A weird thing happened to my KTM

[Hank]

It turned into an '06 KLR





This all happened rather suddenly. As I was riding my 400 home on Sunday, thinking about what a blast I had, how well that thing worked out there, I started to wonder if I'd really ride the big Katoom much anymore.  I only put about 1700 on it this year, and  I wouldn't take it out there again, that much I was sure.  Then there's the Blackbird, which is so fun on the highway..  

So I pondered it.. should I sell it?   Market is tough for selling big KTM's right now (right Alan?), so I started thinking a trade might be the way to go.  Find a guy w/ a common (easier to sell, cheaper) bike who's looking for an Adventure, and will trade and boot some cash.   Long odds right.. but I'll look.   I started flipping through ads on ADV's flea market.  Monday night, about the fourth ad I look at: '06 KLR in OKC, need to sell so I can buy a KTM Adventure.   OKC isn't close, but if you meet in the middle, it's about 800 rd trip.  I can do that in a day no sweat.  

So long story short, about 10 emails and a couple phone calls later, today we meet in Auburn NE, 1/2 way in between, and make the deal!    I left at 5:30 am and got home at 6pm.  Not bad!  Plus we worked a deal  that made us both happy.   Sold it to a nice Music Professor who teaches at the University in OKC.

Sad to see the Katoom go, but it was the smart thing to do at this point.   The KLR is in nice shape.  6400 miles, bone stock except a pretty nice looking SS exhaust, that even has a spark arrestor.



I'll miss the big gal.



I wonder if Alan jumped off a cliff if I would too  

[loingrader]

it sounds like such a great idea until you scroll down and see that pic of the big katoom.  what an AWESOME ride.  i'm a big klr fan, but seeing the pics, one above the other, is the worst light to put a klr in.

take her out on the rocky trail versus the katoom, that's where our old school pack mules shine.

more money in your pocket, no water pump seals to worry about, dirt cheap easy to maintain.  i know i'm speaking to the choir as you are a former klr owner, but yea, you did what i would have done.  i'd rather have a blackbird and a klr than a katoom.  if i had to have 1 bike it would be different.

so now the question is...    keep the drz and the klr or sell one of them.  that is the tough question to answer.

[Hank]

There's pretty much no way I'll sell my 400 now.  With the setup I've got, it's 90% as good on road as the KLR and easily better off road, at least easier for me to handle off road.  Suspension is definitely superior.  If I was the off road rider some of you guys are it would be on thing     I wish I could get more practice.. need to live closer to the Hills!

Not knockin' the KLR by any means.. you know I love them too.    Not sure if I will keep the KLR long term or not.  It's a nice one.. exhaust sounds good, runs like a top, motor sounds nice and tight.   There's probably room in the shed for both for now.  I'd like to get the wife out riding again.. the KLR and DRZ would be nicely paired for that (we used to have a pair of XR250s when we first got hitched).

I keep eyeing these Athena 440 kits for the DRZ..   pretty easy to get them up in the 42-45 hp range, that would rip.   A rekluse clutch would sure be cool too, especially in the 1st gear rocky uphill stuff.  But it kinda seems like cheating almost     One really nice thing about them is you can gear the bike up for road riding and they will still creep and crawl off road.   tempting...

[plumber mike]

Congrats...I think. I can appreciate the simpler/cheaper bike and wish I would have gotten like a DR/KLR instead of the BMW sometimes. I would still probably sell my soul to the devil for a 640 ADV even if they are nothing but trouble. Bret,Jerry,Dave and Chad do make the KLR seem glamorous but they ride them like James Stewart gunning for another championship. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

[loingrader]

There's pretty much no way I'll sell my 400 now.  With the setup I've got, it's 90% as good on road as the KLR

that's a great point.  you are rarely going to need to ride your dual sport steed farther than the black hills, and with the way your drz is set up now, it does that trip just fine.  the only thing the klr has over the drz is a little bit of road prowness, maybe, and yea, you've got plenty with the zuk. 

klr's have to be one of the easiest bikes to sell, or yea, use it to get the wife or even a buddy, into the dual sport thing.

mike,

it is fun buying an expensive, fairly exotic bike at least once, if you can afford to.  ride it for as long as you want, maybe forever, but for some of us, after the initial infatuation has worn off and the drool and sticky pants have dried, the less exotics are pretty darn fun and do the job fairly well.  plus, sometimes it is just more fun to keep it simple.  i found myself lusting over all the bikes with drum brakes this year.  seriously.  my tastes in bikes is constantly changing and it's usually moving towards favoring the older school bikes.

like this honda elsinore

http://omaha.craigslist.org/mcy/1379120809.html

of course i would love to put a ducati 1098 in my garage too.  who am i kidding, there isn't a bike around i wouldn't want in my garage...   

motorcycles are pretty fun.   

[Hank]

Congrats...I think. ....

LOL.  I have some WTF am I thinking moments, but they are few and far between.  

....it is fun buying an expensive, fairly exotic bike at least once, if you can afford to.  ride it for as long as you want, maybe forever, but for some of us, after the initial infatuation has worn off and the drool and sticky pants have dried, the less exotics are pretty darn fun and do the job fairly well.  plus, sometimes it is just more fun to keep it simple. ...

Yep.   The KTM was just FUN, for many reasons... riding it obviously.. but very cool having something unique.  What are there, 5 in the state, maybe?  The questions were fun.  KTM, who makes that?    

The lump lump chrome crowd just thought it was UGLY and it was just beyond their comprehension why someone would want something like that..    There were a few times at gas stations where I got looks that could only be described as disgust... usually from a woman, wearing a doo rag and chaps.   That always made me chuckle.
 
It was great fun when a true motorcyclist would come up and just be jacked up that he actually got to see an Adventure and  he would be all questions.  That happened twice at state campgrounds this summer.  

All good stuff, but it only goes so far.

One of my favorite things is wrenching and tinkering on bikes, but the 8 hour valve checks (yeah I was a slow rookie), vs 20 minutes on my DRZ, did make me REALLY appreciate simplicity.   Same for the 2+ hour oil change procedure.
Its also nice, especially for a DS bike, to not be afraid to drop it.  

....motorcycles are pretty fun....

Ain't that the truth    

[The Yeti]

Well, that's a surprising turn of events. Too much time to think on your way home alone. 

Seriously, for the riding we do, your DRZ is much more capable than the KTM, but you already know that.  I don't think you'll miss it.  It was fun to ride the big beasts for awhile, but then the reality of maintenance and weight settles in.  The KTM is great for everything down to high-speed two-track, but when it gets tight and/or rough, I really hated that bike. 

Not sure what you're gonna do with that KLR    Maybe you can sell it and get one of these! 



It really is too much fun!

[flexlarson]

That KLR really looks bad next to that pretty KTM. KLR is a good reliable, care free bike.

Hank have you started on the doohickey 3 cent  tractor can pencil twister reverse osmosis mod ?

GEEE guys .. Guess Im gonna have to keep the DR or get a 2 stroke so I can hang with everyone getting lil bikes. 

[Hank]

First my GS was ugly, now my KLR looks bad      Tough crowd!

No WR250R for me I don't think.   Would be a long 400 miles on that.   I think the DRZ has me covered pretty well.

Still not sure about the future of the KLR.

[plumber mike]

Your KLR is beautiful...an engineering marvel...state of the art....a form of art...moves the body and soul....

Oh wait , wrong bike

If your already unsure of it's place in your fleet, my guess is it won't last long.

There is a ride report on ADV where a guy does like 6K miles in 3 weeks...on a WR250R. I think it can make it from Watertown to Deadwood. It just won't do it with the same style and class that the KLR will

[excess]

congrats hank. i've really been thinking about a klr i think it would make an awesome sidecar rig. I'm not quite ready to part with the ktm yet but i'm over the maintenance on the f-ing thing

[The Yeti]

No WR250R for me I don't think.   Would be a long 400 miles on that.

Go ride one...'nuff said.

[fringefan]

Not sure how I missed this post. I still crave a f800 but I am pretty sure it would not take the beating my KLR does and not look as nice after I am done. Not sure which list is longer, the why not to buy a KLR or the why you should buy one. At the end of the day for the last 20 plus years it is a tuff bike to beat and in all that time their still does not seem to be a clear favorite.

I would just paint the KLR to match that pretty KTM.