So As of March 27th, i now own a 2008 Kawasaki KLR650. I was able to get the price down to a reasonable deal of $5800 Out the door with all fees, taxes and registration covered.So far i LOVE the bike, its fantastic. Very decent amount of power (not going to impress anyone that owns a crotch rocket) It has a plush ride and you can literally hit speed bumps at 20-40 mph and it feels like rolling over a pencil. It will happily cruise 80mph all day on the slab, but will also be just as happy riding dirt roads, wooded trails, or playing in mud.
To make the bike more "me" i have added some goodies that i think make the bike more useful day to day. I have installed crash bars around the lower plastics, that will allow the bike to fall over without damaging anything important. The crash bars also have Highway pegs that allow you to strech out on long rides. I have also added HID headlights to the bike, which turn night into day.... Literally.
Before Shot with stock headlights:
After Shot with HID's installed:
I also added LED piaa bulbs to the guages to make them light up the same color as the headlights (blue/white)
Before:
After:
I purchased some luggage to put on the bike so i can carry things without a backpack all the time. I got a Dowco Soft luggage set. It has a tank bag, tail bag, saddle bags, all with built in raincovers. The tank bag has a map/directions pocket on the front to keep info visible and safe, has wire entrance holes to run power into it for lighting or charging up cell phones or laptops/cameras. The saddle bags have aluminum heat reflective sheilds that keep them safe from the exhaust. The tailbag also has shoulder straps that can make it into a makeshift backpack and can hold a full sized helmet!
I also ordered a rain suit for riding in... well.. rain. Exciting i know.There are a couple more doo-dads i would like to install on the bike including a power outlet for a heated vest. Maybe look into a custom exhaust that will make the bike sound meaner, while adding some HP to it as well. Otherwise the bike is fantastic, after reading one rave review after another in the motorcycle publications, i really feel like this bike was hyped up, but the bike lives up to its expectations. I am VERY happy with my purchase. These bikes are known to go to 100,000 miles before needing a rebuild, the marines use them for covert ops and scouting missions all over the world (including the arctic) These bikes have even been used for adventure riders to cirumnavigate the globe on.... Pretty amazing for a bike that has an engine as simple as a lawnmower and anyone who can pick up a basic hand tool can probably fix a broken one of these bikes. They are simple, haven't changed much in over 20 years and parts are aplenty.
You would be hard pressed to find another bike with such a following, with such charisma, and such usefullness for under 10,000. I could buy 2 of these bikes for the price of the BMW competitor, and the Bimmer won't be easy (or cheap) to fix.
I will be adding more to this post as time goes on. :)
