KLR650 in the sand. Need some help

[Eazy-E]

Ok, so I am not a KLR owner and as much as I despise these bikes my bro inlaw does have one and he loves it. Thing is I have been taking my DR650 out to the dunes for a while now and he decided to come along after I told him how much fun sand riding is. I have 2 rim locks both front and rear on the DR and like to run 5 PSI in the soft stuff. I figured that because the KLR is heavier and he doesn't have locks we'd drop the pressures to 15 PSI. Initially tried 20 PSI but he wasn't going anywhere. Soon enough we had to go down to 12 PSI and he was having great fun riding some smaller dunes and spending less time getting bogged. It was a fun day until he suddenly lost the bead and tore out the valve stem. We didn't have a spare tube so had to trailer the bike home.

The following day he went to a bike shop and had a bead lock installed front and rear. He asked to have two installed each rim as I have but the owner of the shop told him he didn't need two rim locks as it'd be overkill and in addition reminded him his KLR wouldn't go far on the sand anyway.

We went down to the beach again and played on some dunes. I was running 5 psi on the DR and he was on 10 psi with the KLR. After about 30 minutes of riding he lost the bead again and tore up the tube! Even with a rim lock installed. This was a pain in the ass to both of us because we'd planned on doing the Robe to Beachport trip in a week (70km quicksand adventure) and I'm thinking unless we can sort this issue with his tyre the trip's just not going to happen.

What I'm looking for is potential solutions ( Yeah, I know, buy a different bike) to help make this trip happen. I'm thinking a second rim lock in the rear and perhaps a tire with thicker sidewalls so the rim locks hold better? Also are some rim locks better quality than others? He currently has the stock dunlop trail max tires. Any suggestion on a more suitable tire for the sand. D606 any good? Look forward to hearing from anyone who has experience sand riding the KLR. cheer, ebob

[Flagstaff]

Not much to say about riding sand as I avoid it as much as possible with the KLR. Do have experience with D606's though. Pretty stiff sidewall, once rode a rear flat home about 5 miles, half off road and half on road and tire stayed in position and with no damage to tire or tube. Also I leave the nut off the valve stem so slight slippage doesn't rip the valve out. Not sure if this helps as I run across sand and cinders only intermittently in my travels and am running full pressures.

Good luck

Mike

[Eazy-E]

Very helpful info on the D606 sidewalls. I haven't used them myself so its good to hear they are stiffer than the stock trail max. I actually removed the stock rear today to take a look what the bead lock is doing and it would seem the beadlock doesn't have contact with the tire. My guess is the bike shop has installed the much more common 2.15" rim lock instead

[Beezerboy]

ya the stock tires are less than wonderful (they suck). the 606 is good, so is the Pirelli MT21. TKC80s are a little better on the pave but you give up some dirt ability. I like the 21s a lot.

1st generation KLRs need proper servicing on the fork oil level. I've done dozens at tech days... none had even the factory minimum unless the owner did the work. fill with 10 wt to 170mm from the top with the springs removed & fork collapsed (book says 190, but 170 is better). trim with 10 psi air. for the Gen II (2008 and up) it's 135mm. a fork brace helps too. best mod is Ricor valves for the forks and a Moab rear shock. these things help traction & steering in rough terrain a lot.

[Flagstaff]

ya the stock tires are less than wonderful (they suck). the 606 is good, so is the Pirelli MT21. TKC80s are a little better on the pave but you give up some dirt ability. I like the 21s a lot.

1st generation KLRs need proper servicing on the fork oil level. I've done dozens at tech days... none had even the factory minimum unless the owner did the work. fill with 10 wt to 170mm from the top with the springs removed & fork collapsed (book says 190, but 170 is better). trim with 10 psi air. for the Gen II (2008 and up) it's 135mm. a fork brace helps too. best mod is Ricor valves for the forks and a Moab rear shock. these things help traction & steering in rough terrain a lot.

Partial to Racetech, but either way suspension is a big deal.

Mike

[Eazy-E]

cheers he got some TKC80's. He's a 70/30 street/sand rider so doesn't have much use for the extra dirt ability of the D606 or Pirelli MT21. I was suspicious the mechanic may have installed too small of a rim lock so we removed the stock tire for a look. Sure enough there's a 2.15" lock installed so it's no wonder the tire spun. Bought 2 2.5" rim locks and gonna fit those and will charge my bro twice the labor for doing it right! As for the suspension it's not my bike so he can do what he wants with the suspension but I've already advised him it'd be worth doing something. I've ridden his KLR and the stock suspension is scarey to say the least. Cheers for the help guys.

[Beezerboy]

he'll love the TKC. good tire except they evaporate pretty quick. the MT21 dosen't give up much on the road & is better off road. I have 2 sets of wheels to save the 21s for when I need them. you can also get a spare rear & just run the same front. the fronts make 2x the miles of the rear.

nice thing about the Ricors is the ease of installation. pull off the cap, drain the oil, remove spring, drop valve in the hole, pour in 5 wt oil until 40mm from top, replace spring, replace cap, done. they work good... as good as the YZ forks I had on mine for a while (about a year). now if you were jumping it & tuned the YZs you could get a better ride but for the stuff you usually do on a klr the ricors are really good. the yz forks limit the lock slightly

in any case.... at least check the fork oil level if you arn't possitive it has been done. raising the oil to 170mm (which is actually the original spec) gets rid of most of the horrible fork dive the klr forks have. 10 psi air on top to trim. I've done dozens this way and every owner agreed it is better. (btw, I didn't invent this setting)

usd forks on klr:

Edited April 2, 2013 by Beezerboy

[Eazy-E]

cheers, we just got back from the robe > beachport trip and he loves the TKC80 tires. Not sure if they're better in the sand but they're awesome on dirt and the street for a knobby. He did manage to burn out the clutch on the KLR after riding 4 hours of dunes so that was a bitch. Had to ride 8 hours return to pick up a trailer and tow the KLR home. Apparently he didn't know you shouldn't clutch in sand except to shift. Does anyone actually make an aftermarket clutch for the KLR? Nice USD forks they suit the KLR. Reckon I'll check the fork oil level when we fix the clutch as he isn't the least bit mechanically inclined. Got some video footage of the trip too I'll post up to show off the KLR and DR's sand prowess! True super pigs!

[yellowdatsun]

If you guys like riding in the sand, the KLR is the wrong bike. You *can* ride in the sand with them, but they aren't fun. I'd ride my CR250 or CRF450 in the sand before the KLR. I'd never intentionally take it to do sand riding, and only ride sand when it just happens to be on the trail I'm on. He should get a dirt bike, even if it's a cheap $900 one.

[Eazy-E]

The thing is we are adventure riders in Australia (the land of deserts) and like to ride long distances be it sand, dirt or highway. The areas we ride can mean a range of 500k's between refuel is required. The KLR and DR with long range tanks can do this. Often the ride out to areas is hundreds of miles and I wouldn't want to trailer a dirt bike out that far and then run a support vehicle along the tracks to carry spare fuel. I'd also choose my CR500 over my DR for playing in nearby dunes.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Eazy-E

[ickfinger]

I wonder if a couple of properly spaced hose clamps around the tire/rim would keep it from spinning?

[Flagstaff]

I wonder if a couple of properly spaced hose clamps around the tire/rim would keep it from spinning?

Original!

Mike

[Eazy-E]

I wonder if a couple of properly spaced hose clamps around the tire/rim would keep it from spinning?

Patent pending...?

[yellowdatsun]

With all that sand that you guys ride though, I'd be looking at some real MX style knobbies. Won't be as good on the road, and won't last as long, but will work like a paddle in the sand. I can't see the back tire in the pic, but if it's like the front, then there's not enough spacing between the lugs to paddle through the sand. This way you can keep them aired up more and still get traction. On our MX bikes we run 14psi in the front, and 12 psi in the back, I believe that's somewhat of a standard for the dirt. We ride hard with 12 psi, with bead locks, and have never spun a tire around the rim. Make sure the nut on the bead lock is tight. Maybe a little more on a KLR due to the weight, maybe 14 in the back? What he has on there is a dual sport tire, and was never intended for sand riding.

Edited April 29, 2013 by yellowdatsun

[ickfinger]

I wonder if a couple of properly spaced hose clamps around the tire/rim would keep it from spinning?

I certainly wouldnt ride it on the street that way, but once you hit the dunes why not? I remember in the early 80's it was a tech tip in either DB or DR magazine as a way to get a bike back to civilizaton without it doing more damage to the bike Edited April 29, 2013 by ickfinger

[Eazy-E]

I don't think it's a stupid idea. In fact as a means to keep the flat from spinning if your stuck out in the sticks I'm certain it'd work fine babying the bike home. Just thinking it might do more harm than good on the sand. With tires spinning like crazy and very low pressures with a lot of tire flex there could be some issues.

Rim locks are working perfectly. The trouble was that his mechanic installed a 2.15" rim lock. After we installed the correct 2.5" rim lock there were no issues with the tire coming loose. We probably could have completed the trip running 10psi but there's more traction again at 5psi so we kept the pressures there and the engines weren't working as hard. As you say the knobbies aren't worth a dime on the street so it's not an option.

[Eazy-E]

The KLR has a new heavy duty clutch now and 2 rim locks of the correct width. Here's a clip of my mate riding the beach on the much improved KLR. He's running about 15psi in this clip and had no trouble at all in the soft stuff. He likes the challenge of riding through the soft sand which is why he's not spending much time on the hard pack near the waterline. The other bikes are a yellow DRZ and a DR650.

Edited July 3, 2013 by Eazy-E

[Flagstaff]

Pretty cool, but I think I'll keep my pig in the dirt and rocks.

Mike

[Eazy-E]

Fair call. Sand can be a bitch when you get bogged?

[anexcuse]

Fair call. Sand can be a bitch when you get bogged?

Where on earth was this?