kato

awesome.

WOW! adrenaline rush

Lurking... any "big bikes" going i might jump in as well!

Cornering on that thing looks sketchy tho!

yep, and some quiksteel just in (and not just for the) case cool ride, i hope to visit coral soon as well

Nice tips thanks, i ll keep all that in mind too!

happy new year everyone!

The KLR is solid but it had a big weakness: the balancer chain tensioner, aka 'doohickey', and its spring. It is a ticking bomb on theis bike from the moment it leaves the dealership. I found both he doohickey and the spring broken in my engine when I opened it up last month (pics below) meaning the chain was out of tension and worse yet the broken metal parts were floating around in my engine!!! so yea the doo is a mandatory fairly cheap fix, everything else not quite (shocks on an 09 can't be all that bad unless he travels heavy maybe, and still..)

I don't live close but anything he plans on doing to the klr has most likely been covered here: http://www.klr650.net/forums/ hope hes got internet access? (Phone?) Its helped me loads on getting my bike running topnotch (and safe). Also one of the main "klr gurus" ('Eagle' Mike) lives right here in sd. A real nice down to earth guy, i wouldnt be surprised if he was a member here as well actually! Anyway, that traveler most likely already knew all that if hes riding a klr, but just in case..

gotcha! sorry I misunderstood. if the group thingy works I hope to be able to make it

Mid/big bike + semi dirt newb welcome? If so and the rain has stopped in the morning I'll ride out the 94 to mccain on the klr.

Yep, happy owner of a 97 klr. Loving the bike (although the front fairing HAD to go!). Not looking to make the gnarly trail section of the forum with it but i hope to be able to still have a bit of slip and slide fun everynow and then! Been riding on slab since i was legally able to. fairly new to dirt but I think i ll do fine and will keep an eye out to try to join a group ride soon. Oh, and i go by Kato see ya!!

man thanks for sharing this i had no idea this area was even open to public, looks fun! would like to follow your tracks but having a hard time mapping those trails...

Well yea good idea I could take the 94 all the way, about 60 miles it says. that will be a long day but hey.. if i'm beat and that spot is still open maybe i can catch a ride back to alpine? i should be fine though, and thats why i got a bike again after 10years of hiatus: to ride!!! question: I don't think I'll be able to pick up any new gear on time though, think that might be an issue? thanks!

Well thank you all for the great info here, after flipping through many forum pages I chose Black Canyon Road as my first trip on my new-to-me 97klr. Bought the bike about a month ago and took my time to customize a few things to my liking and go over everything thoroughly before taking it out anywhere. Haven't been riding in about 10 years also and I'm fairly new to dirt.. Left SD (San Carlos area) @8am and drove through ElCajon (didn't feel like any freeway at all) and up Wildcat canyon to Ramona, from there I dropped 10psi and off i went through Black Canyon and a few trails around the area. I was on the dirt from about 9am until 11 and didn't see one person. None. Felt like a real solo ride. My plan was to head back through the 79 but these 10/12 miles were so much fun that when I hit Mesa Grande I turned around and went back the way I came. The terrain had changed from damp to dryer so it was nice having a different dirt feel on the way down. made it back home by noon. Well that's it I guess, thanks again and I hope to be able to join a group ride soon enough. and a few pics to make this newb post a tad more official!

Thank you

Hey i checked mccain valley on the map (i ve never been) and that's a bit far for me sorry. I dont mind mountain roads (like the 78 or 79) for miles but not an interstate fan

Yes i might be able to do sunday! these tires are definitely not for dirt, my ass is all over the place as soon as i crank the throttle a bit.. with the weight of the klr it gets sketchy quick. Thinking about shinko244s next. I also need boots, and barkbusters, and probably some sort of crash guard too if i start following you guys ahha

thanks. That ride tomorrow looks fun wish i could make it. And yes that mud hill is gnarly on the klr, im a bit nuts but i m not sure if i d go for that with the 400pound beast. Yet.