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KLR Mods...Good/Bad?

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KLRCrazy

KLRCrazy

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Location
Round Rock
Has anyone done the carb mod, airbox mod and crank vent mod?

Do they make a diffrence? Ive heard of them and how wonderful they are, but I also see posts about how they evenutally make the bike run like crap.

So far my only modification is a 16t sproket in the front. It did make a diffrence when im doing 65+ almost like having a 6th gear.

Are there any other performance mods? That are worth doing?

And...Anyone in the round rock / Austin area wanna walk me through some of these modsif I choose to do them?


-Roland
 
For the record, Richard recommends the Husky TE630 mod for the KLR :lol2:


No matter what, DOO the DOO!
 
The Doo (Doo-hickey)has already been done on my bike. Thats a given for anyone with a KLR well worth it. Cheap, easy and could save your whole motor!


Husky TE630 mod, Lol. I dont need to look pretty when I ride. Id rather know the design of the bike Im riding has been Proven a reliable bike.
 
Airbox, carb (.22) , and you didn't mention exhaust (NEW--not the tweety) and a re-jet (not mentioned to make them all come together) ...... do them in that order and work out the small bugs with each as you go before moving to the next. You will see some seat of the britches increase.

The PCV vent..... all cases should be vented somehow.
Will it give you power???? I couldn't tell. It won't create enough vacuum to cause the piston to rise quickly as some claim.
 
Airbox mod? I havent heard of that one yet.
I knew about the 22cent mod and re-jetting, the tweety I wouldnt do, Id just go get a Jardine or an FMF or something along those lines.

Doolittle what bike is that in your avatar?
 
Havent done much to the KLR But usually when someone says airbox mod they are referring to either drilling holes in the airbox or removing material from the airbox so as to allow more air to enter and have less restriction. IMO these mods work but they have good and bad points. The good is that it does allow more air in which will equate to more power and quicker throttle response but you will get more noise from the increased airflow. You will also have to rejet the carb to compensate for the increased airflow just like any mod you do that increases air or decreases exhaust backpressure.

I say go for it but rejet the carb as well
 
KLRCrazy said:
Airbox mod? I havent heard of that one yet.

Man, I dont mind elaborating on what changes I have done, what worked, what didn't, and some of mine that are way off the grid of what you have even read on the internet, but I am a bit confused why you say you don't know about the air-box mod but you mentioned it in the first post?
As always.... I am just a bit confused:shrug:


I knew about the 22cent mod and re-jetting,
The .22 just lets a bit more fuel flow, but you can do that with an appropriate sized jet.... like it should be done.
The drilling and the spring cutting coils........ I haven't seen an alternative on the market, so coming from a race driven background, I can understand why people do this. I did.

More important than ANYTHING is to be able to adjust the mixture screw.

the tweety I wouldnt do, Id just go get a Jardine or an FMF or something along those lines.
The only thing you will pickup by changing exhaust is weight savings....... once you drill it out and remove the baffle..... same HP (just my opinion).

Doolittle what bike is that in your avatar?
Click to expand...
07 BMW G650XMoto........ apples to oranges
 
Monkey Wrench Cycles said:
Havent done much to the KLR But usually when someone says airbox mod they are referring to either drilling holes in the airbox or removing material from the airbox so as to allow more air to enter and have less restriction. IMO these mods work but they have good and bad points. The good is that it does allow more air in which will equate to more power and quicker throttle response but you will get more noise from the increased airflow. You will also have to rejet the carb to compensate for the increased airflow just like any mod you do that increases air or decreases exhaust backpressure.

I say go for it but rejet the carb as well
Click to expand...

agree with all of it.......
 
I meant to say I havent heard what the airbox mod actually was, or what it intailed.

I think Im gonna hold off any any mods until I get a nice pipe, like an FMF or Jardine or something along that line, then to the box and carb/jetting.

I did change my front sprocket to a 16t, feels like I have a sixth gear now.
 
The T mod, otherwise known as the carb vent mod is well worth doing if you expect to ride in deep stick mud. Just put a tee in the vent line and run one side done where it exits today, the other up. There is a space along the frame rail to tuck it neatly. When the lower hose packs with mud the bike will stay running. Without the mod it starves for fuel and stalls.
 
Depends...on what you want your klr to do. The 16T sprocket sounds like you plan staying mostly on pavement. Maybe comfort stuff for distance runs...like a better seat, bar risers, lowering links, highway pegs, and storage are worth looking into. There are volumes of info on mods. Parse through and pick out the ones that seem reasonable. Check into HP improvements for each area...carb, exhaust, etc. You may decide spending several hundred bucks to gain three HP is silly...but that's the cool part of klr's. They're a great start toward building what you want.
 
ed29 said:
The T mod, otherwise known as the carb vent mod is well worth doing if you expect to ride in deep stick mud. Just put a tee in the vent line and run one side done where it exits today, the other up. There is a space along the frame rail to tuck it neatly. When the lower hose packs with mud the bike will stay running. Without the mod it starves for fuel and stalls.
Click to expand...

Ed, why would you "tee" the line rather than just relocate it to a higher point?
 
I think the vent is also the overflow path in case the float valve sticks open.
 
I just shortened mine and relocated under the seat. I am not worried about the bike being upside down for extended periods or fuel leaking out. 36,000 miles so far. Wow I'm cheap.:lol2:
 
:tab I think RG hit the nail on the head. What mods to do, other than the Doo, really depends on what type of riding you plan on doing. I use my KLR for more technical rough road riding in places like Big Bend, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Colorado. These rides often include some steep ascents and descents on rough surfaces. In those conditions the 16 tooth front sprocket would KILL you. I run a 14 on mine and it is way better than even the stock 15. RG had the 15 on his KLR on a trip to Colorado last fall and there were some times I think he would liked to have had the 14 ;-) However, if you plan to use the bike for highway riding/commuting and easy back roads, then the 16 is fine. The same kind of thinking applies to suspension mods, the types of luggage you might want, whether or not you want to install crash guards, do you want a bigger windscreen, street oriented tires versus knobbies, etc,...
 
I plan on doing both, on and off, I went to a 16 t in the front for better road speeds, but stayed stock in the rear to maintain some of the low end power.
I wanna go all out with the guards...forward pegs/guard, radiator/tank guard and side guards to mount bags on, new skid plate, center stand ect... Id like to get a heavier talller spring for the rear shock and go with the heavier springs in the front forks (im 285lbs) I have soft tail and side bags for it already. My tires are dual purpose but more street friendly than most dp tires.

Scott, what is your highway speed with a 14 in the front? I noticed with a 16 in the front I cruise better at 70 with lower rpms, less vibration.
 
Where did you get the 16T sprocket? Checked with a Kaw dealer and none of his sources showed on for my 01. Way too many on the 'net to know what to order, dampener, etc. FWIW, I rode the whold CDR with stock springs, and sprockets, half the ride with 2" lowering links, the other half with 1" lower, and a centerstand the whole trip. While bordering on too heavy I suppose the KLR performed very well for me.
 
Two650sOne1100 said:
Where did you get the 16T sprocket? Checked with a Kaw dealer and none of his sources showed on for my 01. Way too many on the 'net to know what to order, dampener, etc. FWIW, I rode the whold CDR with stock springs, and sprockets, half the ride with 2" lowering links, the other half with 1" lower, and a centerstand the whole trip. While bordering on too heavy I suppose the KLR performed very well for me.
Click to expand...

I bought my 16 tooth off a guy on KLR.net for 15 bucks shipped to the house. It was new and in the package. They run about 20 bucks and you can find them on ebay, and almost any online dealer who carries dual sport parts.
---------------------------

I bought one a few weeks ago and am also going through the thought process on the bike I was to end up with. The bike I bought had a lot of upgrades already done to it, so that deal worked out pretty well for me. I am still sorting out the seat. I bought the ATV seat pad at walmart today and am going to try it on the corbin, which is too hard for my taste as most corbins are.

As far as bags, guards, and the rest the ways to upgrade the KLR are almost limitless. I have been overwhelmed with all the info on the web about the KLR.

As for me, I bought mine to replace a Vstrom for dirt road days. I have no plans of doing any gnarly off roading and am trying to stay on target with how I set up the bike. I am hoping to end up with a bike that is comfortable enough to ride all day and still be enjoyable when the dirts roads become a little soft.

I think Scott's dead on, it's all about what you plan to do with it that should decide how you upgrade it.

If you want to see a decked out KLR, it's in front if Michael's fully farkled GS. It belongs to RockmanTx, and it is rigged out very well. He is pretty up to speed on the KLR since he bought his. Maybe he can post some pics of what he has done, he's put a lot of work into that KLR.

p1262006.jpg
 
Two650sOne1100 said:
Where did you get the 16T sprocket? Checked with a Kaw dealer and none of his sources showed on for my 01. Way too many on the 'net to know what to order, dampener, etc. FWIW, I rode the whold CDR with stock springs, and sprockets, half the ride with 2" lowering links, the other half with 1" lower, and a centerstand the whole trip. While bordering on too heavy I suppose the KLR performed very well for me.
Click to expand...

The guy I bought the bike from had a whole box of extras and that sproket was in there.

Bike bandit or motorcyclesupstore.com carries them.

Anyone of you guys in the round rock area? Id like to get together sometime and do some riding.
 
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