rtw with KLE500
 

Hi All,

I will do a rtw within two years and now i am doing the rota and try to choise the right bike. I have read almost all KLE threads, but still have some concerns.

Initially, I was thinking to buy a Honda Transalp and do the rtw with it. Last week I have seen a Kawasaki KLE500 on the road and had a search about it.
The reason why it became an serious option for TA is:

-500 cc
-2 cylinder
-low consumption
-lighter
-narrower
-cheaper
-will be brand new, rather then second hand
-carbs. (i know TA has also carbs)
-relatively new tecnology

but my concers are:
-not very common as TA
-Kawasaki hasn't got lots of dealer-service as Honda has
-Never heard anyone RTW on KLE
-Parts avalabilty all over the world
-Not much aftermarket parts (racks, centerstant, tall screen, etc)

Can someone convince me that the RTW is achivable with an KLE500? I know that anybike will do rtw, but the point is doing it with less mechanical problem.

My route will include Mediteranian coast on Europa, West Africa (from Morocco-Sahara-Down to South Africa), South-Central-North Amerika, AU, SouthEast Asia-India-Iran-Turkey.

Thanks in advance

This is only my 0.02 cents (and I havent done a rtw trip)...

for me, the only Kawasaki that I´d consider to take, would be the KLR. The KLE indeed looks too fragile, but like you said, you probably can do it on any bike. Its just that one bike is more suited to that than the other. Even though the KLR seems to be quite reliable, Im not sure that applies to the KLE. Maybe someone whos owned one longer can comment on that.

I think the Transalp (or Africa Twin) beats the KLE in everything except weight maybe. And 1-up it might be just a bit more powerful, but 2-up I would think it goes the other way round, because the v-twins have more torque. 2-up, with all sidebags you can carry, etc., the KLE could be even more badly on its knees I think.

Getting a brand new bike is of course good, but I´d still ride it 5000, or 10000kms at home before setting off, just to make sure everythings working well.

Ozhan hi;

Just got back from a long 10 days trip, me on a KLR (2004 model 25.ooo kms) and a Catalan friend on a TransAlp (1996 model 138.ooo kms). I was 2up on a single and he was 1up on a twin. Both bikes seemed to get on well with each other whatever the road conditions were. I must admit that TA was slightly better on climbing tricky mountain curves (remembering that I was 2up). BTW, my friend had done 3ooo kms in 3 days, from Barcelona to Istanbul, on that considerably old TA, just before our trip.

If I was in your shoes (motorcycle boots :-)), I would go for KLR (any model from 2000s) or TA (from 1996 to 2000). IMO TAs from 2000 on can not beat the reliability, touring ability, and engine performance of older models. And I still do prefer the outlook of the old TA model when compared with the latest ones.

Regarding KLEs, you better ask someone else.

Still hoping to meet for beers.

can ozcan (from Izmir)

ozhan, i'm overlanding from Holland to Namibia on a KLE. starting half september. finishing end of december taking the east route. after that i'll can tell you all. by the way someone hase done dakar on a KLE so cant be that bad. maybee for the real offroad you be better of on a KLR of XT 660 but then again there will still be a lot of (bad) tarmac between the ofroad stuff. i'm going with a mate wo rides a africa twin so we can compare bikes. but it's thruth there is not much aftermarket stuff for the KLE but that just ads to the challenge i think.

HI All,

Thank a lot for reply.

Luuk, I am really looking forward for your comments after your Africa Trip. Africa Twin is a bit heavy and tall for me.

cozcan, I was in Izmir during last weekend, actually in Gumuldur. Hope to have a beer next time. About KLR: There is no brand new KLR and if i buy a 2005 this will be abut 4 years old before i go to rtw. This means lots of maintaince and part costs. Same for TA pre-2000. will be too old, most parts need to be changed etc.. Actually, my biggest concern is servicing and parts around the world. Honda dealers are everywhere. I thing I will save a bit more and go for one-year-old TA with extras.

pecha, i think you are right. TA beats KLE in every aspects, except wight and "price".

Being a few years old does not necessarily mean a bike needs half of its parts changed. Speaking of Transalp and Africa Twin (I´ve had 5 Africatwins myself during the years!), they are among the most bulletproof machines on the face of the earth, if properly maintained, I wouldnt hesitate going on a big trip with one. Some report having ridden them for 100 or 200 thousand kms, with no major problems.

Sure, when you buy a brand new bike, then you can be 100% sure nothings been neglected.. but its price will deteriorate quickly, especially if you go on a trip like this, because it wont look new after that.

If you buy second-hand, then its all about the previous owner(s) commitment to the bike. A 1-2 year old Transalp sounds a like pretty safe buy, though.

ozhanu, i'm passing trough Turkey in the end of september, so iff you want to see a fully loaden KLE and get some idea how it would be to RTW on one, we could meet up and have some beers.

thanks for the advices and comments again.

Luuk, you are always welcome. not only for a beer, also for stay. drop me a line before you come. i am ok for september but will be away on october. I live in Ankara.

pecha, i have heard that the honda engines are really good. so you are probably right and buying a honda machine 1-2 years old with 10K on the clock will do the job I guess..

thanks

Klr 2008
 

Ozhan hi;

Just a quick note on KLRs. Though you do not see them in recent years' Kawasaki dealers' lists in Turkey, there exist 2007 and even a brand new 2008 models. The thing is KLRs are not that much popular (mostly because of emmission regulations) in EU. It is a kind of a similar case with Yamaha XTs (not because of emmission regulations but purely marketing strategy) in USA.

Just for your interest take a look at 2008 KLR 650 Pics @ The DUAL SPORT ZONE

can

One of the drawbacks the KLE has is the small tank size, 15l compared to the 20+ litres of the other bikes. But if you are planning to carry extra fuel, or work your route out around the distance, it should not be a problem.

Hi Luuk,

If you pass through Bucharest .... maybe we can met and ...... drink a beer

thanks for the invitation, i'd like that. but were on a tight schedule. have to doe the whole trip in 3 and a half month. but i'll see if we can make it. i'll let you know.

Luuk, are you going via South Africa?

If you have not already had a look, the ADV rider web forum thingo has a lot of KLE500 riders, less RTW, however lots of info etc.. also I was told on Wednesday this week the KLE500 in Australia is no longer being brought in / made (not sure if one or both) and the new 650cc road beast is the change over model.. however I dont think that it would be an issue on parts etc for they are still ebing sold new here until stock runs out.. best of luck and happy travels Al

maybee. we either end our trip in south africak or namibia (i'f got relatives there) depends a bit on what is the easiest country to schip the bikes home from, and of course time and money

Dam, I am glad I bought my KLE in January. I think that this bike is very under rated and I am more than pleased with it. Planning a 4-5 day camping trip around Tasmania next year on it :funmeteryes:

yes, little change in plans. were going to southafrika

I'm in Cape Town, so you're welcome to pop in if you're in the area.

i will, thanks

Africa trip
 

Hello Luuk.

You must deffinately keep us up to date on the trip and pop in in Cape Town.

Replace the 2 main bolts in the carrier with a thicker allen cap bolt and nut. You will have to drill the original threads out. My bolts sheared of after about 300km of bad road with a load on the carrier.

Regards

you mean the plastic back carrier? the one yoy can mount a case one?

back carrier
 

Hello Luuk.

Yes. Just where the seat ends, you have 2 bolts going through the carrier and back mud guard into the frame from the top. You need to upgrade those by an extra 2mm. Use an hex head bolt, as you cannot get a spanner into the recess when the bolt is bigger. Also drill out the threads the old bolts turn into, and use Nylok nuts at the bottom. A high tensile or stainless bolt will be good.

There are also the 2 silvery side bolts of the carrier just under the back end of the seat. Make sure to put some Lok Tite on there, as they shake loose and it then creates more stress on the top bolts.

I can post some pics if it may help.

Regards

thanks for the tip, i'll will replace them

I'm off

not a RTW but from holland trough germany (autotrain to northen kroatia, autobahn is verry verry boring), kroatia, bosnia, serbia, bulgaria, turkey, syria, jordan, egypte, sudan, ethiopia, kenya, tanzania, zambia, namibia, botswan to finaly south-africa. i'm riding togeter with a africa twin so you can expect some extensive KLE/AT testing. ozhanu, we will try and meet up with you in ankara.


i"ll post some pics once i have figured out how to make them small enough.

modifications/maitenace i did are:

- air in front forks 0.5 bar instead of 0.0
- rearschok at 1 setting from hardest
- new spark plugs
- reoilt the airfilter
- sheepskin on saddle
- strengtend the gargo plate
- bolted a amunition box on the back (to use as a safe and emercency centrestand)
- made a schreen to protect the headlight (basicly layers of chikenwire, looks verry mad max)
- bidon on the handelbar (just cheap moutainbike one, but the idea was from atouratec catalog)
-wide foot on sidestand
- new DID chain and sprocket set



and of course extensive routine maintanace
and i'm bringing 2 * 5 liter jerrycans(only thing i don't like about the KLE is the fact that there no bigger tanks available) and a set of TKC 80 twinduro's for the sudanese sand.

Good luck Luuk (no pun there then!!),

Sounds like your bike is worth a few pictures, so, here's a tip that I got from another thread a while back, about making your pics small enough to fit on here:-
(The tip about saving your pics as some other name means do it first!! I tried to do this as part of the process and I lost the higher quality pics for ever, so far as I can tell).
I think other programs such as photoshop do the same thing, but this is free.

"there is a free program on the net called irfanview (downloadable here IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide) It is a very simple matter to re size photos (even in batches) and can handle all (dont hold me to this) Raw formates. Plus it makes quite a good quick viewer, (it other editing abilities are limited .. but for a freebie it very good).
Click on photo you want then <Image> or <ctrl+r>, then click on <resize/resample> and bobs your mothers brother.
For doing batch work.. <file> then <Batch conversion> Then click <advanced options> .. set the file size you want.. ectra..

You can resize in the real programs to.. Photoshop go to Image then Image size and put in the size you want.

IN ALL CASES MAKE SURE YOU SAVE AS SOMETHING ELSE.. cus going down in size is easy and works.. going up .. DONT!"

That's an interesting route to get to Africa - are you shipping back or riding back?

Cheers, :thumbup1:

got someone (computer wizzkid) working on the pictures already. but thanks for the tip. i'm flying back and i hope to schip my bike, otherwise it will have to fly aswel. still looking for a shiping agency though.

Hi Ozhanu,
I have a 1996 KLE, and although I love it, I'd go for another one if I would be preparing a RTW trip now. As said before, the tank is only 15 l, and you would have to carry big jerrycans to avoid this problem. The bigger tank you can get on the bike, the best. Any can you have to carry will take valuable space you may need to carry other things.
Other problem: No fuel or temperature indicator. I am going to install on mine a temp indicator which is made for computer motherboards. It has a pair of thermocouples and is quite accurate, with a range from 0-120ºC will do the job well. Anyway, I would like to have a fuel indicator, as I have to calculate the remaining from the odometer (200 km up to the reserve, 50 km more to empty the tank)
Other problem: the light is not very powerful. You would have to add supplementary lights (well you should do it with any bike, but it would be desireable to have a good standard light)
Other problem: It does not have centre stand unless you install it from aftermarket. SW-Motech has a good one wich costs 120 euros here in Spain. You will need it to make on road repairs and tire changes.
To sum up, I think the KLE is perfectly capable of that RTW trip, but you would have to add a lot of extras to complete it, and if you are going to buy a bike, go for the one that is better prepared from the start and you will save money. Good options are the TA or the Africa Twin (why Honda stopped manufacturing it???) and if you think the AT is high, remember Jordi Arcarons, 2nd in the Paris-Dakar four times, 3d two times, winner of the Atlas Rally 2 times....with those huge rally bikes...and being 1.62 cm tall...imagine him trying to jump up to a giant Cagiva Elephant in the middle of the dunes... Remember Yoda teachings "Size matters not", hehehe
I am preparing a trip to Cape North from Spain and I am waiting for the upcoming BMW F800GS, New 2008 Transalp and the new Yamaha Ténéré to choose one before the trip. .

Good luck with your trip, and overall, have fun on the bike.

Best regards

Jules

It's not so hard to rebuilt original tank. Look at this link and see how I did it for my trip to Siberia. Nikola Mrakovcic - personal motorcycle travel site

Hello Everyone,

Thanks a lot for the info and advices. I think I am gonna buy a KLE for a RTW. In overall it is better than TA or AT.

JULESKLE500, thanks for the tricks...

Luuk, I am in Antalya for a conference now and I'll be back on 23rd. Hope to meet you.

[update] away again 2nd week of October for 10 day

Have a save journey

yes..the KLE tank might be 15L,,,might I have avg 160-200miles before it hit reserve tank (ie when i need to switch to reserve; giving it anything from 22-28.5km/L) if course the later achievement is done cruising at a highway at 80-100km/h...

do drop by Singapore if you ever come down that south in SE asia!
i can be contacted via email marcopolo@bikerider.com!

joe
Compassion and Wisdom can go hand in hand

thanks marcopolo (what a nice nickname)

singapore will be on my route. i'll announce my rtw once i have started.

keep in touch

coıncedence. we,ll ben ın ankara at the 23. travel ıs goıng wel were just ın west turkey. i,ll pm you my mobıle phone number.

greetıng