u/drpokey7

This bike has been ridden on many curvy roads in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire, etc. On a kenda Washougal front and Kenda Trackmaster rear. No problem. I just don't personally understand the mantra of most dual sport tires. I feel it's better to ride a knobby on the street than a 50/50 in the dirt. I'm trying to open eyes and challenge the oft repeated "internet wisdom" and yes, I'm well aware they don't last as long as most of the tires identified traditionally as dual sport. I typically replace them one a year at a cost of roughly 150 dollars for both. Be safe out there. And I challenge you to try it...

It seems as if very few own both these bikes, they each have their own charm.

Just wanted to share my experience with the xr650l and ride height. Like many, it's too tall for me stock, the bike i bought had a 1.75 inch kouba link in the back and the forks raised the maximum. 5 inches. I know many are riding with this setup. However, the compromise is absolutely terrible awkward handling. So, I set out to lower the forks internally 1.5, but no information exists online. One only has to remove the damper cartridge, and dislodge the top out spring and place an appropriate sized (diameter) spacer in between the top out spring and its seat. I used a spacer from a klx140 forks. However the spring is a press fit onto the cartridge. To remove the spring start with a screwdriver and work the spring down until there is enough room for a brass punch. Then work that until you have enough room for a crescent wrench or adjustable wrench. Then seat the wrench against the spring and whack the wrench with hammer driving off the spring. Once the spring is off (it's tapered) the internal diameter must be slightly enlarged with a dremel sanding drum. Ideally the spring would still be small enough to have an interference fit with the damper rod. Just reassemble the forks, I raised them .25 inches to match the back. The handling is VASTLY improved, along with being slightly lower. Also one must get aftermarket springs as the stock springs have no spacer, but aftermarket springs are short enough to allow 1.5 inches deducted form the spring + spacer height. Hope this helps someone in the future. Pic of leveled out xr650l above!

Just need a 14T front sprocket, and to mount Zeta handguards and heated grips. SO CLOSE!

A low mile (4k) KLX650 just came up for sale near me. I know everyone's attitude toward old bikes with low miles, but I've had three low mile bikes that were 20 plus years old with good results. Mainly looking for advice from anyone who actually owned one of these bikes. How was it off road? Was the fuel range crap? How was the overall riding experience? Thanks for any input.

Just finished up my upgrades on a new to me 05, racetech gold valves and springs front and rear, and a big brake kit with a stainless line in the front. Huge improvement! Not much info out there on doing the gold valve in the shock, quite a bit of work, but worth it.