Tag: KLR650

Cheng Shin C-755 Knobby Tyres

Now as far as the Cheng Shin C-755, they’re a bit of a Jeckyl and Hyde. On my first venture out on the new rubber, Tenere Ray and I headed for a two day excursion out to Yerranderie west of Sydney. It’s a bit of a hike as you have to head south to Mittagong to make your way around the Warragamba catchment area. Heading south you have no choice but to follow the road down to Mittagong then onto Wombeyan Caves. On the dry the C-755’s were fine as there wasn’t really any cranking over to be done. Once we hit the dirt road the KLR started to shine and the C-755’s combined with the IMS pegs completely transformed the green meanie.

The first day was dry but as we were leaving Oberon the next morning the weather started to close in. Hoping the wet would ease we headed out to Kangara Falls. The new Cheng Sin knobbies loved the conditions while Tenere Ray fought for grip with his rear road/trail rubber. With no visibility, photo opportunities were zero so we decided to make a b-line to home in the pouring rain via Jenolan Caves. Tarmac all the way and through the twisting roads to Hampton the KLR rear started to step out on occasions. For such good off road performance you have to make some sacrifices. 

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Ballards Bar Risers

When you’re fitting aftermarket bars they may not match the profile of the standard bars. In this case the TAG bars are the perfect sweep and width for what we want but are a little low as they contact the fairing at full lock. Easily resolved by fitting Ballards bar risers. These are great and for a taller rider can bring the bars up to a more comfortable height when you’re up on the pegs.

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Staintune Pipe

The KLR can definitely do with a boost in performance. So in an effort to achieve that, the crew at Staintune supplied us with a genuine Aussie-made Staintune exhaust ($640) for our Project Bike. Staintunes reputation for quality product precedes it. And combined with the Unifilter the KLR is breathing a lot easier.

The exhaust is EPA-compliant and Staintune claims the KLR won’t require any jetting with the new pipe. To clear the throat a little more, it does have a removable baffle, however it’s not recommended so as to keep the boys down at the EPA happy. With a promise of a boost in ponies right through the rev range and a more throaty exhaust note, we can’t wait to get the Staintune fitted and see how she goes! For more details on the extensive Staintune range, check out www.staintune.com.au

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Many of the products, prices, suppliers and their details that appear on this website may no longer be accurate. Readers are urged to check product or brand web sites for latest prices and specifications.

Unifilter KLR650 Airfilter

In our test of the KLR we made no secret that the air box is too small and after a dusty four day ride it was trying to suck air like an asthma sufferer. Short of drilling holes through the airbox, we went for a new Unifilter Pro Comp2 to improve the air flow. Naturally we treated to foam element with Unifilter Filter Fix oil solution.

Available from UniFilter

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Many of the products, prices, suppliers and their details that appear on this website may no longer be accurate. readers are urged to check product or brand web sites for latest prices and specifications.

IMS Footpegs

One of the first things on the KLR that had to go were the rubber foot pegs. I can’t even mention the words I had to describe them when they got wet and muddy out on the trail.

IMS has come to the rescue with foot pegs and springs specifically designed for the KLR. This addition alone gives you a better, sure footed feel on the pegs especially when you’re in a standing position negotiating tricky sections or rocky creek crossings. Put these puppies high on your must have list.

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TAG Handlebars

One of the areas the Kawasaki saves money is by fitting stock steel bars and on the long haul they are far from impressive. With the standard bars it is a bit of an agricultural feel. Fortunately we’ve easily resolved the situation and increased the comfort by fitting a pair of TAG metals X5 bars with cross bar and pads.

TAG Grips

You can’t have TAG bars with TAG custom grips. TAG grips use a synthetic rubber designed to give optimum tackiness and improved vibration dampening and is available in two compounds, soft/medium and medium/hard.

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Barkbuster VPS Handguards

One thing we plan not to do on our project bike is to spear off into any solid objects at speed. Unlike enduro riders we don’t spend our time blasting along narrow trails. When it comes to hand guards, adventure riders are more interested in protection from the elements than impacting objects.

The standard KLR hand guards do a very good job of protecting your hands from wind and rain but we did find that these big buggers are hard top stop when they start to topple over and that’s when you realise that something more substantial to protect the levers is important.

The Aussie made Barkbuster VPS Handguards provide a solution with an alloy reinforced plastic guard with an adjustable wind deflector.

Check out www.barkbusters.net for more details. 

Watch our installation video here

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Many of the products, prices, suppliers and their details that appear on this website may no longer be accurate. readers are urged to check product or brand web sites for latest prices and specifications.