I’m departing on a 2 week, 3,200 mile solo trip to Labrador, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia on August 19. I’ve been working for months to upgrade my bike for the trip. I’m going solo, through wilderness areas (some locations are 260 miles between gas stops) and I wanted to try to bullet-proof the KLR as much as possible. I thought other people might be interested in what I did. The bike is a 2008 KLR650, with 14,000 miles and it’s an oil-burner.
1)
Doohickey: I was a little ambivalent about this upgrade but when I disassembled the side cases I discovered that my tension spring had no tension on it. Experts say you can get by with changing just the spring but I went the full route with torsion spring upgrade and new doohickey from Eagle Mike.
I did a short
youtube video showing it.
2)
Suspension: I hated the way the KLR bottomed out over bumps, lost traction over washboards and how the forks dove under braking. I went with the Intiminator fork inserts from Ricor and a Moab shock from Cogent Dynamics. The Intiminator is like a Gold Valve insert from Race Tech but it doesn’t require any drilling; just drop it in and measure the correct amount of fork oil.
The results have been great. The KLR doesn’t dive under braking and it stays planted over irregular surfaces. It transforms the bike and gives me so much more confidence off-road. Highly recommended.
3)
Crash Bars: I went with the Happy Trails Paris to Dakar nerf bars, engine guard and skid plate.
They are not the easiest to line up for installation and they take some time to remove to get access to the engine. But they do the job of protecting the bodywork and radiator. I dropped the bike once at a stop and there was no damage. They don’t vibrate too much.
I also added Barkbusters, which give more security against broken levers. The downside is they allow more handlebar vibration since you have to remove the bar end weights.
4)
Seat: I went with a new Sargent after having great experiences with the one on my 100,000 mile VFR. The stock KLR seat wasn’t comfortable for me after about an hour and a half.
The Sargent better supports your backside.
5)
Luggage: I had been using the Ortleib dry bag saddlebags for several years but they wouldn’t give me enough space for this trip. After a lot of research I bought the SW Motech quick release rack over the Packrat. The Packrat was a permanent mount, which doesn’t work as well for me as I don’t usually ride with bags. The SW Motech racks come off in about 30 seconds and you can’t tell there’s a rack there, just the mounts are visible. The downside to this is you have to relocate the turn signal brackets to clear the bags. It looks a little cheesy, but it’s a good trade-off.
I would love to have aluminum panniers but the price difference with the Pelican cases was too much to ignore. I got both Pelicans for $230 shipped. They are waterproof, bombproof and would probably survive a bear attack. I permanently mounted them to the racks because the racks can be removed so easily.
I also added some Agri-Supply Owners Manual Holders ($5 each) to the back side of the racks. These are small, waterproof tubes that can be used to hold tools. I can put all my tire irons and changing tools inside one of them. I mounted them directly to the rack using some flexible conduit brackets. That way I can remove them after the trip and don’t have to drill more holes in the Pelican cases.
6)
Centerstand: Not a necessity, but a great convenience for chain maintenance and changing a tire on the road. I got the SW Motech model, which is a pain to get the bike up on the stand. It has no tab for your foot, you have to catch an edge at the bottom when lifting the bike.
7)
Heated Grips: Labrador will have some cooler temperatures, even in August and I’d rather not bring my Gerbing gloves. I got the Oxford Heaterz, which have been tested to heat to over 160 degrees. The heating elements are inside the grips, which increases the overall diameter of your grips. That takes some getting used to. Installation is very easy, much more so than the Dual Star undergrip heaters I put on the VFR.
8)
AP-1 Fuse Panel: I was running four accessories directly off the battery and this cleans up that area very nicely. Not too difficult to install, but I have a friend with an electrical background who helped. Thanks Doug (Nightflight on ST.N).
9)
Throttle Lock: I went with the new Go Cruise after reading about it in this month’s Motorcycle Consumer News. I tried a Vista Cruise but that wouldn’t work without drilling into the accelerator housing. Haven’t tried the Go Cruise yet, but it seems simple to operate and should hold the throttle open for those long highway stretches. It operating by squeezing the grip and the long section rests against the brake lever, preventing the grip from closing without hand pressure.
10)
Subframe Bolt Upgrade: I went with the $5 Eagle Mike kit that is a simple bolt replacement. With the added weight from the luggage it’s a good piece of mind. I’ve seen enough broken subframes on ADV and Long Way Around.
11)
Tires: Going with Continental TKC-80’s for their durability and grip for the worst sections of the Trans-Labrador Highway.
12)
Consumables: Replaced the 4 year old battery and the original chain and sprockets just to be sure. Bringing an extra clutch cable.
The KLR is a pretty bulletproof bike to begin with but I think the additions improve on the original and make it more capable for long distance adventure touring. Of course, I’ve more it further from being a street bike, but my VFR is better at that than I could ever make the KLR. I figure I have about $2100 into upgrades, which still puts me well below the price of an unmodified BMW.
I started a
blog for my trip so people can follow my progress from the road.
