Hey guys,

I am looking to purchase a Kawasaki KLR 650 that is fully set up for adventure travel. I.e panniers, long range tank, saddle bag, spares & tools kit....etc...

Particularly, I am interested in a bike with extensive modifications for off-road use, one that can be "pushed" a little in Africa, when the oppurtunity presents itself.

I am a UK citizen and as such would ideally like to purchase this bike in the UK, with intention to travel Europe>West Coast Africa>South Africa.

However, I would very much consider purchasing a bike in western Europe, as long as transferring ownership etc, was not to much of a hassle. I am currently in Norway, and will be until April/May 2010, and I would thus ideally like to purchase the bike around April to June 2010.

I realise this is "thinking a bit ahead" but thought if others were ending trips around this time, they may be interested.

Many thanks
Mike

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"JTTE, Father and son, 20,000km and 85 days - 2008"

Im not sure if the bike is available in all of Europe

Unfortunatly for me as well, because it seems to be a good option for big overland trips like you're planning

I have an ex-UK reg KLR 650 C that's loaded with long-distance goodies like engine bars and foot rests, large capacity 'A' tank (23L), Scottoiler chain oiler, pannier racks, Givi screen, ickey upgrade, suspension upgrade etc. I even have a bunch of spares for it. All the doco is in order. It's a bit of a rat bike (as pointed out to me in HU 2008), which in my mind is perfect, because no-one will want to nick it or touch it!

It currently lives near Dublin, in Ireland, on a farm. It's been exported from the UK, without having been re-registered in Ireland, so it would need to be re-registered somewhere.

If you're interested, PM or mail me. I should even have a recent video of it running.

It's been to Hungary. They loved it over there.

If Mike has had first refusal on this, and it's still available, then give me a shout. Need some way too get to korea and walking's out of the question. It sounds quite happy 'resting' in Ireland though - is it ready for more adventure? dave

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Reality is something you rise above. - Liza Minnelli (1946 - )

Hi.

It's still available. I haven't done much with it the last year, except start it up and ride it around the fields for 30 minutes every time I go home (once every 6 weeks or so).

It would definitely need a service now after being laid up for a while. I don't think I mentioned it before, but there's a $600(?) progressive shock upgrade in the box for it as well. The clutch is likely to need replacing on the bike soon enough, as the springs seems to be not releasing fully (it doesn't affect the riding, but it sometimes affects the starting of the bike unless you push the clutch lever back, or unless the bike is in neutral because of the starting safety circuit in the CDI). Oh, it also needs a new choke cable. The old cable seized up with initial non-use, making starting difficult, so I temporarily hacked the cable back (to get past the seized portion, cos WD40 didn't free it up) until I could manually start the bike holding back the bodged (but no longer seized) cable. A new cable will fully sort that issue easily and cheaply.

It's a good option if you're prepared to do a little work. If you're allergic to getting your hands dirty, or you don't have much time, you could just get a registered KLR in the UK or somewhere else in Western Europe (I know of KLRs going for EUR 2000 - 4000 in Spain, for instance), and customise it with all the travel kit youself. Motobins stock Hepco and Becker stuff, which is what I have on mine. Just make sure you get the European / American bit (C model or A model) bit right, because the rear subframe, tank size, etc varies between models, and stuff for the wrong model won't fit. Let me know if you're interested though. I'm glad to share whatever info I can to get you moving, one way or t'other..

Colm

i'll send you a PM...

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Reality is something you rise above. - Liza Minnelli (1946 - )