Gear Review
When I stop for the day I like to
lube the chain, unload the bike,
and take my gear in the room with
me. Then give the bike a once over
checking the oil and making sure
everything is in good order. That is
especially true if you have been off
pavement all day. A center stand
makes that task very easy and can
be a God send if you have to work
on the bike while on the trial. The
stand H-T makes is adjustable, so if
you lower the bike or have taller
tires on it the center stand still
works. This is a perfect addition to
any motorcycle.
To wrap things up the rear mas-
ter cylinder guard is a good idea.
Depending on the boots you ride
with the stock shifter may be too
short, and you guessed it, they
make a longer shifter just for you.
As you can see, Happy-Trail makes
just about anything you could need
for the KLR and that is because
that’s what they ride. Don’t be sur-
prised if you meet the owner and
he is wearing a CMA shirt, cause
not only is he Mr. KLR, he is also a
CMA member. As I update the bike,
there will be more articles and
some ride reports to come. If you
would like to see
the bike, let us
know. Changing
of the Colors will
be a great place
to give it a once
over. CMA
John Jr and Holly Ogden oversee
the South Central Region as
National Evangelist.
maintenance. Regardless of which
you decide on, the impact kit is a
good addition. The next step in
protection should be the side pan-
els and H-T has you covered with
the pd nerf bar kit. Bundle it
together with the skid plate and
save some money. This side panel
protection can also be used to
strap on bags for when you need a
little more space. The PD kit does
more than just protect the beauty
of the bike; there is a radiator
under that side panel. If your knees
are in as good of shape as mine
then you’ll enjoy the highway pegs
that are built in. One other area
that needs some attention is the
rear side panels and for this I
choose the SU racks. Not only do
they protect the bike they also are
made to mount panniers. There
are many different sized aluminum
panniers to choose from that are
water proof and easy to discon-
nect. I have a few sets from over
the years. For multi-day touring I
like the Cascade version, but my
favorite all around pannier is the
Tetons. If you’re mainly off road or
like to travel lite then take a look at
the Imnaha version.
They are small enough to leave
on the bike and carry just the
essentials. The KLR comes with a
nice big luggage rack and H-T
makes kits to mount a top box, but
I choose to go with a stronger set
up than stock with everything I
need built in. The elite tail plate
system replaces the stock luggage
rack with slots and holes built in
making luggage
easier to
mount. There
are nut-serts in
the side for
adding a quick
release top box.
I went with the
quick release so
I can decide to
take the top
box or not,
especially if I
am exploring
an area for a
few days and want to leave the top
box at the motel. The 33 liter top
box allows for a wide platform to
strap down gear on top as well as
plenty of water proof room inside
for carrying dry gear.
The wind shield may be an area
that you want to improve and for
that I went with the Rallye
Windscreen System. It provides a
more effective angle for the screen
and slightly raises its height. Many
choose to go with a taller screen in
addition to the Rallye System,
something along the lines of the
sport tour by Zero Gravity. I have a
taller screen ordered but it didn’t
make it in time for this article. The
feature I like best about the Rallye
is the additional dash space it pro-
vides for mounting GPS, phones,
power plugs, and the like. It makes
the mounting of these items clean
and gives good visibility of them,
plus it gives the bike a Dakar look.