pyro

( ( ( panting/drooling ) ) ) Wow looks awesome!

Nice one! Well done guys. Ice on the road can be very serious. I've learned that lesson a few times too. My policy now is try not to touch brakes or change throttle . . keep weight centered and just coast thru very carefully. But if u have to slow down, speed up, turn etc., now that can be quite problematic.

penciling it in

Now that's one hell of a machine. Over 60 horsepower and only 300 lbs dry? HEY!! That's cheating ! ! ! Congratulations amigo

Wish I could be there pasta. . . I was really hoping to make your ride this time, but it looks like I will miss it again. My bike is still disassembled. I should be back up and running in a few weeks though. Have a blast guys and don't be mad because I hate you

Happy B-day Man!

I wanna play too, this game rocks!! I'm about to go buy a rusted out old beater just to get into the game!

Hey Kelly HAPPY B-DAY brother!

I was already pretty bummed out to be missing this years Dash and when I saw fridays weather report, I got really jealous! I've never seen that much water out there from the sounds of it. I hope more cameras survived to tell the story. It's nice to know there is a sweep team behind you when things turn out to be a bit more challenging than anticipated. I'll never forget my first time at the Dash when the sweep team saved our asses. Congratulations to everyone that made this great event.

Looks great! Good clean design, easy to understand and use. Congratulations Crawdaddy! I know this is something you've been thinking about and working on for a while now. Awesome job to you and your team.

NOW THAT'S A BADASS RIG!!! I grew up in L.A. so i missed all of that good stuff. But I do remember when you could have Keg Parties on the beach down here. Those were some awesome parties! But everyone got too drunk and forgot to clean up, forgot to not fight, forgot to not wreck peoples property, etc. A few bad apples wrecked the whole batch.

I was starting to get a slight knocking/grinding sound from the motor and it was running noticeably rough, especially at idle. I changed the oil and found metal chips in it. Finished oil and filter change, then started it up. It seemed like the starter was laboring to crank it, and when it started the knocking sound was worse and seemed to be coming from the bottom end on the right side. With 6 weeks left on my extended warranty, i decided to call AAA and have it flatbeded to the shop. They told me I had to authorize $250 to tear into the motor and find the problem. Today they called with an update: He said the piston is 'out of spec', and they will probably have to bore it out to fix it. He estimated it at $1200 minimum, and said the warranty adjuster was going to look at it by friday. He also seems to be suggesting it might not be covered . . . I asked if the engine would knock like that in the bottom end and leave metal in the oil because of a worn out piston, to which he said he didn't know. My warranty paperwork states under engine "All internally lubricated parts, coolant pump, and turbo charger, cylinder and cylinder head only if damaged by a mechanical breakdown of an internally lubricated part." Isn't everything in the motor an internally lubricated part? And therefore the entire motor should be covered? Well needless to say that if for some reason they jerk me around and won't cover the repairs, then there won't be any repairs and it may be the end of the line for my KLR. Then I'll have a heap of metal that is covered under a warranty that is apparently worthless. I appreciate any thoughts and advice ya'll might have for me on this. Thanks.

Thanks friends, ya'll are soooooo awesome!! If i start to really freak out, I might give you a call.

Man I would love that. Supposedly those diesels run like crazy too. I wonder what are the chances of getting my hands on one of those engines and how much $$. It's worth looking into for sure . . . After a short search, I think it would be very difficult to get one. Are you saying there was someone on our forums that had one? Who who ! a thread from last year

Yea, the factory warranty from Kawi was 1 year I think. This was a 3rd party 5 year extended service contract that I purchased on top of everything else.

I think you are both right as usual, darnit. Thanks ya'll, i really appreciate all the feedback. I'm not celebrating yet though. That will have to wait for the day I start it up again, to begin chapter 2 of the saga: The Next 50k!

I love u man!

When I bought it they said it covers everything. I guess that means everything in the motor is covered, as long as it is all working correctly and nothing goes wrong with it. But if something does go wrong with it, you will be charged to diagnose the problem, only to find the motor is toast from 'normal wear' which of coarse is not covered. BLA BLA BLA . . . What a let down. From where i'm sitting right now, it seems like a scam. And I feel like a total idiot.

I bought it new in '06, so it's almost 5 years old now and I have put about 50,000 miles on it. I just spoke with Eagle Mike about the situation. It looks like he is going to help me out with the rebuild. He said we could do the whole motor and make it a 685, and depending on if the bottom end is jacked up or not, I can get out of the whole thing for no more than $1500. That would be worst case scenario and the result would be basically a whole new motor. Best case scenario would be roughly half of that for just the top end, if that is all that's wrong with it. Either way it is a lot more money than I need to be talking about spending right now. But the other alternatives are not good.

Well, I just received the bad news: The claims guys has determined that the cylinder and piston are cooked do to normal wear, and therefore nothing will be covered. The service rep estimates the cost of repairs at $1500 minimum. I told him don't bother putting it back together. I will have to pay $250 to pick up the bike and it's pieces. I don't know what I will do now, need to think things over. I am less than thrilled with the outcome as you can imagine. It's looking like this 5 year chapter in KLR history is officially over. ((insert long rambling rant here filled with doomsday scenarios, angry jibberish and repeated use of expletives and profanities))

Yes, lots and lots of great memories . . . This bike really changed my life for the better. It even managed to change a few other peoples lives for the better!

Awesome photos, looks like a great trip! I'm sorry I missed it. I've been dieing to get up there to ride that area. And with a zillion KLR's? That is great stuff! Excuse me I'm going to go sob in the corner now.

FBC called me with an update yesterday. We are still waiting for the adjuster to arrive. They said there is 1 claims adjuster covering all of California, but they are usually able to make it within 2-3 business days. Sounds reasonable enough to me. Hopefully they will get here early next week.

I sort of have the opposite take on this one: You can have a blast riding with good people of all skill levels. But usually I would prefer riding with those that are above my skill level. There is no shame in the game! Keeping the ego in-check while on two wheels is a good thing in my opinion. I see it as an opportunity to learn from those who have been doing this for a lot longer than I have. I have learned sooo much from all the great riders of SDAR. Sometimes it's just from watching their style and technique (maybe while being passed), and lots of times it is from not being afraid to ask all the questions that come to mind (even the ones that seem like 'stupid' questions). If you find yourself to be the lowest skilled rider in a group, don't let your ego get in the way of what could be some of your most valuable learning time on a motorcycle.