2008 KLR650 Lightening Project

[SamM]

Here's a couple of quick pics. The new Trail Tech X2 headlight is raised and mounted solidly. A small windscreen will be added later. The new KTM Military mirrors are also on it. These fold down out of the way when going off-road.

She's starting to look sweet!

SamM

[SpudRider]

Thank you for your excellent reply, Sam. Your KLR keeps looking better, and better! Please keep posting the updates, and the superb photographs.

Spud

[Weldangrind]

I'm diggin' those mirrors Sam. 8) Do they vibrate much on the highway, or do they maintain position?

[SamM]

Thanks Spud! Will do! :wink:

They vibrate all over the place Weldandgrind. I think it's mostly due to the Dunlop 606 tires. I'm doing new extreme-duty wheels for the bike later. Hopefully, the new wheels and Heidenau K60 tires will fix that. The 606's are very aggressive and work great off-road though. The Heidenau K60's will last much longer. Up to 10K miles and maybe more is possible. They have a harder compound and less aggressive dualsport tread. Both my project bikes will get the Heidenau K60 tires.

Back to the mirrors. They are the same mirrors that KTM uses on the Military motorcycles that they make and sell to the Austrian Military. I purchased them from a gentleman in California. They are a little pricey at $30.95 each plus $12 shipping. I used these on my 2005 KTM Adventure S and my dualsported 2005 Yamaha TT-R250. I love them for off-road use.

SamM

[MICRider]

Wow! That bike looks sinister! (in a good way of course) Really curious on the weight, please let us know when you get a chance to scale it.

[SamM]

Here's the latest picture of the KLR. It's still not quite finished, as I am waiting on a few last minute parts to get it running. The 1/4" aluminum flat plate for my rear rack has just arrived. I'll have that on it shortly. There are a few last minute wiring issues to sort out and I'll be done with it. I'm iching to ride, it's been too long!

The new titanium muffler has arrived and I'll be fabbing a completely new lightweight exhaust from the engine back. The new exhaust will drop a bunch of weight off the bike. I'm also considering a Mikuni flatslide carb swap to increase the horsepower with the new exhaust.

Thought you may want to see it!

SamM

[SpudRider]

The bike looks great, Sam; thank you for the update! If you get it on the scales, please let us know how much weight it lost on your "diet."

Spud

[SamM]

Spud,
Actually, I'm still far from weighing it. My wheels are being stripped, so that I can send them out for a rebuild. I'm going with the 21/18" combination and the Nuetech TUbliss sealing system. This will drop 3lbs from each wheel. Woody's Wheel Works is doing them for me. Woody did my last set of wheels. We'll be sending them out this week. Finally have the extra coin to finish some things up. We ran it to a few problems with the wiring. It's been a real pain.

We do have some really good plans for dropping more weight from the KLR. Nothing is being left untouched. Most of this new stuff and the engine work will have to wait for Winter. I just want to ride for now. The airbox is going away next Winter and I'll be converting it to use a Lithium-ion battery that is 7lbs lighter than the current AGM battery that's in it. I have also just purchased a 4lb Titanium muffler that is more than 10lbs lighter than the stock muffler. I expect to drop even more from the exhaust system with a new FMF header and a Hindle mid-pipe. The stock sidepanels will probably be going back onto the bike after I fab new mounts for them.

Honestly, I'm getting tired of projects! :roll: Here's a recent picture of the bike with the new '07 radiator and fan. We stripped all the unused subframe and frame tabs from the bike. Over 6lbs was cut from it. I jst found another pile of stuff to cut off near the radiator overflow bottle.

SamM

[SamM]

I want to report that I have finally weighed my Lightened KLR and the bike comes in at: 345.2 lbs.

The bike was weighed with two different scales. It had a completely empty fuel tank, the stock muffler was removed and the new Titanium muffler was mounted on the bike using the rear muffler mount and bolt. The JNS skidplate was not on the bike either. Not sure which skidplate I will use on the final version yet. Either the Moose Racing or Happy-Trail. They seem to offer the best protection and lowest weight. This number will go up and down as I make changes to the bike to suit my use.

The new number is a little higher than I had hoped for. I'm not really happy but I'm not discouraged either. I will keep cutting away at it, until I get the bike down where I want it. The next round of mods include: new handlebars, bar risers, a new headlight switch, new DR650 throttle, Motion Pro throttle cables, Moose Racing DR650 throttle tube, a Mikuni TM-40 carb swap, removal of stock airbox, K&N filter and pre-filter, swap to a lighter Li-ion battery, 5 gal IMS fuel tank, Rekluse auto-clutch, brake petal removal, choke cable removal, clutch cable removal, new Excel 21/18" wheels, Heidenau K60 tires, Neutech TUbliss wheels seals, radiator overflow bottle removal, stock cooling fan removal, and some more frame cutting. The new exhaust will be completed as soon as the Hindle midpipe arrives. The bike is also getting a new FMF Powerbomb header. I'd like to get it down in the 300 to 320lb range. After finally weighing it and checking the weight of some of the stock parts, I believe it can be done. I will be making a new smaller aluminum airbox and reattaching the stock '08 sidepanels.

I'm not sure if it will ever be done but I'm riding the KLR everyday now and it's back on the road. I'm taking the bike on it's first trip tomorrow.

SamM

[SpudRider]

I'm glad to hear you are riding again, Sam! You've done a superb job, and pared a lot of weight off your KLR650. I am sure the bike is much more nimble, and it looks great!

Spud

[Weldangrind]

It sounds like you've built a single track machine. Please let us know how you like the Rekluse.

[MICRider]

I soooooo love the looks of that bike! Following your progress on 650 net as well. Awesome job!

Cheers!
Stew

[SamM]

Just want to report that I am still plugging away at my bike project. Many of the mods on my list have been done. Mostly the small stuff. The Vapor is on the bike, along with the new Spal cooling fan and the Moose Racing fatbars. I will be continuing the lightening process. This bike is pretty much going to stay as it is now, but a few changes will hopefully make it better. I'll need to keep this one as my daily driver and it's turned out to be great for commuting. Some suspension mods are in the works. Possibly a new rear shock and new front springs for sure. A new, bigger front brake may also be something that I want to do. The oversize 270mm Galfer wave rotor works fine but when I add hardbags and a little more weight, the front braking could become overwhelmed with the changes. I'm also looking to finally add the Rekluse auto-clutch this Winter. A smaller IMS fuel tank and Happy-Trail radiator protection will be on the bike soon. New SW-Motch EVO racks from Twisted Throttle are going on it with my Pelican hardbags. This is a better option than my very large drybag and cyclerack. If money works out, I'd also like to finally get my new 21/18" Excel wheels ordered and on it this Winter. One of my pictures shows the bike with a 950 windscreen added to the Trail Tech headlight. I've tilted it forward Rally style and it works great.

My new exhaust system is on the bike and I'll be changing the jetting this week to cure the VERY rich condition that I've been dealing with. I may keep the KLX needle but I'll be doing a few little carb tricks to improve fuel atomization. I'll report how those work. The carb also needs a new diaphram. The balancer adjuster still needs fixed on this one. Just never found time to do it. At 10,000 miles it's long overdue, so I'll get to that one in a week or so. Riding season is about over here. There's really no hurry as the weather is turning crappy.

Hope everyone here is doing well! Take care!

SamM

Recent trip on BRP


New '01 GSXR1000 TI mufflerand Powerbomb header

[Weldangrind]

Hey Sam!

Thanks for the update. I never thought of a Gixxer Power Bomb on a KLR, but I guess the KLR does have a relationship with Suzuki. Was the pipe a good fit at the head?

You packed a lot of gear on your bike. Were you camping? What is BRP?

Is that an old XR converted to DS next to your bike?

[FastDoc]

Looking good!

Enjoy the BRP! I recognized it from the pic even before I read the subtitle!

Bill.