Is this bike a good buy?!
 

Hi, I have been offered this bike for £510, It is a KLR650A2, I don't know much about them other than they have a good reputation for going RTW! Here are the details:


1988 E 35k miles, lots of history, scotoiler, Riki bash plate and braided hose to front brake. Owned by me for last 8+ yrs, excellent commuter and lane bike. Has been stood for a while after I moved house. It is not taxed or MOTed it will need a rear shock, Battery and rear brake master cylinder for MOT. Runs fine, very reliable - in my ownership it has had clutch, head bearings and wheel bearings replaced, fork seals were done recently - first time they need replacing. I changed the oil every 2500-3000 mls as a precaution - the bike returns 50mpg at a steady 80mph on the motorway. With work and DIY on the house I don't have the time to devote to getting it fixed up - let alone ride it afterwards. These are excellent bikes - I built one from spares about 18 months ago - the first person that saw it bought that as they are quite sought after. I have loads of paperwork, old MOTs etc

So, is it a good buy? I know it will need some money spending but is a KLR with 35k on the clock gonna be any use ever?!
Cheers!
Rich

Now that's funny I have a bike like that.


On ebay.

Exact same price.

And description.

E-mail me - I've had this bike a long time - I've even built one from spares. Let me know what you want to use the bike for, etc and I'll give you an honest opinion.

BTW this post was seen by someone I sold some parts to - I try to do my best to satisfy the wishes of anyone buying from me.

PS Thanks Henry!



[This message has been edited by Scooby (edited 26 March 2002).]

Oops! What are the chaces of that happening!
Sorry mate - bit embarrassed now!
I was just trying to get some info and opinions cos I don't know much about trailies as I'm a bit of a die hard sports biker at the mo! I bought Chris Scotts book not long ago and am now itching to do some overlanding! Unless (or until!) I sell my CBR I'm on a limited budget tho, you're bike does sound very tempting tho!

I bought the bike about 8 years ago, I have toured the peak district two up on it no problem.

If you want to do an over land trip this is a decent place to start, no doubt the air cooled Yamahas are better, but getting on a bit now.

I have the genuine Kawasaki manuals - they use the KLR600 manual as a base and have all updates in the supplement - I have a few oil filters and a spare seat, I've also got a dented spare tank (from the project I built) all of which I could let you have.

I have read the same book and toyed with the idea - I am now gripped by mortgage and student loans - so trips are on the back burner.

I have the YZ250 for sale on ebay also, I will give my background. I have a TL1000R, a YZ400, YZ250 and the missus has one and a half ER5s - in addition to the KLR650. I work some 5 miles from home and have a land rover and van (pictured) - so am selling the stuff that gets overlooked.

A battery should be £10-15 (I have a mate who is a rep and gets them at cost) a master cylinder should be £10 (have a trawl around the BMF rally auto jumble.

If you intend doing an overland trip you will nedd an uprated shock anyway - the standard jobbie won't be up to the extra weight and work - so no loss.

I would probably rec'd having the head off for inspection - as I would any s/h bike before trusting my life to it.

Try and get hold of a couple of knackered wheels and use the hubs on new rims - the standard items have no tyre lock nuts - you'll need these if running low pressures on soft stuff.

If you decide to have the KLR I have a big box of ER5 parts (electrics, switches all sort etc) you're welcome to have a sort thru those for anything you need/fancy.

send me a mail if you need any further info.

BTW I'm off to Cornwall for a week friday morning, so won't be able to access the net beyond then.

Don't be embarrassed - top marks for asking the right questions.

Regards

BTW check out www.visordown.com and ask DirtyBill about KLR's

Hi, I'd say it was a reasonable buy. Buy cheap and stip it and rebuild the chassis so you know thats all OK, top end off, new piston valves and guides and then you know thats in good order, better to buy a bike like this so you know it's ok after the rebuild rather than spend more money on a bike you don't know. Regards Chris

Having recently gone through the 'buy cheap and rebuild/ build up' avenue to RTW bike happiness I can confirm the rational of this move. I am way more familiar with my bike now then I would have been if I hadn't done the rebuild myself. However, the cost was more then I had expected. this is for two primary reasons:
1) once you have spent the time (and money)to pull it all appart, you tend to want to upgrade and put in premium parts. This is a good idea anyway for a RTW bike.
2) little things like o rings, seals, bearings add up to more then you would expect and tend to be left out of the inital cost calculations.

As Chris Scott points out, the KLR's have a great reputation over here in North America, where they are also very cheap. I regularly see good used ones (early 90's, <50000 km) for +/- $3000 canadian (around 1200 pounds). These are on of the few big trailies that came with a large enough stock tank, which saves lots when setting them up for long trips.

[This message has been edited by Timo (edited 02 May 2002).]