klr650 in Bolivia?

[Sir Fries]

I'm about to head North from Santiago and interested in heading to Bolivia. I have read a few things about bikes running poorly due to the altitude and poor fuel. I noticed my bike being sluggish to start up at the pass between Mendoza and Santiago which I think is around 3000m, so I'm a little worried about how it will run at altitudes of over 4000m in Bolivia?

Any experience or recommendations / suggestions of how to improve the performance is those conditions would be appreciated.

Also, on a side note, I know there were some road blockages etc in Bolivia late last year, particularly around Santa Cruz. Is this still an issue or are most of the roads clear these days?

[AndyT]

I had my KLR up to 4800 meters in Peru a couple years ago, with the standard jetting, and really had no problems. The bike lost some power, and would backfire out the exhaust on deceleration, but nothing major. Sometimes you will only be able to find 84 octane rated gasoline in the mountains, but the air is so thin that higher octane fuel isn't really needed, at least I had no trouble. I guess what I'm saying, is just ride.

[mollydog]

Like Andy says, it will clog and suck dirt into the engine, which will end your ride.

Have a safe ride,

[Sir Fries]

thanks for the info!

yes the bike has the stock jetting, airbox arrangement and exhaust. I'll check out the access to the fuel/air screw.

[Bennett]

Nick;
Rode a KLR to Bolivia in 2007,power was down and the fuel consumption nearly doubled,so fill the tank at every opportunity.
Ben.

[mollydog]

......... or take a few hours to screw This will not only help
It's just not that hard and well worth.

Patrick

[daveg]

Originally Posted by Sir Fries

Also, on a side note, I know there were some road blockages etc in Bolivia late last year, particularly around Santa Cruz. Is this still an issue or are most of the roads clear these days?

My understanding is that there are always road blocks all over the place. I encountered 1 big one while I was there a few months ago as the entire city of Oruro was shut down by a transit strike with cars/buses blocking every road and train track.

Theo and I just rode around them. There were tons of people just hanging out all over the place and no one seemed to care that we were driving offroad / doing what ever it took to get around the road blocks.

The gas in Bolivia does suck. It is <84 octane.. no one I asked even knew what octane was so I never got an answer what it actually is.. All I know is that when I got to Chile and filled up with 97, i literally did an unintentional wheelie out of the gas station.

suerte!