Winter KLR 650 Maintenance & Upgrades

It's the dead of winter here in northern Indiana and I have a couple of task that needing attending to on the old KLR as well as a few upgrades that I have been collecting parts for over the past few months. If you get a part here and a part there and can manage to be patient, winter updates and repairs don't have to be that painful. Of course right when I start all this it's going to break into a beautiful winter thaw, but this really shouldn't take all that long anyway. 

First up, the speedometer went out on me last spring in the thick of some off-trail brush up on the MCCCT and I have been meaning to get that repaired all summer (I guess there are a few more miles on the bike than the odometer claims...). Next, the steering has been feeling a little funny since I got the bike and I have often wondered if the steering head bearings aren't going out. More on that later. Lastly for the maintenance and repairs, I noticed the last time I put tires on the bike (Kenda 244's, which I have been very happy with) I noticed that the brake pads were getting a bit low. I will go ahead and replace those.

Apart from these repairs and maintenance issues, I have a couple of upgrades I want to make to the bike. First up, the suspension: stock KLR suspension is very, very basic. I won't say it's not usable, because I and plenty of other riders all over the world have ridden with it for years, sometimes in incredible terrain. I will also acknowledge that KLR suspension probably wasn't designed for a 6'-6" 250lb rider carrying gear. However, during the last year's and this spring's trips up to the MCCCT and doing a bit more off-road riding, the suspension really demonstrated its failings. Whooped out sections of the trail required slowing waaay down and still bottoming out at the bottom with a wild swaying and bucking gate that instantly let me know that the whole bike was laboring on each and every up and down. This in turn meant that the tires where either not getting enough traction, or biting deep into the sand only when the bike was completely bottomed out and off balance. The rear suspension was much the same on the trail, but showed its unsuitedness to my weight and riding style more around town. I'm a big rider and when my wife's weight was added to mine it made the bike squat way down and handle terribly even with the preload all the way up. I should also mention that the front suspensions light spring rate is a detriment on the road and around town since it wants to dive excessively under braking loads. 

These are all common KLR owner complaints and luckily for me they have been solved with a multitude of upgrades options for the suspension (as with just about everything else with the KLR). While I do ride off-road and will doubtless appreciate a better suspension set-up, I am not an off-road racer or anything of the sort. I just want to make the suspension a bit stiffer, quicker, and allow for my weight. In the spirit of KLRing, I'm also not interested in spending a fortune on state-of-the-art equipment. If I was, I wouldn't have a KLR. So, that means I'm not opting for aftermarket shock absorbers or forks. Rather, I am going to take mine apart and rebuild them with a selection of the many upgrade parts that are available for the KLR owner. First off, I want those forks to behave a bit better. The tried-and-true upgrade here is the Progressive (yep, it's right in the name) fork spring conversion. You take out the stock springs and spacers, replace them with the progressive units, maybe up your oil weight a bit, and blammo, you've got far, far better front suspension than the stock KLR. Notice I didn't say great or competitive, because it's not. It's still an ancient, out-of-date, damper tube suspension system, but it will have plenty more preload with the new spacers, and most importantly, a progressive spring rate. I'll see how I like it and maybe down the road I'll get emulators or intiminators to give even better compression and rebound damping, but for now I'm just looking forward to the better preload, stiffer, faster ride, and the lack of wallowing dive. Oh, I think I'm also going to push those fork tubes back down to the stock position and gain myself another 1" of ride height, as one of the previous owners had lowered the front end (I have heard the lowered front end can result in better handling so I will try this with caution). 

At the back I am replacing the stock monoshock spring with a new unit from Top Gun that is rated for up to 300lbs. I'm not all that heavy, but I do often ride with gear and love to zip downtown with my wife, so I decided to go for the heavier spring. We'll see how that goes. While I have the shock out, I plan to rebuild the shock, replacing the damper head with a new aftermarket part and changing the oil. It is possible to rebuild the stock head, but it requires bending out some seal retainers and looks like it will cost around the same for the replacement seals as a new head so I opted for the later.

The next upgrade is the front brake. The brakes on the KLR are nothing to write home about. I have been in several experiences with both deer and cars where my braking was not the thing that prevented me going down. They stop the bike, but with the mushy front end they don't do it very fast. So, I decided to invest in a new 270mm wavy front rotor. I am going to continue to use the stock caliper and simply upgrade the brake pads (they're wearing out and I'll need a new even surface to mate up with the brand new rotor. To make all this work, I got a billet aluminum brake caliper extender arm which should make the install of this upgrade fairly easy. We'll see how it goes and if I'm still not happy, maybe will upgrade to a double piston caliper at some point.  

Lastly, the steering head bearings. I'm kind of dreading this one as it requires quite a bit of disassembly, but really I'm sure that won't take long. I have removed quite a few bearing races from steering heads, and that can be quite frustrating though. I've got the new bearings in and I'll see if I can't isolate that headset shake I think I've been feeling and maybe fix it just by tightening top the adjuster nuts... (although given the age of the bike I'd say it's more likely that that isn't going to solve the problem). Either way, I'll solve that when I get to it.

And without further ado, here is the basic process of making these upgrades and performing the maintenance in as simple a manner as I can devise. I often under-plan these things so I thought it would be better to write it out first and see if I could figure out where I would get stuck before I got there... If it all works out as I plan, I hope to post some pictures of the process soon. Barely any of these upgrades will be the kind you can see and show off, rather they will be the kind that you are thankful for and can gloat over while you are enjoying the ride.

Front Suspension Upgrade

1. Jack up front of bike
2. Remove front wheel
3. Remove brake caliper 
4. Clean brake caliper and install new brake pads
5. Remove brake rotor from wheel
6. Install new brake rotor on wheel
7. Test forks for steering head bearing failure (see #11)
8. Loosen fork caps
9. Loosen fork triple tree clamps
10. Remove fork legs
11. If replacing steering head bearings, now’s the time...
12. Remove fork caps
13. Remove stock spacers, washers, and springs
14. Drain oil
15. Flush with new fork oil
16. Reinstall fork legs (flush with top plate)
17. Add 15W fork oil w/fork legs compressed
18. Pump up and down several times
19. Install new fork springs, washers, and PVC spacers (cut to length)
20. Replace fork caps (torque as per manual)
21. Install new brake caliper extender
22. Reinstall brake caliper on new extender
23. Reinstall wheel
24. Install new speedometer drive
25. Let front of bike down and test new suspension

Rear Suspension Upgrade

1. Jack up rear of bike
2. Remove rear shock
3. Thoroughly clean shock
4. Remove stock shock spring
5. Open up shock and remove stock plunger head
6. Replace with aftermarket head 
7. Refill with 15W shock oil
8. Put shock back together
9. Install new shock spring
10. Refill shock with nitrogen
11. Reinstall shock
12. Replace rear brake pads
13. Replace rear wheel
14. Test it all out...

Steering Head Bearings

1. Remove front fairing
2. Remove wiring from speedometer cluster marking carefully
3. Remove speedometer cluster
4. Remove handlebars and set back on tank
5. Remove top plate nut
6. Remove top plate
7. Loosen and remove adjuster nuts 
8. Remove steering stem from steering head and set aside
9. Tap out headset bearing races (prepare to exert high levels of patience)
10. Clip off lower bearing cage and attempt to tap off lower bearing inner race
11. If this doesn’t work, cut it off with a dremel very carefully
12. Pack new bearings with grease
13. Cut an opening in the side of the old bearing races
14. Tap in the new bearing races to the headset with the old bearing races turned upside down
15. Install lower bearing inner race on steering stem
16. Reinstall steering stem in headset
17. Tighten adjuster nuts
18. Reinstall top plate
19. Reinstall top plate nut and torque down
20. Test fork bearing tension and adjust accordingly
21. Reinstall handlebars
22. Reinstall speedometer cluster
23. Reconnect wiring according to marks
24. Replace front fairing

Snapping Turtle on the Dock

The Paragon...

Here is a sneak preview of what I was doing in the few moments I wasn't working on my thesis this semester. MLM's Devin Biek and I have set out to design and build a custom moped frame from the 19" wheels and swing-arm up to the polished aluminum tank and seat. Oh, and the pedal shaft... Our inspiration comes from 60's & 70's 50cc GP racers with a flavour of 20's and 30's record breakers. Don't mind those EBR's they're just on there for the mock up. More to come in good time...

Design Precedents:

Early Triumph racers

'65 Honda 50cc GP racer

The 1937 Excelsior "Manxman"

Italian 50cc racers

The famous supercharged Zenith "Super Kim"

60's Minarelli 50cc GP racer

Ivan Wicksteed's Brooklands record breaking supercharged Triumph Speed Twin

60's & 70's GP racers

Harley Davidson board track racers

I love this shot. And those handlebars...

The Villa Lante in Fall

 Looking down from the Silver Age to the Golden Age of human Invention

 The famous Water Chain

 The table of water in the Silver Age

 The back door of the right pavilion

Looking down the Via Barozzi to the old borgo of Bagnaia

North Manitou Island

The Manitou Islands lie about eight miles off the coast of the Lelenau peninsula of Michigan. Both islands were used for timber and small-scale farming. The North Island housed a U.S. Coast Guard Station which is still standing and the South Island provided the best sheltered harbor between Chicago and Machinac. During the late nineteenth century both islands were used as refueling points for steamers. Small communities formed around the lumber camps and docks, but the majority of the island's residents seem to have been homesteaders with anywhere from two to twenty acre farms in secluded areas of the islands. During the 1880's a small resort association of Chicago businessmen grew on the western coast of the North Island where about ten of the cottages can still be seen in ruins. Today both islands are part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes State Park and are designates as wilderness areas. 

While the South Island can be a day trip and provides tours of its lighthouse, beautiful dunes and several campgrounds, the North Island is completely wild except for about twelve acres surrounding the Ranger Station and dock. As soon as you have reached the wilderness area you can camp just about anywhere that is more than 300 ft from the water.  

Historic Fishtown in Leland, where the ferry to the Manitou Islands departs.

Traditional fishermen inspect the engine of the Joy, one of Fishtown's two working Michigan "fish tugs." 

Looking astern in the Manitou Isle, the ancient ferry that serves the North Island.

The Ranger Station, Caretaker's cottage and Boathouse from the dock. 

We camped on the northern end of the island near the John Maleski farm.

The stars were fantastic on the clear nights, the Milky Way shining through the walls of the tent. We had front row seats for the Perseid meteor shower which was occurring for several of our nights on the island.

Lunch

Blackberries at the Paul Maleski Farm

This Painted Turtle was here for the berries as well. 

Dinner on the third night was exceptional: orzo with dried zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, parmesiano and olive oil. 

A massive ant nest.

Our Bivouac.

Some of the local flora.

Lake Manitou is a surprisingly large lake in the very center of the island. 

On our fourth day on the island I took my fishing rod on the two-mile ordeal through mosquito infested forest and swamp leading to Lake Manitou. I had hiked over to the lake two days earlier and talked to a fisherman who said he had been catching 20-30 18+ inch smallmouth. Looking at the map I had imagined Lake Manitou would be more of a small pond surrounded by swamp, when in fact, the lake is quite large. The bottom runs out shallow a good forty to fifty feet and then abruptly drops off. My fly rod and floating line proved itself incapable of reaching the trophy bass which apparently wait in the cool about thirty feet down. 

One of the few people I saw on the island.

The water is unbelievably clear.

A freshwater muscle in the soft silt that surrounds the lake.

All that remains of one of the biggest farms on the island.

Walking down from Swenson's farm to the Ranger Station.

The beautiful shingle barn now used by the Ranger Station. 

An amazingly cow-like combine.

Coast Guard patrolling the beach on a rather interesting looking machine. I wonder if the Vintagent could identify it from this snapshot.

Coast Guard Station next to the Boathouse.

The Boathouse

This is the original Beebe-McLellan Surfboat from the Island. 

The Story of the Surfboat is too amazing not to repeat here. Apparently, "oar and wind driven surfboats were used by the U.S Coast Guard Life-Saving Service prior to the introduction of motorized lifesaving craft. The Beebe-McLellan type surfboats were self-bailing, had sealed air compartments, a water ballast tank, a centerboard and could carry a sail rig. This is the only known original boat of this type and is believed to have once been assigned to the North Manitou Island U.S. Life-Saving Station. The boat was  constructed in 1908. A girl's camp on Elk Lake acquired the boat in the early 1920's and it sailed until the mid-1950's when it was placed on a cradle, a roof added, the self-bailing and ballast tanks removed, to become a playhouse Noah's Ark. A fully rigged reproduction Beebe-McLellan Surfboat is on display at the Sleeping Bear Point U.S. Life-Saving Station Maritime Museum at Glen Haven, Michigan." A rather appropriate use for a lifeboat...

A last view of the island from the ferry. 

The return voyage was extremely choppy with six foot swells. Several people were seasick.