. Now that the suspension and protection are in place and have been dialed in it's time for the next round of modifications to get the bike setup for some camping trips:
1. Luggage
2. Electrical upgrades (12v port for air compressor and 5v ports for GPS and cell phone)
3. On board air
4. New GPS mount for the 60CSX, this one is worn out and will drop the GPS on rough terrain
I'm also going to order a spare clutch cable and route it right next to the one that's installed now. This way of the original fails all I have to do is swap the connections over and continue, the cable is already in place. Sealing up the ends will prevent debris from entering the spare cable. I need to get a spare tube for the front and rear tire...I have a front fender bag with storage for tire irons and one tube, the other will need to live in the luggage that's on order.
It's also time to start researching a new tent that will live on the bike. My former tent is no longer weather proof and will need to be retired.
Last edited:
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
Here's a preview of the upcoming mods. For luggage I'm adding a Emgo Trunk:
Previously on my 05 KLR I had run a knock off GIVI rear trunk that JCWhitney produces. The trunk itself held up well but the mounting plate was total garbage and I had to fabricate my own mount after only owning the trunk for 4 months. This Emgo mount appears to use the same style of mounting (which I liked), but uses a thicker mounting plate with some support brackets on the bottom side to distribute the load. It's sized large enough that I can place my helmet inside when off the bike along with some other soft items like rain gear, gloves and jacket. I'll install webbing in the top of the trunk to hold smaller items against the lid such as a tire pressure gauge, small tool kit, etc.
For the side luggage rack I'm picking up a pair of Seahorse 720 cases. These are Pelican style cases that don't carry the Pelican price.
I ran these on my 05 KLR for nearly 50,000 miles and never had a problem. They held up to the bike taking several impromptu dirt naps with no harm whatsoever. I'll be adding webbing so that they open similar to this:
In these I'll stock some spare parts, liquids and repair items. They'll also be where the bulk of my camp items are located, tent, food, small camp stove, etc. The load will be balanced between the two and, as on my 05 KLR, I'll add some elastic cordage inside to hold items in place. I also plan to add some MSR fuel bottles to the outside to get some additional peace of mind when riding in remote locations. Most importantly the outside of these will be used for the most critical modification to any motorcycle: stickers.
I'm going to be adding a small GIVI tank bag for storage of items I need quick access to like my cell phone, wallet, glasses, etc. I've run several tank bags in the past and tend to lean toward smaller offerings. It prevents over packing and keeps the weight low.
For electrical upgrades I'll be adding a fuse block under the seat and hard wiring the 60csx to it. I'll also be adding these ports to the dash:
The 12V socket will be used to run a Slime brand portable compressor for airing up the tires after going off road and the 5v side will handle cellphone charging and be within reach of the GIVI tank bag. I'll wire the 12V outlet so it's only powered when the bike is on and the 5V side will be constant so I can charge items while parked and camping overnight. I'm also going to be adding a battery tender with quick disconnects to keep the battery maintained when the bike is stored.
These items should round out the rest of the bike build until I wear out the stock tires. I'll detail their installation later this week when they all arrive.
Previously on my 05 KLR I had run a knock off GIVI rear trunk that JCWhitney produces. The trunk itself held up well but the mounting plate was total garbage and I had to fabricate my own mount after only owning the trunk for 4 months. This Emgo mount appears to use the same style of mounting (which I liked), but uses a thicker mounting plate with some support brackets on the bottom side to distribute the load. It's sized large enough that I can place my helmet inside when off the bike along with some other soft items like rain gear, gloves and jacket. I'll install webbing in the top of the trunk to hold smaller items against the lid such as a tire pressure gauge, small tool kit, etc.
For the side luggage rack I'm picking up a pair of Seahorse 720 cases. These are Pelican style cases that don't carry the Pelican price.
I ran these on my 05 KLR for nearly 50,000 miles and never had a problem. They held up to the bike taking several impromptu dirt naps with no harm whatsoever. I'll be adding webbing so that they open similar to this:
In these I'll stock some spare parts, liquids and repair items. They'll also be where the bulk of my camp items are located, tent, food, small camp stove, etc. The load will be balanced between the two and, as on my 05 KLR, I'll add some elastic cordage inside to hold items in place. I also plan to add some MSR fuel bottles to the outside to get some additional peace of mind when riding in remote locations. Most importantly the outside of these will be used for the most critical modification to any motorcycle: stickers.
I'm going to be adding a small GIVI tank bag for storage of items I need quick access to like my cell phone, wallet, glasses, etc. I've run several tank bags in the past and tend to lean toward smaller offerings. It prevents over packing and keeps the weight low.
For electrical upgrades I'll be adding a fuse block under the seat and hard wiring the 60csx to it. I'll also be adding these ports to the dash:
The 12V socket will be used to run a Slime brand portable compressor for airing up the tires after going off road and the 5v side will handle cellphone charging and be within reach of the GIVI tank bag. I'll wire the 12V outlet so it's only powered when the bike is on and the 5V side will be constant so I can charge items while parked and camping overnight. I'm also going to be adding a battery tender with quick disconnects to keep the battery maintained when the bike is stored.
These items should round out the rest of the bike build until I wear out the stock tires. I'll detail their installation later this week when they all arrive.
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
Also made a stop at the cascades on Tray Mountain. One of my favorite remote water features in the area.
Twin Magnolias
Adventurist
I've seen a Patriot up there once. They just put tires on either side of the V and made it up without too much difficulty.
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
I think all the rain during Irma caused quite a bit of erosion. It's the roughest I've ever seen it. These guys were lucky they were heading down, no way they were making it up.
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
You don't see it a lot any more outside of motocross but my son raced with some folks that swore by it. Given the difficulty I have removing grips when I want them to come off I've never used it. That being said I did used to carry a small length of it in my tool kit and used it in place of a broken/missing master link on a chain to limp a bike out of the woods. It also works well to hang a broken rear master cylinder off the frame when you break it off...
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
True adventure begins when you push yourself beyond your limits...
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
Finally home long enough to install the luggage on the bike. The Givi tank bag was easy, just loop the retention strap around the frame and then the magnets inside the flaps hold the bag to the tank. Seems strong enough to stay in place during spirited off road runs. Plenty of space for a wallet, keys and a couple of phones plus a spare pair of gloves. Just the right amount of storage without getting bulky.
Mounting the Seahorse cases took a little more work, but not much. The Tusk luggage rack I installed previously came with mounting brackets so that any rectangular storage box can be mounted to the rack. I had these same Seahorse cases on my previous KLR and loved them, hopefully these prove to be a durable.
First up I decided on a mounting position that wouldn't affect my riding position when moving around on the bike and marked one of the boxes.
After marking the box I drilled holes for the supplied fasteners. To make the other side match I opened the box I just drilled and placed it on top of the other box. Using these holes as a guide on the other box allowed me to create a mirror image on the second box. After that it was just a matter of dropping in the fasteners and dropping them into place on the bike.
While all the storage will be great for hauling camping gear and such we all know what motorcycle luggage is really for. Stickers!
Mounting the Seahorse cases took a little more work, but not much. The Tusk luggage rack I installed previously came with mounting brackets so that any rectangular storage box can be mounted to the rack. I had these same Seahorse cases on my previous KLR and loved them, hopefully these prove to be a durable.
First up I decided on a mounting position that wouldn't affect my riding position when moving around on the bike and marked one of the boxes.
After marking the box I drilled holes for the supplied fasteners. To make the other side match I opened the box I just drilled and placed it on top of the other box. Using these holes as a guide on the other box allowed me to create a mirror image on the second box. After that it was just a matter of dropping in the fasteners and dropping them into place on the bike.
While all the storage will be great for hauling camping gear and such we all know what motorcycle luggage is really for. Stickers!
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
After luggage it was time for electrical upgrades. First up, strip her naked.
Next up I twisted together a positive and a ground wire and wrapped them in electrical tape. After that I wrapped it all up in wire loom for extra protection.
One of the weak spots on a KLR is the electrical system, but not because of poor components or wiring. The KLR is built around a single cylinder 650cc engine. When you pump a piston the size of a small coffee can up and down that fast you're going to get some vibrations. All that vibration can cause the frame to rub on wires wear through the insulation, causing shorts that blow fuses. From what I can see Kawasaki has upgraded their wire protection on the 2.5 Gen bikes as the wires on my 2005 weren't covered near as well.
After applying all the wire protection I could I routed the wire from near the battery up to behind the dash.
European models of the KLR have some extra lighting, but they use the same wire harness on every bike. This little factory connector is unused on the American version of the bike and provided a perfect place to steal switched power for a relay.
A few connectors, a fuse and a relay later and everything was hooked up on the battery side of things. Turning the key powers the circuit and cuts it when the bike is off so there's no fear of accidentally draining the battery.
Pulled the dash off and marked out where the 12v plugs were going to go. Drilled a couple of pilot holes to get started with.
After that I went to town with the dremel.
None of my dremel bits worked very well on the metal of the dash so I had to break out the jigsaw and create some less than fashionable holes. Luckily the trim around the 12v outlets covers the odd shaped holes.
Put the bike back together and buttoned everything up. Now I have permanent power for the Garmin, a spot to power my 12v compressor and two USB plugs for charging phones and accessories.
Next up I twisted together a positive and a ground wire and wrapped them in electrical tape. After that I wrapped it all up in wire loom for extra protection.
One of the weak spots on a KLR is the electrical system, but not because of poor components or wiring. The KLR is built around a single cylinder 650cc engine. When you pump a piston the size of a small coffee can up and down that fast you're going to get some vibrations. All that vibration can cause the frame to rub on wires wear through the insulation, causing shorts that blow fuses. From what I can see Kawasaki has upgraded their wire protection on the 2.5 Gen bikes as the wires on my 2005 weren't covered near as well.
After applying all the wire protection I could I routed the wire from near the battery up to behind the dash.
European models of the KLR have some extra lighting, but they use the same wire harness on every bike. This little factory connector is unused on the American version of the bike and provided a perfect place to steal switched power for a relay.
A few connectors, a fuse and a relay later and everything was hooked up on the battery side of things. Turning the key powers the circuit and cuts it when the bike is off so there's no fear of accidentally draining the battery.
Pulled the dash off and marked out where the 12v plugs were going to go. Drilled a couple of pilot holes to get started with.
After that I went to town with the dremel.
None of my dremel bits worked very well on the metal of the dash so I had to break out the jigsaw and create some less than fashionable holes. Luckily the trim around the 12v outlets covers the odd shaped holes.
Put the bike back together and buttoned everything up. Now I have permanent power for the Garmin, a spot to power my 12v compressor and two USB plugs for charging phones and accessories.
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
I can see my house from here...no, really, I can. Plus graffiti and tourists.
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
Evening trip to the grocery store in 37 degree weather? Yes please! A minor detour down a trail on the way? Heck yeah!
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
I've been unhappy with the headlight on the KLR. The second gen is certainly a step up from what my first gen had on it, but it's just not enough light to safely ride at night IMHO. There are a couple companies out there making brackets for mounting LED lights on the bike, but they're either expensive or not compatible with other accessories I've already mounted, or both. Today I broke out the welder and using $9 in steel from Home Depot created a light bar that runs just above the stock headlight.
My plan is to mount two led pods on either end that will be on all the time to supply additional light to the left and right of the stock headlight, and then a small single row light bar in the middle that will be triggered by the high beam circuit. The two LED pods will give more visibility when cornering at night and act sort of like the ditch lights on my Sequoia when on the trail in the evening. During the day they'll be one more forward facing light that will hopefully help all those cage driving morons see me coming. The single row led bar will be there purely to help compensate for the poor stock headlight.
At some point in the future I may look at replacing the stock headlight bulbs with LEDs, if for no other reason than to get the color temperature of all the lights the same and win back a couple of amps for the electrical system.
Didn't have time to finish everything up today but here's one light pod mounted as a proof of concept:
I also grabbed some RAM mount products including an X-Grip with a rubber webbing for mounting a spare phone I had laying around. Picked up a cheap waterproof case for the phone off Amazon so now I have built in Google maps, Pandora, Backcountry Navigator, etc, etc, etc...
This was the first time trying out the USB charger I had added...discovered it was DOA. I've contacted the seller but don't expect much...probably just going to have to buy another and swap it out. I might break down and buy the Blue Sea option even though it costs 12X more...
My plan is to mount two led pods on either end that will be on all the time to supply additional light to the left and right of the stock headlight, and then a small single row light bar in the middle that will be triggered by the high beam circuit. The two LED pods will give more visibility when cornering at night and act sort of like the ditch lights on my Sequoia when on the trail in the evening. During the day they'll be one more forward facing light that will hopefully help all those cage driving morons see me coming. The single row led bar will be there purely to help compensate for the poor stock headlight.
At some point in the future I may look at replacing the stock headlight bulbs with LEDs, if for no other reason than to get the color temperature of all the lights the same and win back a couple of amps for the electrical system.
Didn't have time to finish everything up today but here's one light pod mounted as a proof of concept:
I also grabbed some RAM mount products including an X-Grip with a rubber webbing for mounting a spare phone I had laying around. Picked up a cheap waterproof case for the phone off Amazon so now I have built in Google maps, Pandora, Backcountry Navigator, etc, etc, etc...
This was the first time trying out the USB charger I had added...discovered it was DOA. I've contacted the seller but don't expect much...probably just going to have to buy another and swap it out. I might break down and buy the Blue Sea option even though it costs 12X more...
Gallowbraid
Adventurist
Yes. Being a single cylinder 650 the KLR produces quite a bit of vibration. It's been known to cause wives to leave their husbands and nuns to abandon their convent to pursue the "pleasures" of riding. Bar end weights were often added by owners of the first generation bikes...Kawasaki made them standard on the second generation.