KLR600 vs KLR650

[Vintage_Mania]

Die manne "in the know", Groenie, Doc, LeCap, Fergen. Verduidelik bietjie vir my die pro's en con's as mens die 2 fietse moet vergelyk. Ek kyk uit vir 'n single (budget restrained) en het rond geloer vir 'n XT500 of XL500 maar loop redelik gereeld KLR600's raak wat te koop aangebied word.

Is dit die moeite werd om na so iets te kyk?

[DUSTRIDERS]

Maat van my het n 1986 KLR 600. Dink nie die 650 kan hom wegry en hy het n kickstart en happybutton.

[capeklr]

Not all 600's have the happy button.

[lecap]

Biggest drawback of the 600 is Kawasaki is discontinuing / has discontinued parts.

As a bike for the rough the 600 beats all 650's. The C probably is closest to the 600. Followed by the A with the E remaining as the most touring oriented one of the lot.
The 600s also share the 650A's rater flimsy front brake (it originated from the 600)
Conversion of a 600 to a rear disc (to have something better than two weak brakes) requires a swingarm swop to a unit from one of the 650's.

Due to the age you can assume any KLR600 will be a money pit. Unless you rebuild it bit by bit and as the budget allows you might be better off buying a different, more recent bike.

[Wookie]

I have a 1986 with a happy button that Doc and myself have been playing with.

Good points:
Lighter than the 650 by quite a margin ~140kg dry for the e-start
More dirt orientated frame geometry
A real donkey first gear
Both kick and e-start... and will kick start with a flat/no battery.

Bad points:
Stock forks and shock suck if you are an average South African size
As Lecap mentioned some parts are discontinued but Doc has a work around for most
Rear brake is a drum but works ok if adjusted properly.....sliding the rear is no problem!
Front is a single pot caliper on a small disk.
Head light sucks

If you are looking for a bike to use as a starting point to build a fun bike the 600 make a good choice.

This is what my bike looks like at present..... but the front end is about to change to WP 50mm extreme conventional forks soon, including decent front brake   

[Vintage_Mania]

okay thanks guys!!

 

[DOCTOR KLR]

Got one of the last KLR600s(94 model) that will be fully rebuilt at R20000,kick and happy button with gold rims

[Vintage_Mania]

Got one of the last KLR600s(94 model) that will be fully rebuilt at R20000,kick and happy button with gold rims

I need a bike in the R15K (give or take) bracket. Anything available?