From: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com (klr650-digest) To: klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: klr650-digest V2 #125 Reply-To: klr650 Sender: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-klr650-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk klr650-digest Saturday, March 13 1999 Volume 02 : Number 125 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 15:36:36 +0000 From: Tom Simpson Subject: Re: (klr650) NKLR Night vision At 12:05 PM 3/13/99 -0800, Jeff & Lisa Walker wrote: > > >Now that Cadillac has announced the first fully-intergrated night vision >system with heads up display(HUD) in a production vehicle (seville >yr-2000), any guesses how long it will be before someone puts one on a >motorcycle? >2 to 3 yrs? BMW-?- maybe Honda? >wow > >http://www.car.net.au/news/archive9809/gmh980903.htm >link to Cadillacs' night vision w/HUD > >There already is night vision for motorcycles, and I've used it for >countless hours. Its called the AN/PVS 7B Night Vision Goggles. I've got >to tell you, while they work, your visual acuity goes from 20/20 to 20/40 or >so. Objects appear smaller than what they really are, you have no depth >perception, and to change focus you have to use your hand, like a camera >lens. Riding at night on a KLR 250 across the desert in Jordan, trusty >M-4 carbine strapped to my side, what a life. I was having a great time >that night, until I almost decapitated myself on a strand of barbed wire. >It can be done, but its scary. BTW, I haven't seen these goggles on the >market yet, as they are still in current use by the military. They are on the market in Gen II or Gen III variants. Reconditioned Gen IIs gor for about $2,000, a new Gen III for $3,200. Man, prices on the Gen III version sure have fallen in the last few years. Me? I would have to do with the old AN/PVS 5, or ex-Soviet Gen I stuff. Too po'. :) - -Tom '96 KLR 650 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 15:38:10 +0000 From: Tom Simpson Subject: Re: (klr650) Reality check, KLR Model At 02:42 PM 3/13/99 EST, K650dsn@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 3/13/99 12:36:34 PM Mountain Standard Time, >rascal9@snet.net writes: > ><< All this time I assumed I was riding an A2, but the 11/97 date on the > bike I.D. tag that is on the front frame up near the steering stem head > plus the model just being called a KLR650A >> > > >No you have an A2. Motorcycles are usually manufactured a few months before >the new year. I had a 92 Yamaha that was actually manufactured in 9/91. And my '96 was made in June 1995. - -Tom '96 KLR 650 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 15:43:56 EST From: Roundr1@aol.com Subject: Re: (klr650) Reality check, KLR Model Redondo wrote: > ...The frame #'s all start with "JKAKLEA1", > followed by an "H" for '87, up to "S" in '95. My A10 is a "T". > If the A11 ~ A13 are "U" through "W", then maybe the KLE will > finally replace the KLR after the "Z" model A16 in 2002. True. But Kawasaki skipped the letters I, O, and Q. If they skip another letter, perhaps they will give us the "KLE 2001: A Scooter Odyssey." John O. A10 (waiting for something wonderful) Rolling Hills, CA ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 15:55:49 +0000 From: Jeffrey Doyle Subject: Re: (klr650) Reality check, KLR Model K650dsn@aol.com wrote: > > In a message dated 3/13/99 12:36:34 PM Mountain Standard Time, > rascal9@snet.net writes: > > << All this time I assumed I was riding an A2, but the 11/97 date on the > bike I.D. tag that is on the front frame up near the steering stem head > plus the model just being called a KLR650A >> > > No you have an A2. Motorcycles are usually manufactured a few months before > the new year. I had a 92 Yamaha that was actually manufactured in 9/91. > > Gino OK....then that does make sense. I kind of thought that but wasn't sure. When I bought this the dealer only had a KLR 600 in the showroom and had to have a KLR 650 transfered in from another dealership for me. The bike has been kept totally stock (except for the tires). I've even got the original break-in instruction stickers on the tank and gauges! Jeff A2 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 14:01:50 -0800 From: "Jeff & Lisa Walker" Subject: Re: (klr650) NKLR Night vision heard about those KLRs in Desert Storm. I guess one of the reasons >the military liked them so much was that you could get parts almost >anywhere motorcycles were sold. > A typical Ranger mission for the KLR was during an airfield seizure mission. After the initial wave jumped onto the field and set up a local perimeter, the Hercy birds would start doing touch and goes, off loading the gun trucks and a few bikes. The gun jeeps would race out to secure road junctions on the most likely high speed avenues of approach to the airfield, and the bikes would be used to push out farther to do some scouting, or to secure a specific distant target. Things really got fun after the rotor heads came in with the Little Birds. And meanwhile the AC130 Specter was providing air support. Beautiful thing to see. Believe me when I tell you that the Rangers could secure any airport in the world, within 18 hours of getting the word go. (They might take a lot of casualties, but the Ranger Creed says "I will fight onto the Ranger objective and complete the mission, though I be the lone survivor.") I once had the pleasure of pushing a crated up KLR out the back of a perfectly good airplane while in flight, then jumping out after it. Rangers Lead the Way, Jeff--Still marching to the beat of the drum in his head Please forgive the flashback episode ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 15:02:48 From: Guy Cheney Subject: (klr650) Windshield bracing/Saeng Hey All, 1)Has anybody who has run an after market windshield for any length of time experienced any fatigue of the shield or the fairing? I have the 13" Rifle and it does wiggle about somewhat at speed. Only ~600 miles on it so far and no signs of fatigue but I'm thinking of bracing it with some flat stock to the fairing mount. Been there? Please advise. 2)Mixed reviews on the Saeng Stealth edging, huh? If you are one of those who was less than satisfied and have a piece in good condition 32-40" long I'd be interested in buying it from you. At a substantial discount, of course! :-) Let's parley. I scored this birthday, my 44th. New leathers, new boots, new helmet. My wife, ten years my junior, has decided that my current infactuation with the KLR is a mid life crisis that she can indulge and even encourage. She thinks some bikes are dead sexy but told me, "At least you're never going to attract any women with that goofy looking Kawasaki." Darling, I resemble that remark! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 16:37:46 -0000 From: "Eric Jasniewicz" Subject: (klr650) NKLR - Boots Hi-tech, Danner, etc.. Alright all you combat boot people. I finally went and checked out Danner and Hi_Tech boots at a local shop. I walked out with a pair of Hi-Tech Troopers for $50. Incredibly light weight, really comfy. I tried on the various Magnum models, but they all had a really big toe area, the Trooper fit perfectly. While I still wear my AGV 580 road race boots on longer hauls, the Hi_tech's are a perfect substitute for those sneaker wearing rides. Thanks for the info guys. Here's a link to some pics and prices: http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame/agcatalog/level3.tam?M2%5FDESC%2Ectx= %22BOOTS%20UNIFORM%20%2F%20DUTY%22&backto=%2Fagcatalog%2Flevel2%2Etam ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 14:42:36 -0800 From: "Jeff & Lisa Walker" Subject: Re: (klr650) Windshield bracing/Saeng >I scored this birthday, my 44th. New leathers, new boots, new helmet. My >wife, ten years my junior, has decided that my current infactuation with >the KLR is a mid life crisis that she can indulge and even encourage. She >thinks some bikes are dead sexy but told me, "At least you're never going >to attract any women with that goofy looking Kawasaki." Darling, I >resemble that remark! > > My bike sure does attract the attention of young kids though! Boy don't I feel cool. I guess if I wanted to look sexy I'd grow long hair and ride a HD or beemer or something. Funny thing was, back in high school I did attract a lot of girls when I was riding my Honda XL600R. Maybe it wasn't the bike at all? Jeff ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 18:05:20 -0500 From: Stuart Heaslet Subject: Re: (klr650) Windshield bracing/Saeng At 03:02 PM 3/13/99 +0000, Guy Cheney wrote: >Has anybody who has run an after market windshield for any length of time >experienced any fatigue of the shield or the fairing? I have the 13" Rifle >and it does wiggle about somewhat at speed. I'm thinking of bracing it with some flat stock >to the fairing mount. Guy: I have a Clearview that shakes about some, and there's no sign of fatigue after 3,000 miles. I thought about installing braces too, but decided I didn't want anything like that sticking up during a crash. >Mixed reviews on the Saeng Stealth edging, huh? If you are one of those >who was less than satisfied and have a piece in good condition 32-40" long >I'd be interested in buying it from you. Send me your snail mail address via private email and I'll send it to you. No charge, just pass a favor on to somebody else sometime. Stuart KLR A12 Juno Beach, Florida ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 19:00:15 -0500 From: "Stephen Rivett" Subject: (klr650) NKLR: JB Weld Unfortunately the splines on both my shift lever and the shaft that comes out of my gearbox have worn out. If I were to JB Weld the two pieces together how would I go about removing them later on? Other ideas on how to mate lever to the shaft would also be appreciated. Stephen Rivett ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 16:02:29 -0800 From: "Robert Morgan" Subject: Re: (klr650) Reality check, KLR Model O Round One Everyone skipped those digits. The tenth digit in a vehicle identification number is the model year identifier. This standardization is one of the few constants in global vehicular manufacture. They skipped those letters so bifocal wearing service advisors like myself don't confuse them with numbers. Used to be the police officer could tell the model of the car he was writing the parking ticket on by the number molded into the tail light. Nowdays with car and bike manufacturers on multianual design cycles it's a lot tougher on the poor bastards. The first 4 or 5 letters usually designate country and plant origins, the next batch model, trim, trans, powerplant etc. The last 10 numbers are the actual serial number. This is starting to sound too much like work, I'm outta here. Morgan not working today ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 19:26:04 EST From: AGSholar@aol.com Subject: Re: (klr650) Questions, Questions, Questions - NKLR In a message dated 3/13/99 2:49:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, jlwalk@prodigy.net writes: << I dissagree. The coeffecient of kinetic friction doesn't depend on the area dA of the brake pad, and is therefore constant. It is the nature of the two surfaces in contact, not the magnitude of the area. > >> Jeff, With regards to your piece of wood example, the total weight applied by the board is the same in both scenarios (it's own weight). On edge, the contact area is less, but the pressure is higher. On its face, the contact area is greater, but the pressure is lower. In both cases, the total normal force is the same (pressure x area), therefore the frictional force is the same. In the comparison of the brake rotor, I was assuming that the brake fluid pressure was constant in both comparisons, resulting in a higher normal force for the larger pad vs. the smaller pad. This would cause the frictional force to be greater for the larger pad than the smaller one. Greg, A2 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 19:28:40 EST From: AGSholar@aol.com Subject: Re: (klr650) Windshield bracing/Saeng << Funny thing was, back in high school I did attract a lot of girls when I was riding my Honda XL600R. Maybe it wasn't the bike at all? Jeff >> Easy, easy Fabio. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 20:02:07 +0000 From: Jeffrey Doyle Subject: Re: (klr650) NKLR: JB Weld If I were to JB Weld the two pieces > together how would I go about removing them later on? Other ideas on how to > mate lever to the shaft would also be appreciated. Stephen Rivett Steve, First of all check to see if its the shaft or shifter that is stripped. If the shifter is trashed then just get a new shifter.....but if the spline shaft is trashed then you're screwed, but.... I know people who have tried thin metal shim wraps but if you hammer them too hard they will slip. One thought that I had though is if you could drill a hole coming up through the bottom through the shift lever, shaft, and out the other side of the shift lever you might be able to put a screw and nut in there that would get you through for a while. It would act as a shear pin so to speak. You would need a really hard drill bit. You might be able to start a pilot hole through the bottom side (only) of the shifter (shifter removed from the bike and in a vice or some kind of fixture), and then install the shifter on the spline shaft on the bike, insert the drill bit into the pilot hole, and then continue to drill through the shaft and out the top side of the shifter. The pilot hole would allow you to have a more stable drilling condition. The through hole would have to be a through hole with no mismatch. The screw would penetrate through the bottom and the elastic stop nut would have to be on top. This at least allows you to remove the shifter at will and seeing as how you may have trashed the thing already it can't get any worse. I am a functional illiterate so if I were you I would ask others before you tried this. Don't forget to put the original shifter screw back in and tighten it up snug so that you'll at least get a little bite and the other screw will stop the rotation. I never did this on a bike but have had some experience with outboard motors and broke shear pins on the props occasionally. Jeff A2 Already on my second shifter (but shaft still good), will upgrade to the IMS or whatever brand next time. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 17:56:57 -0800 From: "Vik Banerjee" Subject: Re: (klr650) Windshield bracing/Saeng - -----Original Message----- From: Guy Cheney To: klr650@lists.xmission.com Date: Saturday, March 13, 1999 2:09 PM Subject: (klr650) Windshield bracing/Saeng >Hey All, > >1)Has anybody who has run an after market windshield for any length of time >experienced any fatigue of the shield or the fairing? I have the 13" Rifle >and it does wiggle about somewhat at speed. Only ~600 miles on it so far >and no signs of fatigue but I'm thinking of bracing it with some flat stock >to the fairing mount. Been there? Please advise. I have run the clearview +9 for a season and have experienced high winds, but not problems what so ever...mind you its just one big piece of polycarbonate so I guess its pretty bombproof. I'd buy another in a second. Cheers, Vik ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 20:40:35 +0000 From: Jeffrey Doyle Subject: Re: (klr650) NKLR: JB Weld Stephen Rivett wrote: > > Your idea would definately work...if somebody hadn't stolen my drills > Another person said I could make groves between the shifter and shaft and > beat some nails into the slots. I believe that is the way I'm gonna go. > OK, I understand...but the KLR is a thumper and vibration may have a way of convincing the nails to seek freedom over the long run. It would be a shame if a shank fell out and got picked up in your Dunlop. Helmets and protective gear are cool. (I'm begining to sound like my parents) Sorry Jeff A2 > > > > ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Mar 1999 18:20:47 -0800 From: "Rob Gendreau" Subject: (klr650) Soft luggage security I've noticed that in choosing between soft luggage and hard luggage one of the factors most frequently mentioned here is security from theft. I gotta admit I like soft luggage (especially the cost), but I do a lot of worrying about theft when I'm in the store, etc. I've just resigned myself to trying to be vigilant. Anyway, I came across a thing called a Pacsafe in Backpacker magazine. It's a wire mesh that fits over a backpack with an aperture that cinches up, allowing the backpack to be secured within the mesh, and then locked to an object or worn. The mesh is fairly wide, and I suppose somebody with dexterity and a little time could get small objects out of pockets, but no way is your camera gonna get through. Pretty ingenious. Take a peek at http://www.pac-safe.com/. Anybody ever tried something like this? A stock one would probably fit nicely over the duffle, tent, pad, and sleeping bag I stow on the rear luggage rack, but probably wouldn't secure the saddlebags (although I do note they'll make custom ones). It'd have the added advantage of securing everything from flying away, instead of the snakes' nest of snapping bungies I use. Cost: $50. Think this would work? ------------------------------ End of klr650-digest V2 #125 ****************************