Rookie DS rider

trainman said:

One other thing you might consider is a 14T counter shaft sprocket, big difference off road, it will define 1st and 2nd gear much easier at slower speeds. Enjoy your new bike.

trainman

Click to expand...

I forgot about this one. I swapped to a 14 and it made a HUGE difference, especially for riding off the pavement when you are doing hill climbs.

There are a LOT of dirt roads up North of Hwy 105 on the West side of I-45 and all the way over toward Hwy 6. I ride them fairly often. Most are just unpaved county roads that you can drive any car down. However, they will get you used to riding on a loose surface and dealing with low traction conditions. If you want sand, get East of I-45 and have some real fun

Here are a few GPX files for you.

I45 West Side GPX
http://www.twtex.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36121&d=1446755505

I45 East SHNF GPX
http://www.twtex.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36215&d=1447269980

I45 North GPX
http://www.twtex.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36216&d=1447269980

This video may help with the install, but like I said, it does take a lot of adjusting and moving the different controls around on the bars, not much, but just a little to get the fit right. If you need to find someone that has good knowledge of this they are out there, but I've seen many installs that lack the knowledge to do it right. You will be working with 7/8th bars. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxscje3HwmU"]Tusk D-Flex Handguards Installation - YouTube[/ame]

trainman

I actually swapped out my original KLR bars for a set of mid rise pro tapers. They are stronger than the stockers and the slight rise was nice. I had multiple brands of guards over the years. Acerbis and Tusk were both good, but I was kind of hard on them

Thanks for the additional info guys. I've looked up the hand guards already an will order them after work.

I'll have a look at the road links you sent me and will give them a shot, either this weekend or the last weekend in May. I think the technical riding can wait for a while. Fundamentals and fun are what I'm seeking right now.

Have a great afternoon!

There are some good videos out there on the basics. Here's one,

http://dualsportriding.com/

There are also a ton of free videos on YouTube for both basic and advanced techniques. It is not the same as street riding even though there is a lot of cross over between street and dirt. The best thing would definitely be to do one of Brad's classes if you can.

Thanks TM! I've been trying to watch as much video as possible. I'll check this one out and search for more like it. There seems to be more aspects to the dual sport than the dirt bikes I rode as a kid and the street bikes as I rode as an adult.

If you had decent dirt bike skills, you should be okay. The big thing is that the DS bikes are generally much heavier than your typical dirt bike and have less suspension travel, so you have to change your riding style accordingly. If you are just planning on riding unpaved county roads, you will probably be fine. If you plan to venture off onto really rough unpaved roads, like the high passes in SW Colorado, then you will definitely want to work on learning skills ON the KLR so you are used to how that bike handles that kind of terrain.

Riding with more experienced riders can be a double edged sword. You CAN learn a lot from them but it is also real easy to get sucked in over your head by them They will make stuff look easier than you think. If they are good riders, they will recognize that you are not as advanced and actively work to help you develop your skills rather than just doing their thing and expecting you to keep up or go home.

Be wary of those old dudes... They may claim to be slow riders, but many of them raced in their younger years. While they may indeed ride considerably slower now than they did then, they are often still wayyyy faster when riding slow than I am when going all out

My dirt skills went away about the time I hit 5th grade and haven't done much since. I'm planning on taking it easy until I get used to the bike and don't feel any pressure to keep up with the guys flying down the trail. I tried that once in 5th grade and surprised I was lucky and made it through some pretty tough hill country jumps and trails.

Here is a thread Tim did for camping gear.
http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88016