The Shop

The is where the KLR's transformation took place. The shop is currently home to my KLR685, a dismantled KZ400, a partially running CB900c and a Jaguar XK140. Featured in these pictures is Doctor Jared, crew chief and electrical expert on the KLR.

The First Shakedown Run

This weekend I took the bike up to a plot of land owned by a friend near Greene, NY. The primary purpose of the weekend was to play baseball. There are no buildings on the property (except a port-o-potty), only a baseball field complete with a pitchers mound, bases and a backstop. The view from the field is spectacular, with nothing to be seen but but miles of forested hills. The 2 baseball games we played were fiercely competitive. As a pitcher I had the most strikeouts of any pitching that day and as a batter I was hitting 1.000, but that's a story for another blog. The more relevant purpose of the weekend was to give the KLR it's first real shakedown run since completing the extensive modifications, as well as to finalize my packing and gear strategy. On the 210 mile ride from New York City, the bike ran flawlessly. The new 685 engine makes the bike feel as if it has an extra gear. The added power could be felt throughout the rev range and the bike had a conveniently placed sweet spot around 70-80mph. On the endurance and comfort side of things the extended range given by the IMS gas tank was ample. The Spencer modified seat coupled with the gel cover allowed me to cover the 210 miles without once getting off the bike. That's not to say that my discomfort was eliminated completely. Soreness began to creep in around 100 miles but with the help of the passenger foot pegs and the PVC tool tube, I was able to shift my weight around enough to comfortably complete the trip. On the negative side, the auxiliary lighting system continues to cause problems. The automotive style relays I am using to switch off the main headlights when the aux lights come on have proven to be unreliable. I will look into a simpler, more bomb-proof solution. Another problem spot is the custom engineered mounting system for the side cases. The Happy-Trails racks are excellent but my own mounting system needs more built-in adjustability. Lastly, it appears as though the cover to my PVC tool tube vibrated off somewhere along the way. Fortunately no tools were lost, as they were all wrapped in a towel which fit snugly inside the tube. On the gear front, my tent and sleeping bag worked great, as the have in the past. They took of more room in the side cases than I would have liked. I am hoping that will be less of an issue when I have the top case installed. I carried no cooking gear with me so it remains to be seen how that will effect the packing. I did however, come to the realization that, like all fledgling motorcycle travelers, I carried way to much stuff. For a three day camping weekend I somehow managed to fill two side cases and a backpack strapped to the rear rack. Part of that was the extra gear I needed for baseball. Even still the goal for shakedown run #2 will be to mercilessly cut down on the amount of gear I carry! Unfortunately, I didn't get any shots of the baseball field, but I did get two great shots of the property and my campsite. In the shot with the tractor you can barely see my bike at my campsite way off in the distance.

The Route

(so far) The general plan is to make it from NYC to San Francisco and Back in under two months. The tentative start time is either the first or second week of July. Below are the stops along the way I have planned out so far: 1) Oshkosh, Wisconsin - EAA AirVenture Oshkosh - The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration 2) Sturgis, South Dakota - 69th Annual Sturgis Rally 3) Wendover, Utah - Bonneville Speed Week 4) Monterey, California - Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 5) San Francisco, California

The Bike

It's a 2002 Kawasaki KLR650. Below is a list of modifications I have made on the bike so far......

• Engine rebuilt with bigger piston from Schnitz Racing. Increased engine size from 650cc to 685cc.

• Exhaust: Started with a Supertrapp slip on muffler, switched to Jardine for better fit with luggage racks.

• Intake: jetted carb and modified airbox for improved fuel/air flow

• Gas Tank: IMS 7 gallon plastic, up from 6 gallons stock. Acerbics lockable gas cap.

• Lighting: eBay aux lighting system, high output bulb. flashing LED brake light.

• Body: all body pieces except front fender and gas tank coated with Line-X truck bed liner. Acerbics lightweight front fender.

• Controls: Renthal alloy handlebars. Gel grips. Grip heaters. Hydraulic clutch lever. Extended shift lever. IMS off road pegs. Custom aluminum dash.

• Cooling: therm-o-bob temperature regulator.

• Brakes: Oversize 320mm front disc. Braided steel hoses front and rear. Gafler pads.

• Protection: Aluminum sump guard. Rear break master cylinder guard. Headlight guard. Acerbics hand guards. Engine guard with integrated highway pegs. Centerstand. Upgraded subframe bolts.

• Running gear: Perelli road tires. 16 tooth front sprocket.

• Suspension: heavy duty progressive springs front and rear.

• Luggage: Happy Trails SU side racks. eBay tail rack. Storm m2600 side cases with custom quick release locking mechanism. Storm m2700 top case. PVC tool tube attached to front of engine.

• Seat: New foam installed by Spencer with gel seat cover.