January 15, 2008: 429 miles. Rode Unaweep Canyon today. Twice. Rode to Gateway, had lunch, headed home, emerging from the mouth of the canyon near Whitewater I met friend Mike on his DL650, rode back to Gateway, had coffee, rode home, all at a modest pace appropriate for break-in. Back home, I changed the oil and filter. I experienced no oil loss or consumption and my oil filter had no visible metallic particles.
January 20, 2008: 549 miles. Land's End Road; Grand Mesa, Colorado; elevation 11,000 feet more or less; 25oF; beautiful day.
January 23, 2008: 846 miles. Rode the CO141 canyons. Lunch at Gateway. It was great riding a favorite road. The 2008 KLR650 continues to impress me in the canyons even with modest power, rearward weight bias and skinny 21 inch front tire on cold asphalt.
January 26, 2008: 1000 miles (with zero on the tenths). And that's with no extra jog or detour to make it happen. Had lunch in Montrose with Billy, then rode to Ridgway and the summit of Dallas Divide and back home. Pulled fine on the climb up Dallas Divide. So far, this KLR seems to have perfect carburetion at the altitudes I ride (today 5000 to 9000 feet) like my first KLR, a '99 model. Even the idle mixture seems fine so far with no popping on deceleration. You can bet I'll leave it alone until I have a reason to change something.
January 31, 2008: 1074 miles. Teen-temperature ride to test MRA windscreen (see accessories above) and charging indicator. Undecided on windscreen but charging indicator confirms the 2008 KLR indeed has more electrical output. I can run my Gerbings heated Jacket liner and gloves full power when cruising, only 1/2 power on late pre-2008 KLRs. My stock rear tire is 2/3 to 3/4 worn out. How is it possible that some people can claim 6,000 miles or more?
February 10, 2008: 1310 miles. Rode Unaweep Canyon, met Jerry (DL650), Ken (R1200GS Adventure) and Mike (FJR1300) at the Outpost in Gateway, had a nice visit and lunch at the Outpost Deli, rode to the Flume, long stretches of ice in shady spots in the canyon along the Dolores River, otherwise brisk pace, good ride, beautiful day.
February 11, 2008: Went out to the garage to ride and the rear tire was flat. Had a piece of horseshoe nail in it. What better place to have a flat but home in the garage. The tire had only about 300 miles of wear left. I decided to buy new tubes and mount my new tires: Pirelli MT90 A/T 90/90S-21 TT Front and Pirelli MT90 A/T 120/90S-17 TT Rear. I know, the original rear tire was a 130/80 but I've always thought a 130 tire was too wide for the 2.5 inch rim. Tire manufacturers who print recommended rim widths seem to think so too. I've used a 120/90 on a KLR before. The load range is more than adequate. The DR650 comes with a 120/90-17.
February 12, 2008: 1614 miles. Rode Unaweep Canyon -- twice. Rode to Gateway, had lunch, rode towards home, met Mike near Whitewater, rode back to Gateway for coffee, then rode home. Very nice day. Surprises: had to brake tire-squealing hard to avoid a turkey; on the 2nd pass through a blind, fast righthander there was a small boulder on my line where no rock was the first pass. I like the new Pirelli tires but no surprise there. Earlier I stopped at Davis Service Center in Montrose to measure a new rear OEM tire on a KLR650. Here's how it compares to the new Pirelli tires: Pirelli Scorpion 120/90 = 25 3/4 inch diameter; Dunlop OEM 130/80 = 25 1/4 inch diameter. That's only 1/4 inch difference in ride height.
February 17, 2008: 1985 miles. Rode Unaweep Canyon. Met Ken (R1200GS Adventure) and Mike (brand new 2008 DL650 V-Strom (to replace a 2006 with well over 40,000 miles and no problems but in another 2 years it would have had 80K to 90K miles)) at Gateway Canyons. Lunch at Outpost Deli. Rode on south to Naturita, refueled and returned by same route. Beautiful day, nice ride.
February 19, 2008: 2328 miles. Met Mike (New 2008 DL650) near Grand Junction and we rode to Moab. Had lunch and a good visit with Fred, Arrowhead Motorsports. Back home via Moab-to-Cisco river road which UDOT was reporting as icy in spots but wasn't. Over 100 miles of Interstate on this trip. The 2008 KLR seems happy cruising long stretches at 80+MPH indicated. Very comfortable. Mileage dropped to 42MPG, about the mileage I would have expected under similar circumstances from earlier KLRs I've owned.
February 27, 2008: 2669 miles. Unaweep Canyon and lunch at the 141 Diner (which may close for some indefinite period on 2/29/2008). Joined there by Mike on his FJR1300. After lunch we rode the loop -- Naturita, Norwood, Dallas Divide, Ridgway and a stop at DSC in Montrose. Beautiful day, great ride.
March 1, 2008: 3040 miles. Met Ken (R1200GS Adventure and Mike (DL650) at Gateway. Rode CO141, CO90 (Paradox Valley), UT46 to La Sal Jct. Where else can one ride 100 miles of twisty pavement thru beautiful canyons and valleys with no towns and almost no traffic on a mid-day Saturday. US191 to Moab for lunch, UT128 (River Road) home to Grand Junction and on the Cedaredge for me.
March 2, 2008: 3044 miles. Oil and filter change. No perceptible oil loss between changes despite some high-speed runs. Pulled the battery to check level and all the cells were where I topped them off when I got it. What a surprise as the old KLRs seemed to always be low. Checked static sag. Front on the stiff side of acceptable, rear below the soft side of acceptable after cranking in all 5 clicks of preload (and increasing rebound damping). This is how it was on the old KLRs: firm in the front, soft in the rear for a 180-200 lb. rider. I know, people were always complaining the front springs were too soft but they were wrong unless they weighed over 200 lbs. They never checked static sag or understood long travel suspension. I weigh 40 lbs. more than the 150 lb. design objective and have a 15 lb. tail box with tools on the rear rack. The tools alone weigh 8 lbs. I guess I'll have to move the tools to a tank bag. That might get me close to acceptable on rear sag. On the other hand, if it doesn't bottom out very often, it's okay but I don't like using all the preload. I won't know until spring when I ride bad roads. A short test ride on rough pavement indicates the rear is behaving well so I guess I got the rebound damping in the ball park. The manual describes "clicks" but I never found any clicks.
March 7, 2008: 3195 miles. Montrose. Lunch with Billy then home via Blue Mesa Reservoir and CO92 for my first Black Mesa ride of the year. Gusty winds, blowing snow, some wet road on US50, mostly dry roads but huge amount of sand & pea gravel on the pavement in many places on CO92. Fun anyway. I parked in the snow for these pictures: Blue Mesa DamHermit's Rest Viewpoint
March 9, 2008: 3555 miles. Met Ken (R1200GS Adventure) & Mike (new DL650) at Gateway. We rode CO141 in Dolores Canyon to Nucla, Naturita and back again. Beautiful day. Dry, clean pavement.
March 19, 2008: 3631 miles. I've been busy putting the KTM back together and riding it several hundred miles to insure all is right. Rode the KLR to Davis Service Center with KTM spare parts, owner's manual, etc. Can't keep both bikes. Will now sell the KTM on consignment. Sorry to see it go.
March 23, 2008: 3928 miles. Met Ken and Mike in Grand Junction. Rode from Glade Park to the Dolores River. Both ways, that's 50 or 60 miles of unpaved road including graded gravel, deep, crooked ruts in dried dirt, a little soft sand or silt, some rocks and ledges (but not nearly as much rock as prior rides on same road). Rough, not technical but demanding attention and suspension-punishing at a brisk speed. This was my first off-pavement experience of significance with the 2008 KLR650 and, like my impression of its paved road manners, once again I'm amazed at how much it is improved. The suspension changes seem modest on paper but work wonderfully well even with the much-discussed less travel. I'm very happy with how stable and secure it feels. Our lunch spot along the Dolores River.
March 26, 2008: 4160 miles. Kyle and Mike from Montrose, both on DL650 V-Stroms, rode to Cedaredge. We checked the static sag on both DL650s, had a good lunch at the Apple Shed in Cedaredge then rode over Grand Mesa on Senic CO65, down Plateau Canyon to I70, east to De Beque, then back north on the twisty De Beque Cutoff and back over Grand Mesa. Beautiful day, warm weather, roads clean enough for spirited riding, a gusty wind for added fun.
March 29, 2008: 4473 miles. Visited Jason Maynard and Jeremy Lownes and party near the White Wash, Ruby Ranch area of Utah at a most unusual and beautiful desert camp site.
April 6, 2008: 4839 miles. Unaweep and Dolores Canyons with lunch at Outpost Deli. Pirelli Scorpion tires now have over 3500 miles on them. the rear could probably make another 500 miles (for comparison, that would be more than twice what I get from OEM rear tires on KLRs). The front tire is beginning to track squirrelly when upright. The outer blocks, both sides, are worn at least 1/8 inch more than the inner two rows of blocks (the OEM front tire did the same). I've yet to find a tire for a 21 inch front wheel that can deal with hard cornering (wish I had a 19 inch wheel and wider tire). I have a new set of Michelin Anakees to mount before an overnight trip to south-central Utah April 13-14.
April 8, 2008: 4915 miles. Cleaned air filter, checked battery (still full), mounted and balanced two new Michelin Anakees. Both tires slightly out of round, way out of balance. Stiff, very difficult to mount. Rear tire beads too thick for narrow KLR rim making valve stem protrusion nearly impossible until beads seated. (I prefer a 120/90 rear but not available in Anakee -- used 130/80 as recommended in owner's manual.) Initial test ride impressions not favorable, Tires noisy, vibration noticeable, imprecise steering. Brakes, though, seemed noticeably improved. I had deliberately over-inflated -- maybe 30 front, 35 rear. Lowered the pressure to 25 front, 30 rear and rest of test ride felt more "normal."
April 15, 2008: 5913 miles. Back from two-day hard ride. I dislike the Michelin Anakee tires I mounted for this trip. On the highway they howl, vibrate, ride rough and the front tire never seems to know where it's going. Oddly enough, they worked fine off-pavement, even at 80MPH on gravel. Just my opinion. Many riders think the Anakees are great? The Pirelli Scorpion AT's I had before were infinitely better on pavement and just as good or better off pavement. Unfortunately, I wore them out in 4000 miles but that's not representative of what other riders get.
April 17, 2008: 5915 miles. Changed oil and filter, cleaned air filter, general inspection, removed foot peg feelers after bending one on a pavement corner in Utah. The toe of my boot is feeler enough. When I set the static sag, I had to use max preload on the rear spring to compensate for my 190 lbs plus clothing and gear. With a load of camping gear and no more preload, the spring was too soft for fast pavement. The excellent high-speed stability of the 2008 KLR was missing on this trip. Didn't slow me down but I don't like the feel. I did have a heavy load: normal camping gear, maybe a gallon and a half of water, a glass bottle of wine and a wooden Kermit folding chair. At speeds under 80 there was no problem but I don't always ride under 80. The Michelin Anakee tires may be causing part or all of my complaint as I haven't liked them on pavement from the first mile. I had no problem with either end off pavement with all the same load, even when the road got rough. I only bottomed the rear a couple times and I take the blame for that: I hit a couple washouts too hard and fast.
April 19, 2008: 6208 miles. Lunch at Gateway, 1st fast ride on Michelin Anakees in familiar Canyon along Dolores River. It was windy and gusty -- NWS predicted gusts of 45MPH. The Michelin Anakees slipped some in tighter 80+ corners but it was drifting rather than sudden breakaway. Nevertheless, I didn't like it as I normally don't ride that way. Chewed the rear tire up just a little on the edges and it can't be power. I'm also disturbed I'm wearing the front tire closer to the edge of tread than I normally do which means it's performing differently. I worry that I may be pushing too hard. Sure don't like these tires.
April 27, 2008: 6601 miles. Had lunch at Gateway, then checked John Brown Canyon and Gateway-Moab road. Road dry. Up high, snow along sides of road showed signs of having been plowed. I didn't know they ever did that but I've heard there is some uranium mining activity up that way so maybe that explains it. Tried Taylor Flats road and after only 1/2 mile in on north end, road disappeared under deep, trackless snow. I have no idea when it will be open but I suspect it will be later than normal this year.
May 4, 2008: 7061 miles. Remarkable coincidence: A couple weeks ago, Jeff Libby of Colorado Springs found this web site, called, asked about the John Brown Canyon road from Gateway to Moab. Today, around noon while I was refueling at the Outpost in Gateway, two riders pulled up asking for directions to John Brown Canyon. Subsequent conversation inspired one rider to ask my name. He was Jeff Libby. Needless to say, we all believed the chances of us meeting like that were slim indeed. I offered to lead them to Moab the back way. Jeff offered to buy my lunch. We had an enjoyable conversation and a good ride. Jeff rides a BMW F650GS; David Hulsen of Kansas City was riding a KLR650. They promised to send pictures and I'll post them when I get them. I didn't have my camera.
May 7, 2008: 7214 miles. Montrose via twisty, unpaved Peach Valley Road, home by way of Black Mesa (CO92).
May 11, 2008: 7509 miles. Gateway for lunch. Met a guy with a 2008 KLR650. We each had over 7,000 miles on our bike. We swapped opinions for awhile. He had a serious oil burner but liked the bike well enough he was going to fix it and keep it. My jetting, airbox and exhaust are stock. He had opened-up air box, changed needle and main jet and installed a 2bros. exhaust. I suggested we ride Dolores Canyon for a comparison. We rode hard and fast. I saw 100MPH indicated at least once. His bike had more top end. He said maybe 2 or 3 MPH. When we headed back we swapped bikes and again rode hard. I saw 103 indicated once on his bike and thought it felt crisper in the mid-range. It was too loud for me. What really frustrated me was, his IRC knobby (okay, not a knobby; probably a GP110 but not looking like something you would want to go fast on) front tire (he had a Metzeler Tourance on the rear) worked better and gave me more confidence in fast corners than the Michelin Anakee front tire on mine. I really dislike the Anakees but there must be some explanation as many people like them. This was his last ride before pulling the head and sending it off for work at a shop with an impeccable reputation. He will also install the 685cc barrel, piston and rings, a proven modification that I've heard nothing bad about. If Dyno results are accurately reported, this should be worth about 10 more HP at the rear wheel. We plan to get together again after installation and break-in for another comparison. This guy (I never remember names until I see them in print) also has an LC4 KTM and a DL650 V-Strom so our motorcycle habits are similar.
May 13, 2008: 7525 miles. Valve clearance check. Both intakes: .007 or within range on the loose side of middle. Both exhaust: .008 or middle of the range. No changes. 2008 manual says first valve check at 15,000 miles, then every 15,000 miles but I was curious as the pre-2008 manual said first valve check at 600 miles then every 6000 miles. Who knows? Kawasaki claimed head work on the 2008. Maybe they used harder valve seats or something or maybe improved manufacturing tolerances.
May 14, 2008: 7536 miles. Replaced unstable, potentially dangerous, more than 1/2 worn at 2500 miles Anakee front tire with half worn but decent handling OEM original Dunlop. Wish I knew why these Anakees work so poorly when so many people like them. I'm assuming a specific fault with my tires. Checked steering head bearing adjustment but no problem there. A test ride suggests improvement.
May 19, 2008: 8343 miles. Back from Muley Point, Utah.
May 31, 2008: 8844 miles. Back from Moab Rally. Now to install new Pirelli Scorpion AT's. If that doesn't cure my high-speed handling problems (Pirelli Scorpion AT's have worked well on this bike before) I'll be stumped. I've always thought it was the tires as it started with installation of Michelin Anakees but I've checked everything else I could think of just in case.
June 3, 2008: 9100 miles. Changed oil & filter. Mounted, balanced and installed 2 new Pirelli Scorpion ATs. Everything about high-speed stability and feel seems restored to levels I praised the first 5000 miles.
June 7, 2008: 9249 miles. Removed side cases and rode Black Mesa. All is well. Feel of stability restored. No waggles even at 100MPH indicated in fast down-slope sweeper.
June 8, 2008: 9472 miles. Rode to Gateway for lunch. Stability restored. Side cases had no negative effect. Tires did the trick. After lunch, rode 45 miles of Dolores Canyon. Stopped again at Outpost. Met Canadian motorcycle Training Instructor Peter from Canada riding VFR800. Mike showed up on DL650, Ken on R1200GS Adventure, me on the KLR650 -- what a varied assortment of motorcycles. We were all headed towards Grand Junction so rode together, single file, very fast pace, further confirming the wiggles are gone. Good ride.
June 10, 2008: 10,002 miles. Lunch with Randy and Josie of 141 Diner fame at their new home: Lake Vallecito Country Market & Mexican Food northeast of Durango. This was a 460 mile loop ride, mostly mountains, some unpleasant traffic and high winds with gusts to 45MPH (according to National Weather Service). KLR performed flawlessly and handled high cross-winds well as have all my KLRs before. Cruised at mostly 70 to 80MPH indicated with passing speeds at 90 or above (with tail wind).
June 12, 2008: 10,312 miles. Checked out a few passes for the 2008 annual 9-pass ride. Four passes still closed by snow.
June 14, 2008: 10,650 miles. Gateway for lunch. Rode John Brown Canyon and Taylor Flats road and other roads to Paradox, then over the Uncompahgre from Naturita to Delta. Taylor Flats road open and dry.
June 15, 2008: 10,688 miles. Oil & filter change. Prep for big Moab-Telluride mostly off-pavement ride next week.
June 20, 2008: 11,158 miles. Home from June 19 Moab to Telluride 450 mile ride, desert, high plateau and mountains, 250 miles unpaved. Made it to Montrose on flat rear tire (explained at link above). Davis Service Center installed new Pirelli MT21 with new tube at 11,118 miles.
June 22, 2008: 11,335 miles. Gateway for lunch. I was curious to see how the Pirelli MT21 rear tire (mounted because it was the only tire in my size in stock) would perform on familiar canyon roads. After I got used to the idea of having a knobby for the first time in nearly 40 years, I was riding more or less my usual brisk canyon pace. I have nothing negative to say about this tire. I assume I should not challenge other bikes in the canyon now or try to keep up with a couple fast friends not on knobbies. I further assume I should be extra careful around wet surfaces, paint, cattle guards, tar snakes and all the other places we learn to be careful of. Other than that, it looks like the MT21 will be business as usual. Surely it will work well off pavement. If it didn't, that would be irony.
June 26, 2008: 11,410 miles. Installed SW-Motech center stand at 11,410 miles after a recent flat rear tire on a mountain unpaved road could have been difficult to repair had I not been riding with a friend young enough and strong enough to actually pick the KLR up (maybe the front wheel was still on the ground) and set it on a couple big rocks to get the rear wheel off the ground.
June 29, 2008: 11,640 miles. Gateway for coffee and a scone, then back through Unaweep Canyon to unpaved Divide Road. South on Divide Road to unpaved Delta-Nucla Road and home. About 100 miles of dirt and gravel to test the knobby rear tire described below. Not sure I could tell any difference from the street-oriented tires I normally use. In fact, I would say the KTM 690SM I recently owned worked better on the same gravel roads with 17 inch wheels and sport bike tires. My next best fast ride on these roads is a toss up between a Suzuki DL650 V-Strom or a Suzuki DR650 with street-oriented dual-sport tires. A BMW R1150GS with Metzeler Tourance tires worked well too. The KLR is not the best for fast riding on gravel roads but it's good enough. I just don't want a knobby. This Pirelli MT21 works okay on pavement and okay on gravel but I don't see any reason for wanting it and it's already half worn out at a little over 500 miles.
July 6, 2008: 11866 miles. Changed oil & filter, fresh air filter, checked battery which still did not need water added (so different from earlier KLRs with batteries that needed service often), general checkup and cleaning in preparation for trading July 11 for reasons explained elsewhere. One thing for sure, those reasons have nothing to do with any fault of this 2008 KLR which is the best KLR I've owned yet. The battery not needing service reminds me how many ways this KLR is better than old ones. I can't think of anything about this KLR I don't like better than previous models. I hear people say they they don't see any reason to trade. Some say they like the old model better. I can understand that. I even felt that way a bit myself when I bought this one. However, after nearly 12,000 miles, I'm betting no one who has had both would go back to the pre-2008.
July 11, 2008: 11,950 miles. Traded back to Davis Service after nearly 12,000 happy miles. I was pushing hard in the paved canyons and wanted more power, 17 inch wheels both ends, sporty tires and 50/50 weight distribution. I traded for a Kawasaki Versys.
