Thanks Patrick!

I agree with Peter-Denmark. Most upgrades are unnecessary.

Lever guards, soft luggage (though I just did a trip through the Middle East with my KLR and I used Givi Plastic luggage... I liked that!), a reusable oil filter is a good idea.

I, too, brought an aluminum crutch with me in place of a center stand. I made no modifications to it. I've tried to attach a picture of the stand in action, but I'm no computer whiz. I hope it works. (This photo is of a road side tire shop in Beirut. The jack is under the bike as a backup. The cane is holding the weight.)

I have all sorts of pictures of my Middle East trip on my website if you're interested in seeing how I set up my KLR for that journey.

Wow, the crutch mod is a great idea. Never thought of that, I was worried about what I was going to do with a flat in the America's. Thanks for the pictures!

Usefull!
 

Very impressive, the number of mods you can find in one thread. I'm about to buy a 08 KLR 650 here in Bolivia from the shop. Most of the mods can be done here, Bolivian style, cheap and still well done as long as you stay on top of the welder/mechanic etc. !

Thanks a lot!

Gert
Santa Cruz Bolivia

pS. I'm the community in Sucre, now moved to Santa Cruz. If you guys are in the neighbourhood then let me know

Change from 21" to 19" front rim?
 

Just bought a 2008 model KLR650 in preparation for my tour to NZ. I am a short *@# person, so need to do some height adjustment on the bike. Have lowered the seat, front fork (by about 1") and a longer rear link. Still unable to flat-foot when stop. Will changing the front wheel rim from 21" to 19" help further reduce the seat height? Will that affect the bike stability?

Must do's:
Eagle lever
Choke lever and mirror mount (Arrowhead)
Rear brake bracket (Eagle) Leave OEM in place and take the Eagle Mfg. part as spare.
KL650C 1996 - 2002; Euro KLR) or KL650A (2007) or KL650E (2008) gearshift lever.
ATO fuses from Arrowhead.
Yuasa YTX14AH L-BS MF battery.
MX pegs
Decent handguards
Any of the following: Radiator guard, IMS tank, full set of crash bars. Depending on how often you don't succeed to keep the black bits down and if you mind minor scratches and dings. The radiator guard is the bare minimum. IMS tank protects the radiator reasonably well and looks the bizniz ;D The full crash bars (I have only seen the SW Motec ones) are a bit of a pain when doing maintenance and make the bike look too "agri" for my taste.

Very nice: Progressive fork springs

Nice: Oversize front brake rotor (EBC I think), custom setup rear shock (Benny Wilbers)

The rear shock is fine as long as you're not too fat, as long as you don't ride the bike hard and as long as you keep your luggage within reasonable limits.

I traveled with KLR650A '97 ...from Turkey to Mongolia through stans and did almost all the mods mentioned before the trip ...

my 2 cents is ...

1- I wouldnt bother with front brake hose .... I couldnt tell the difference .. was still weak

2- Larger front sprocket was a good idea ...

3- I used hard luggage and still think its was a good idea , as it keeps your stuff safer. But i carried couple of sleeping bag sacks in of emergency ( if somehow hard cases became useless)


hope it helps ...

´Must Do´
 

KLRs are tough by nature. You CAN drop them a dozen times (at least pre 2008), dust them off and keep on riding. Your radiator guards come in handy if you hit a cow or large and stationary rock (non-stationary ones defined as those tumbling down in areas marked as zones de crumbles).

Dont leave home without:
Crash bars
Bash plate upgrade
Doohickey
Stock pegs are bloody slippery in the wet/mud

While many disagree, everything else falls into the would be nice category. Thankfully, KLRs dont run BMW stock shocks, so if your stock rear has low ks than save your $$, otherwise get a new one.

Only the paranoid survive though.