Service!

I brought my 10-year-old, 2006 KLR 650 in to the shop yesterday to have Gerry do a complete service on it.   We do service on all bikes, and nobody does it better than Gerry.

Gerry is going to change the oil, put in a new oil filter, change the air filter, adjust the valves, clean the carb, check the brakes, change the coolant, change the brake fluid, put a new chain on it, and more…it will be a complete service.

We do all kinds of motorcycles in our Service Department, and if you need any work done, feel free to swing by on our Dual Sports and Donuts days (starting this Saturday) or on any other day.  We’ll be posting some service specials (good deals) later today, so keep an eye on the blog and on our Facebook page.  If you have a KLR and you need it serviced at a reasonable price, Gerry is your guy.

I bought my KLR new 10 years ago from my good buddy Art, and it’s been a good bike.   The KLR has become a cult bike because so many of them are around, just as I believe the RX3 will be.  Comparisons between the two bikes are inevitable, and as I rode mine to the plant yesterday, I was mentally doing just that.   It’s a funny thing, because later in the day Ryan (who also used to own a KLR that he put some serious miles on) asked me how I thought the KLR compared to the RX3.

Here’s what I told Ryan:

• As a 650, the KLR has more power than the RX3, but not that much more.  At freeway speeds, the KLR had a little more oomph going from 70 mph to 80 mph, but it was just a little bit more.
• The RX3 is a much more stable ride.  The KLR feels like it has  a hinge in the middle, and it was trying to follow the rain grooves in the 210 freeway’s surface way more than the RX3 does.  I would say this is one of the bigger differences between the two bikes.   The RX3 just handles and tracks a lot better.
• The RX3 is a much more nimble motorcycle than the KLR.
• The KLR is much more taller than the RX3.   I was surprised when I got on the KLR yesterday just how tall it felt.  I had to tippy-toe it when stopped, and I found I didn’t like doing that.   When the KLR was my only bike, I was okay with it, but now that I have the RX3, I don’t like doing the ballerina impersonation the KLR requires.  I don’t have to do that on the RX3.
• As a fuel-injected motorcycle, the RX3 engine felt much more precise than does the KLR engine.
• I run Shinko semi-knobbies on the KLR, and it makes way more tire noise going down the road than does the RX3.
• The RX3 was a much more comfortable ride than the KLR.   I’ve heard people criticize the seat on both bikes, but believe me, the KLR seat is far worse than the RX3 seat (which I feel comfortable on).   I have the sheepskin cover on my RX3, I don’t have one any more on my KLR.   I probably need to get another sheepskin cover for the KLR.
• I really like the RX3’s stock luggage, and I use it all the time.   I have a set of optional Kawasaki soft bags for the KLR, but they don’t hold as much as the RX3 luggage and they are not lockable.  I may get a set of RX3 bags and modify the brackets so I can put them on the KLR.  We had talked about doing that at some point in the future, but we have been so busy developing accessories for the RX3 that we just haven’t had time to fool around with stuff for other bikes.   Having said that, the Zong bags are a natural fit for the KLR, and they even match in color.

Don’t get me wrong…I still love the KLR and I’ve decided to keep it.  It’s just that I love the RX3 more.  I’ve found that smaller motorcycles just make more sense for me, and I believe they are more fun than bigger bikes.   I feel comfortable and in control on the RX3, and as we proved on the Baja and Western America rides, it sure can go the distance.