KLR Owner looking for answers

[flyingpackman]

I know I'm opening myself up to some serious ridicule here, but here goes.



I got the dual sport bug, sold my old Honda road bike in February and bought a KLR650.  My second choice was a Tiger.  Now I'm wondering if I should have gone with the Tiger.  



Here is why I bought the KLR

- Cost 1/2 as much as a Tiger

- Costs much less to insure

- Lots of aftermarket stuff

- A Kawasaki dealer in every town in the US

- More off road worthy than the Tiger

- Better gas mileage.



Lately I've been thinking:

- The KLR hand grips and foot pegs vibrate so bad at 70+mph that it makes your extremities numb.

- 2-up on a KLR?  Not for any distance further than the corner store.  

- I have 3000 miles on the KLR.  All but a few were commuting to work on the pavement.  It has only been off-road 3 times.

- Fit and finish on the KLR seem cheap.  



I took a test ride on a used Tiger last year.  I loved it.  I only went for a short ride, so I didn't see how it handled at freeway speeds, and I did notice that it did a nose dive under hard braking.



So, I've been thinking of selling the KLR and getting a used Tiger.  I would like to take a few short trips with the wife and still maintain the ability to go off road once and a while.  I thought the best place to get some answers would be from the people who ride them.  Here goes:



- What year did they upgrade the front suspension?

- Is the seat big enough to ride with a passenger for a few hundred miles?

- What kind of mpg do you typically get?

- Is there enough wind protection for a 300 mile day?

- Any former KLR owners out there who would like to tell me why they switched?



Thanks,

[apache]

Hugely its all personal perferance and what your gonna do with the bike. Personally I cant even imagine a XR 650 or KLR for a 300+ mile day or worst yet a several day trip. I couldent imagine trying to offroad a tiger like I have a KLR or XR650. No disrespect to either, just different tools for different jobs. 2 up on a Tiger? no problem. 500 mile days? no problem. Mid 40ies on fuel.Heavy duty off roading? how good do you ride a 550+lb bike in the dirt. Dealer network?? no where near the amount as Triumph. Parts either. I pay less than $70 a year for ins on my 97, but I have several bikes and vehicles so I get a multi discount. My buddy has a 03 XR650, geared up, 8 gallon fuel capacity,panniers and some other long range goodies. Not to insult but its a far cry better than any KLR off road, and its equal on road now.Much can be done to improve these, but again its all trade offs. Ive learned in 30 years of owning bikes theres no perfect do it all bike, but a Tiger is damn close. Look around,there are unreal deals to be had. I dont know where your at buit there was a 03, black, 6000 miles, female owned, like new, to be had for $4500 a while back. I paid $2400 for my 97 with 16,500 miles and in xlnt condition.

 Good luck.

[greg]

Well I,ve never owned an off road bike but I have owned alot of road bikes. The Tiger does it all and I have even done some mild off roading on it. I cannot think of a better all purpose bike and that includes taking the mick out of sportsbikes should the mood take you.

[Howlin]

Well I must be out of the norm because I had a 99 KLR650 and have riding many 350 to 500 mile days and did my first 1350 miles on it in ONE day.Of course you could have shot me when I got off it,and I would not have felt it!:)
I have had a 00 885 and ride a 03 955 now,but for serious off rode I would feel better on a KLR or a ZukiDRZ,but for 2 up and minor offroad the Tiger is ok.Much heavier and not so flickable as the KLR.
I still love the Tiger but for playing on the back trails short of a full on mx bike the tiger does ok.
Guess I need a serious offroad bike besides the Tiger.

[dougahole]

Well, I stepped up to the tiger for long distance comfort and the occasional fire road jaunt. I started riding the big bore thumpers back in 1990 starting with a Yamaha ZT600, then a Kawasaki KLX650 in 96 which had better suspension than a KLR but had a harder seat. In 2000 I went with a KTM LC4 640, in 2002 I tryed the BMW f650 Dakar and back to a KTM 640 Adventure in 04. None of these bikes worked well for highway use for long distance other than the BMW but it was still wrung out at 95 mph. My off road excursions became less and less over the years and I finally decided that if I was going to get another dual sport type bike it would be a muti cylinder that could go the distance and one that also sounds like a sportbike which I have also had many of, so the tiger was it. It's heavy off road, but to me, so are the big ,street legal thumpers. Let's face it, any dirtbike over 350 lbs is too heavy for serious trail use so I keep the serious off roading to 250 lb bikes that get trailered to the dirt

[flyingpackman]

Thanks for all the insight.  



The KLR isn't that great of a dirt bike either.  It weighs about 340 pounds.  I know lots of guys ride it like a MX bike, but like they said in another forum, it has a lot to do with the person riding the bike and what tires it has on it.   Besides, I don't plan on getting any more agressive than fire roads in the national forest.   I figure you could throw some more agressive tires on the Tiger, put on a real skid plate, some engine guards and I would be good to go for what I plan to do.



The main reason to change would be to get a bike that can comfortably go down the freeway with two people on it and carry overnight luggage.  I guess what I need to do is to up to Erico Motorsports in Denver and take a test ride with my wife on the back.   By the way, the people at that dealership are very nice and were extremely helpful when I was looking at Tigers last year.  They let me take one for a test ride which is unusual at many dealerships.



I think I need to limit my search to 2001 - 2004.  Didn't they change the geometry in 2005?  Wasn't the 955 introduced in 2001?  Does anyone have any suggestions on what year to buy.  I figure the KLR is worth about $4000-$4500 with all the extras on it.  I looked up the values of the Tiger on the NADA site and the Kelly Blue book site.  Here are the ranges



2004 $6100-$8200

2003 $5300-$7500

2002 $4900-$6800

2001 $4200-$6300



So, it looks like if I find a good deal on an '02 I may be able to slide over to a better bike much extra cash.  



Comments?

[ArizonaKid]

The 01-04 Tigers are basically the same and would be my choice.  The 05 updates include changed front end geometry, cast wheels and tubeless tires instead of spokes and tubes and a couple other minor cosmetic changes.  Many have held on to their pre 01 Tigers and are completely happy with them.  The Tiger's forte is highway riding (including 2 upping it) with an occassional dirt road thrown in.  The front end can be beefed up with heavier springs and/or heavier fork oil, but the stock set up is fine for most.  There are lots of accessories for the Tiger, not only from Triumph, but from companies like Touratec, etc.  Dealers are close at hand, especially in larger metropolitan areas.  Depending on your height, wind protection on the Tiger is adequate to good. Larger after-market wind screens are available if you're of the mind, but to me, part of the motorcycle experience is being out in the wind to some degree.  Heated grops are a nice and relatively inexpensive accessory for the Tiger.  Universally, I think the used motorcycle market is rife with great deals. It's definately a buyer's market.  I'm confident you'll be able to find a nice Tiger for very little $ if you're patient and willing to travel to get it.

[bwvtom]

As Apache has said two different tools for two different jobs.



 IÌm currently looking for a second hand DRZ 400 Suzy to play silly buggers with in a more serious off road environment, but I wonÌt be parting with my 2001 955i any time soon, I love it too much and it really is the only bike IÌve owned that comes even close to being a perfect all-rounder



The front end dive can be easily and cheaply fixed by going to the next heavier grade fork oil from stock and fitting a 10 to 15 millimetre spacer under the fork caps (I went 20 mm but was way too harsh so machined them down to 15 mm ).



That was perfect for me but IÌm a big bloke, if your lighter go for around 10mm.

IÌve also dropped the forks 10mm through the top triple clamp, with this set up and the rear end dialled in properly the Tiger can surprise the odd sports bike in the twisties.



IÌm not particularly Ïbrand loyalÓ, having owned many different bikes over the years, but these bikes are great.    But be warned!    



Take one for a ride for an hour or two and it will put a stupid grin on your face that can take quite a while to get rid of!



Have fun, ride safe.

Cheers B-Burl

OZ  :D

[Bushwhacker]

I rode a KLR on a 5000 mile 16 day loop from Anchorage down to Banff, up to Dawson Creek, then to Fairbanks, up to the Arctic Circle, then back to Anchorage.



I had no problems at all with the bike, with the ride, with it's ability to keep up with other traffic, or its ability in gravel road/unpaved situations (about 6-800 miles of gravel and everything else was paved)



We cruised regularly at 75-80 mph.



I have a 2005 Tiger and it is one of the best Road bikes I have ever owned, but the KLR is better and much easier to ride on dirt and gravel roads.



I recommend you buy the Tiger for two-up and road trips and then get you a good used DRZ400 for your off road fun.



-

[flyingpackman]

Sounds like a great idea.  



Now you make me wonder if I should just keep the KLR and get a Gold Wing for road trips with the wife.  



I'm so confused.  



I need to work on the wife a bit because I still get "the look" every time I talk about getting another bike.

[kiwitiger]

Easy fix - swap wife for 2 bikes.

[flyingpackman]

:lol:

Funny!  How much are used wives going for these days?  She's a '65 model, pretty good shape, average miles.



Yesterday I was looking on Happy Trail's web site.  They have a skid plate/engine guard kit for the Tiger that looks pretty good.  



I'm going to keep my eyes open for an '02.  If I find a good used one I may sell the KLR and fix the Tiger up to make it a bit more dirt-road worthy.  In the long run I think it would match my riding needs better than the KLR.  (No disrespect to the KLR)



Thanks for all the feedback.  I appreciate you comments.  Keep them coming.

[waltconrad]

I just sold my KLR250. I'm too old and fat now to sweat blood riding trails in NV, they are rough,rocky,rutted full of loose sand, gravel,and rocks. I really liked the KLR but the seat was too hard,like all trailbike seats. i'm looking at buying a Tiger and would like to do a little riding on dirt roads here. For trail riding anything over 250 is going to be a handlful. Having 2 bikes would be the perfect solution. Selling a bike is really the $hits when you loose money. It's a tough call. Since i'm old and fat I'm going the comfortable route.

[Dick Boyer]

Actually the 955 Tiger gets better gas milage than the KLR and a lot better than my XR650L.  A friend and I did a 3 day trip awhile back on his 04 KLR and my 04 Tiger. We filled at the same time and the Tiger was always cheaper to fill.

[flyingpackman]

That's good news about the MPG.  I commute back and forth to work almost every day on my KLR.  It's about 7 miles and the maximum speed is 45mph.  I've got about 3200 miles on the bike and so far I haven't had any worse than 52mpg.  I'm sure if I did a lot of freeway riding that the MPG would decrease significantly.