Full Time On A Motorcycle

[USACelt]

Hello fiddlefootn,
Looks like a fantastic adventure and I look forward to your added posts. I too have a KLR and have enjoyed it for years. It is a fantastic machine with its limits in mind.
As mentioned before this site http://www.klr650.net is a great resource for the KLR community I am LEOPARD_125 over there, come on over and have a look about.
Many many helpful members with tips and tricks and I think a invaluable resource for someone with a KLR and traveling. We have a On thread system for emergence help if ever needed.

 

[nobodyG17]

Looking forward to more stories and pictures! 

Never been on an KLR but always been interested.  Taken a few long motorcycle trips myself.  Now my plan is to put my moto on the back of my van.

 

[BigT]

This was my last and most heavily modded KLR.  I dumped way too much money into this '06.

Super-fun bike, though. 

 

[LeeRevell]

Here's my 2005 KLR650 loaded for a trip up from Tallahassee, Florida to Andersonville, Ga. 

I rode with three other KLRs, and three Scooters - I was the youngest member of the "gang" at 55 then.  Most of them were retirees.  We avoided Interstate highways, as a loaded KLR can just do highway speeds, and has no excess power to get out of a jam.  She'll cruise 65 - 70 MPH all day long though.  We'd do 200 miles or so then stop for gas and to stretch our legs.  I carry a one-man bivy tent when bike camping.  Tank panniers have a couple canteens, steel canteen cup and other small items.  Bar bag holds wallet, camera, etc when traveling.  Two small fairing cheek pouches are a FAK and PSK for emergencies.  Food, mini propane stove, lantern, etc in the side bags.
The gray bag on the tail rack is my folding chair - my back needs some support in camp.  This is my essentials, distilled down from several road trips.

 

[masterplumber]

Here's mine loaded for a trip last summer. I think I'm going to just take one Roto Pak for now on, one of the fuel ones, I had too much weight to even think about dirt roads, so naturally I took a few 1 extra gallon of fuel is all I've ever needed even when very remote in Utah. and I can usually get by with a couple Nalgene containers of water, plus my Camelbak pack. So the 2nd gallon of fuel and extra gallon of water are just extra weight. 

 

[LeeRevell]

Here's mine loaded for a trip last summer. I think I'm going to just take one Roto Pak for now on, one of the fuel ones, I had too much weight to even think about dirt roads, so naturally I took a few 1 extra gallon of fuel is all I've ever needed even when very remote in Utah. and I can usually get by with a couple Nalgene containers of water, plus my Camelbak pack. So the 2nd gallon of fuel and extra gallon of water are just extra weight. 

A nice thing about the venerable KLR650 is the gas capacity.  Listed at about 6.5 gallons, in actuality I find about 5.5 gallons is useable, though in a pinch you can lower the bike and slosh some gas from the lower bowels on the right side to the left side where the pickup is for another mile or two.  Those deep cheeks in the tank trap a gallon of gas!  There are a couple higher capacity plastic tanks available, up to around eight gallons!  But for offroading that gets too heavy up top.  Great for long highway runs though.  Offroad, a half tank is best.
We have used our KLRs as 'tankers' to give gas to starving smaller bikes while on a forest run.  I always carry a bit of hose. 
Another KLR advantage is it's seat - the widest and most comfy of any dual sport bike.   I still get some serious "Monkey Butt" on long rides, and use a strap on faux-lambs wool seat cover I made.
Had a funny episode on a long ride - coming back from NC to Florida, I was wondering why I just could not get comfy on my seat with the added pad.  Got home (nearly 700 miles later) to find I had accidentally left a multitool, and a couple other small hard objects on the seat UNDER the pad!  That Princess with her pea had nothing on me! 
Being a tall guy, I added a longer shift lever (better fits my Size Fifteen boondockers) and a lowering kit for my aftermarket studded aluminum footpegs.  Much better fit!  The mighty KLR can be lowered a bit for shorter riders, or raised for us taller guys, buy some simple rear suspension mods.  But a rider who is extremely "height challenged" is better to get a smaller bike - KLRs are tall beasts.
The Kawasaki Super Sherpa (250 cc) and the Yamaha XT225/XT250 are much lower in seat height and get far better gas mileage, but aren't good on fast highways.  They are a lot lighter though, good for smaller trailers and for hitch-haul carriers.

 

[fiddlefootn]

When I started out the bike was factory with the exception of the Happy Trails Teton (7.5') panniers.

When left LA I headed north into the mountains. The higher I rode into them the colder it became. You could definitely feel the moisture. Unlike a cruiser the KLR has no real wind protection so one is exposed to the elements in a much greater way. My winter riding jacket was a real plus, but my hands suffered. The problem was the more you add to your hands the less they can operate the controls.

It was getting late and I had not made sufficient plans on where I would stay for the night. Free riding was fine, but it still demands responsibility. I was so carried away with the serendipitous nature of being on the bike I didn't stop to think or maybe I was just ignoring my ill planning in hopes that everything would turn out alright. In my defense (yeah, right) I had not been to this area and had no idea what lay before me. Finally I had to stop on a two lane road filled with a line of cars headed north to their warm homes. I turned back to an area I had seen on the way up hoping that could be my resting place for the night. When I got there it didn't feel right. There was a lot of exposure and the increase of moisture in the air made me leery. Back down to lower elevations. It was now dark and I had promised myself no night riding. I found a rest area, pulled out the old Coleman bag, the tarp, covered up, and fell into a restless sleep on the concrete.

Some decisions had to be made. Hopefully some good ones this time. I would head back to Frank's and reorganize. Down I-10 I sped encountering very high cross winds. It seemed that I was leaning into the wind by at least 30*. When passing a Semi or hit by a wind gust I would be constantly correcting the bike from upright to the severe lean. Exhausted I made it back to the Phoenix area. When I pulled in Frank looked at my face and started laughing. No sympathy from a life long MC rider.

I decided there was too much weight so the aluminum panniers were replaced with Wolfman panniers, tank bag, and duffle bag. These allowed me to organize things much better. I had been searching for a better way to sleep and came across the hammock forums. Hammocks - sounded good. I placed an order for a custom made by Dream Hammocks. I had to wait, but would contact Randy when it was done and he could send it to where I would be. There, some big issues solved. Now I was ready to tackle this again.

Next: Here we go again.

 

[USACelt]

Here is mine on a camping trip last year.

 

[akrvbob]

It was getting late and I had not made sufficient plans on where I would stay for the night. Free riding was fine, but it still demands responsibility. 

Some decisions had to be made. Hopefully some good ones this time. I would head back to Frank's and reorganize. There, some big issues solved. Now I was ready to tackle this again.

Next: Here we go again.

It takes real courage to see that you've headed out prematurely and stop and go back to square one to get it right, I really admire that. Lot's of people would have just pushed on, had a horrible time and thrown in the towel forever.

Good going!! 
Bob

 

[fiddlefootn]

I want to thank each and everyone for their responses. I find the photos, comments and the input of their experiences are so appreciated.

Very quickly here are a couple of photos of my bike toward the end. I hope to address its changes and why a little latter.



Next: North bound

 

[AndrewB]

Don't know how much you read on the hammock forums, but just to prevent you some additional time if you forgot to order some key items or for anyone else reading your thread, here is a quick primer for hammocking:

If you ordered a double layered hammock, you have the choice of using a sleeping pad or underquilt. They are designed to allow you to slip the pad between layers. With the double layer, it holds the pad where you place it, otherwise it tends to float in your hammock, making it easy to fall off the pad. One advantage to a pad is it allows you to "go to ground" in the case of no suitable set of trees.

Underquilt is more comfortable and provides more insulation while also packing down smaller than a pad, roughly a softball to cantaloupe size, depending on the temp rating, and will easily fit into your panniers vs needing to be strapped on your back rack.

A good sleeping bag is adequate for hammocking. You can also get a top quilt to save space & weight (but not $$).

Dream Hammocks makes excellent hammocks. He doesn't includes tree straps and whoopie slings/UCRs/cinch buckles by default, but you will need a set if you didn't select them when ordering. (Straps prevent damage on the trees compared to rope.) 

One last thing you will need is a tarp and some line to connect it to your trees & the ground. Your standard blue tarp will work on a motorcycle since you aren't carrying yourself, but doesn't pack down as nice and is a bit heavy for backpacking compared to silnylon, silpolyester or cuben fiber.

If you are looking for a good quilt vendor, I would highly suggest Underground Quilts. They use a durable water resistant coating on the down. This prevents it from absorbing sweat, rain & humidity, especially important if you are using your hammock every night. Damp down = little/no insulation.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Love this post. I've always wanted a KLR but have yet to pick one up. My longest motorcycle trip was from Plymouth Ma (where the pilgrims landed, about 35 miles south of Boston) to Dallas Texas. I did it on my 05 Harley Sportster 1200 and yes it had a peanut tank! My brother did the trip with me and he was on a Kawasaki Ninja 500. Not the two best touring bikes out there, but being in our mid 20's it seemed like an appropriate adventure. Plus, our Dad had just passed, we had just come back from a month long back packing trip through Hawaii's big island where we spread his ashes. Hawaii being the only state, he'd never been to. We were feeling nostalgic, talking about memories of us and him and how he had did a cross country road trip in his mid 20's, those were the bikes we had, so we just hopped on them and went. I can honestly say I never experienced such highs and lows as I did on that trip. The good days were like heaven on earth and the bad days were like riding through hell (only a lot colder and rainier) But looking back now, almost ten years later I'm so glad we did it. I added a luggage rack, rear bag and saddle bags and most importantly a windshield. I had pretty much everything I needed. Down bag, ultra light backpacker's tent, very small butane stove (fit in a tuna can) nesting pot, rain gear, chaps, change of clothes, sleeping pad and was even able to squeeze a two liter container of fuel between the luggage rack and rear fender. My brother had 5x the range my bike did so we siphoned fuel from his tank a few times as well. We did a combo of motels and camping through out the 17 day trip. Our original goal was to make it to Austin, we picked that as our goal because it rhymed with Boston, (we are very sophisticated travelers) however once we reached Dallas we were running out of time because he had to get back to start school, so we turned around and made the trip back. On the way down we did mostly back roads, never using a map just following roads that took us west or south. The next year I took the same bike to Sturgis during the rally, although that trip was a bit more comfortable as I put it in back of my van. I also upgraded to a 5 gallon gas tank. This years project is to convert a cargo trailer and meet some of you at the 2017 RTR. Look forward to reading more of these posts, just joined this forum yesterday. Happy and safe travels to anyone out on the road right now.

 

[LeeRevell]

One problem I had doing long trips on the KLR650 was the wee "windshield".  More a simple air deflector really.  Useless for me.  After the first trip I removed it.  I went from constant batting of my punkin' head back and forth sideways, to nice clean air on my helmet.  This is a common problem for tall riders.
The air pressure on my chest does make me tired after some time though.  But it is better than being beaten in the head.  Some find a taller windshield works, some don't.  It takes experimentation.
Another problem is the flimsy front fender that flops and twists in the wind making the front end feel shaky.  I cut it off short.  Better but now I got more water spray onto me!  Finally I bolted the fender section back on but overlapped so it was shorter and stiffer.  Works well.  Some like the Gen Two fender which bolts right onto the Gen One.  It is a copy of the KTM fender.
I also removed the too-low tag mount on the rear and attached the tag onto the rear fendor.  This provides clearance and prevents knobbier tires grabbing the tag and ripping it off.
The KLR650 is the best bike of it's class overall, but still needs some tweaking and modding.  You'll keep adding in new bits and pieces to optimise it for YOUR ride style and needs.  More "farkles", yeah!  KLR happiness!

 

[masterplumber]

The 2 best modifications I've done to my 1 gen KLR for touring - I replaced the windshield with a Madstad unit - expensive but the best option for a KLR. it has it's own support frame so it doesn't buffet like the other large ones and it's easily removable for agressive dirt riding. The other big thing is I put a fender from a 2008 or newer KLR on it. They really did a good job on the design. I ran a low supermoto fender for a while and I get no more wind buffeting with this one than I did with that one. It also looks much better and gives a lot more clearance for the front tire if you ride through mud. I also think it gives me better coverage in the rain.