KLR 650 Rear Shock Issue.
 

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the rear shock for the KLR. I have an 04 with roughly 1900 miles on it. I have upgraded the spring from multisurfacemotorcycling.com they have a 450 pound spring. Is there anything I can do to the actual shock to make it better? Can I had a heavier oil? Any help would be great.

I'm sorry I don't have any advice on making the stock shock better, other than what you have already done and experimenting with the settings. I can recommend the Progressive Suspension shock. I have one on my KLR that has about 24,000 miles on it and is still functioning well, never any problems, and is a huge improvement over the stock unit in performance, especially over rough terrain.

Mike
Idaho
www.rtwrider.net

KLR650 shock
 

If you only have 1900 miles on the KLR since '04 -had it since new?- barely enough time to establish an opinion. One would hardly think the shock needs replacing. .
Now maybe I'm just an insensitive klutz but I also have a KLR, 2000, which now has 80000km on it, after I bought it in '02 with less than 2000km accumulated. It is still running the same stock shock as when I got it . Only change made was adding a small splash shield extension at the front of the rear inner fender to keep road splash and grit off the shock slider shaft which should help prevent wear and contamination of shock seals.I have no complaints about how it handles.Save the money a new shock would cost and put it towards buying more gas =)

Sjoerd, some riders simply don't like the stock shock on the KLR 650, and Dave, the original poster on this thread, is apparently one of them (I enjoyed your blog, Dave). I don't agree with you that 1900 miles isn't enough to establish an opinion on a shock (on any bike). For someone who can't make the stock shock work to their satisfaction replacement with an after-market shock may be the only viable option.

You are quite right that a rider, such as yourself, who is satisfied with the stock shock would be much better off putting the money toward gas and enjoying the riding. But, different strokes for different folks, as we used to say long ago. :o)

Mike
Idaho
www.rtwrider.net

I decided to upgrade the spring. I think it will do the job, and if not then I will deal with that hurdle when it comes a long.

I need a monster rear spring
 

Can you give me a valid website etc to where you got the 450 pound spring??
I plan on loading the KLR down for some back woods camping etc.
Tks, Jim
'07 KLR 650

Found a Hypercoil 450 pound spring on ebay:

KLR 650 KLR650 Rear Shock Spring Hypercoil 450lb. New:eBay Motors (item 270468469182 end time Nov-09-09 21:28:49 PST)