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Riding with the KLR Seat Upgrade

Two inches of fresh snow fell overnight, but by noon temps were in the upper thirties and the streets were clear. A little sunshine would have helped warm things up, but that never happened. The grey sky did not matter, I had waited long enough for the first KLR ride of 2013.


I installed the battery and seat with the Seat Concepts upgrade from my post  "Butt Sore No More." The "new" seat looked great and Sally started right up with a little choke. That putt-putt-putt sound as she warmed up, was music to my ears.


Before attaching the tail bag, I shot these pictures showing how the seat looks on the bike. My first impression was, "Wow - that is really wide." But, standing on the pegs felt the same as with the stock seat.


Setting on the seat, it was cushy, but not soft - I liked it. We took a short ride - more on that in my next post - but the cold, gusty, wind did not make for a pleasant day. Still, it was great to be back on the KLR and I liked the look and feel of the upgraded seat.    

Batman Rides A KLR at Helmet Dawg


This cool shot of Batman tearing up the street on his KLR comes from the Helmet Dawg.com site. They sell a Batman styled helmet called "Dark as Knight" that may not be your best choice for the Kokopelli Trail, but is perfect for racing around Gotham City. If you want to express your Batman side, click the image to visit the Helmet Dawg site for close ups of the helmet, and more pics of The Dark Knight riding his favorite Kawi dual sport, as well as some other bikes. 

Progressive Fork Springs and Top Gun Shock Upgrade


You Tuber and KLR rider Kamil Wojtowicz has posted a very good walk-through video of him installing some Progressive front fork springs and a Top Gun spring on the rear shock of his 2012 KLR650. If you are considering some suspension upgrades to your bike, you will be interested in this video. Click the image above to see Kamil and his bike.

The Road to Salvation Mountain

This blog's regular visitors know that I love my KLR650, which takes nothing away from any of the other great dual sport bikes out there. Sadly, there are many great bikes that I will never have the pleasure to ride or own. But, I enjoy learning about those bikes which brings me to this article from cycleworld.com that rates five very fine dual sport/adventure bikes in a head-to-head comparison.

www.cycleworld.com
The goal was to find the best ride to help you survive the apocalypse. The competitors were the: Husky TR650 Terra, Triumph Tiger 800XC, Kawasaki KLR650, Yamaha Super Tenere, and the KTM 990 Adventure Baja. (Where was the BMW entry?) Each bike has its own strengths and weaknesses that become clear as the test team escapes the apocalypse of downtown L.A. and rides across the desert to Salvation Mountain.

Click the image above to read the article and find out which bike won. The selection may stir some controversy and that's fine. What a boring world we would live in if everyone liked and rode the same bike.   

Mountain Trail Ride Video


Click the picture for a nice ride video of two KLRs on a fun trail up a mountain in Georgia. 

2008-2013 KLR650 Headlight Bulb Replacement


Here is a very good You Tube video from "smallengineshop" that takes you step-by-step through replacing the headlight bulb on your 2008-2013 KLR650. It is certainly not the most exciting aspect of KLR riding, but I highly recommended it, since sooner or later you will be doing this to your bike. Click the picture above to see the video.