I must admit, I rarely check my tyre pressures unless something feels wrong when riding, but last week I called into my local Kawasaki main dealer [they had a sale on leather jackets...half price!!] and as I was parking up one of the mechanics shouted me and said the back tyre looked a bit flat. I rode over to the workshop and he checked both tyres [they had about 17psi in both front and rear] and he pumped them up to 22psi in each. Now, I am not saying this is the correct book pressures but it rides ok...and this guy is a proper mechanic!

The "correct" tire pressure does not only depend on the surface you travel on but also (and sometimes even more) on the type of tire you use.

Some examples:
Bikes on tarmac:
A Tourance f.ex. will only last long if run at correct pressure. The tire is pretty useless on gravel and dirt and won't become much better by running it on lower tire pressure.
I ran Tourances on my F650GS at 190KPA front and 210KPA rear. Gross weight 350kg. Without luggage or passenger you can go some 10 or 20 KPA lower. (180 front / 190 rear, weight 280 kg).
My R1100GS is on Anakees with 220KPA front and 250 KPA rear. Fine for 420kg gross, with panniers you can go up to 280 KPA on the rear.

I ride all my 21" / 17" bikes (KLR650 / DR650 / BMW F Dakar) on Kings KT966 (50:50 tire similar Dunlop K750 but lasts much longer).
As tire pressures I found 170KPA and 170 to 200 KPA to work very well. You can deflate to 150 KPA on the front if you are light (bikes like DR650, KLR 650, below 250 kg gross) but the soft front end supports the bike's tendency to develop a high speed wobble on tarmac. I also ran the F650 Dakar on these tires and tire pressures and the bike felt fine and settled at any speed.

Deflating is safe to about 130 to 140KPA. Below that you run the risk of damaging your rims on rocks as well as to puncture tubes (snakebite) or tear off valves (tire rotates on rim).
In very sandy and soft conditions you can go down to 100KPA and below but you should have tire clamps (especially at the rear) or at least spare tubes and tire levers.
Note that deflating the rear tire does less to stabilize the bike in soft sand than the front (it's more about traction) but the rear is the one with more tendency to rotate.
While low pressure of around 140KPA will only wear the tire quicker but will see the bike travelling safely on tarmac everything below that pressure bears various risks:
Desintegration of tire due to overheating. This can happen after only a few fast kilometres on tarmac or hard gravel.
Unseating of tire or folding of side wall around a corner.
And as said a snakebite over a bump or rock.

Bottom line: For the KLE tire pressures between 150 and 170KPA front and 150 and 200KPA rear should be fine. A little bit more if you run road tires or load the poor thing like a donkey.

Hallo,

It`s very nice to find a KLE forum as there are very rare


I own a 2004 KLE with 13.000 km. I like the bike, the only problem is that it is quite high. I lowered seat a little bit but it`s not enough.
I`m thinking of buying "dog bones" to lower rear and to lower front side with steering stem adjustment.

Has anybody done something like this, all experiences and commnets are welcome.

Best regards,

On a trip through a remote area this past weekend, my dad got a puncture on the front. Got the toolkit out to loosen the axle, and found that there is not a size 22 to loosen the nut! We ended up using the 17 to turn the bolt, and the 24 for the rear at an angle to prevent the nut from turning.

I checked my bike's toolkit as well, it is not there! What an oversight IMO!


Let it be a fair warning to all KLE owners!

Any Idea how many litres the reserve is on a kle500(2006).

Its got a 15ltr tank, but dunno wot the reserve is?


answers anyone?

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"Whats in that thing??", An R1 owner said.

In practice, the main tank is about 11 litres and the reserve is about 3 or 4 litres.

I've just had my tyres changed and the dealer but an H (as opposed to an S or T) on the front. Not what I would have immediately thought of, but it certainly feels and stops better now. Is this a solution to the KLE braking problem?

Also, the rear pad lasted 8000 miles.

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"On that? You're nuts!" - My cousin's boyfriend

Current Bikes - Kawasaki KLE500 '05 (May 06)
Previous Bikes - Hyosung GF125 (Oct 05 to May 06)

Cheers for that. May make the tank mod to make reserve kick in later.

Sorry for sounding think, I know tyres have speed ratings and such but run it by me again?.

I was thinking of changing to a more road type tyres when these are knackered. Any recomendations?

My mate pulled up on his gs1200 the other day and I noticed the tyres on the gs where not half as nobbly as the kwaks, and he goes down all sorts of back beaten tracks.

Mabey better handling and fuel range to be gained on more road based tyres.

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"Whats in that thing??", An R1 owner said.

hi dannykle
got two new kles my wife is 5'.4" we also had some padding taken out of the seat but that was not enough so we ordered a lowering kit from pidcocks in derby. this reduced the front by about 1" and the rear about 2"
the bike handling feels better for the reduction but obviously you loose some ground clearance but if you dont do too much off road riding it was worth it.
they charged us about £90 for the kit and ftted it for free.
hope this helps ash and deb

Hi Ash,
You wrote that you bought lowering kit - you mean kit for rear end, front end (as I know) is lowered just by untigthning screws and lowering stem ?

You wrote that handling feels better, you mean because of hight or feeling when driving?

BR Danny

Mostly, they go alphabetically with S being about 115mph and T being 125mph (off the top of my head), but H is the odd one out being rated at about 135mph making it harder and less flexible. The dealer obviously saw the complete mess I made of the front tyre (as opposed to the pristine but squared off rear) and decided that an H would be longer lasting. Those guys at FWR are lovely. They never seem to want my money.

I ditched the stock Dunlops after about 1500 miles as I got down to rear wear indicator and decided not to look back. Bearing in mind that this was the running in period, they should have lasted a hell of a lot longer. Other users haven't experienced the same problems though. I currently use Avon Distanzias which are excellent tyres and I was going to try the Avon Gripsters, but they didn't have any in stock, but I'm happy to have Distanzias again.

__________________
"On that? You're nuts!" - My cousin's boyfriend

Current Bikes - Kawasaki KLE500 '05 (May 06)
Previous Bikes - Hyosung GF125 (Oct 05 to May 06)

My Kle has got just over 2000miles on the clock now. The front tyre looks like new but the rear is starting to square off now (thats if I understand these tyres right?)

The very centre of the tyre is almost a flat with the grip.

How much did u pay on new tyres?, are you likley to get more milage out of these?.
Also, are the new tyres still nobbly or more road based?.

cheers
Roy

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"Whats in that thing??", An R1 owner said.

The Distanzias were about £100 for the pair and the rear squared off a bit but would have lasted more than the 6500 than the front did. Maybe it's worth leaving the Trailmax on the front and putting a Distanzia on the back. As for bias, yes the Distanzias are more road biased. Avon claim 50/50 between on and off road, but they're not serious off road tyres, but then the KLE is not a serious off road bike.

__________________
"On that? You're nuts!" - My cousin's boyfriend

Current Bikes - Kawasaki KLE500 '05 (May 06)
Previous Bikes - Hyosung GF125 (Oct 05 to May 06)

Cheers for that.

The wife has just buggered off sking with the school so ive got a week to play!!!!

Off to have a spin round NW Wales.

Catch ya ltr.

Roy

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"Whats in that thing??", An R1 owner said.

Hi from Aussie KLE rider and thanks for starting a much needed thread. I have just bought a 2006 KLE and would like to fit grip warmers and maybe some lights to it but I am unsure what power I have avalible. If anyone knows how much I have or how to work it out, please let me know.

Thanks in advance

Doc

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I have only one eye. Do you want me to look at the road or at the speedometer. Moshe Dayan

Fitting heated grips is no problem, Ive just fitted the Oxford ones. Dunno if they are down under?.

As for lights, Mabey LED versions may be the answer?


cheers
Roy

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"Whats in that thing??", An R1 owner said.