I had a full on breakdown on Friday night, or a “failure to proceed” as Rolls Royce would put it. The battery on the KLR has been on the wind down for some time. I’d been meaning to replace it and I finally got to a shop just before heading to the airport. Good job I did!!

I took the plunge and opted for a lithium polymer battery, running at half the size and 1/5 the weight of the standard unit. I didn’t have time to fit it before flying to Sydney, by I put it in the top box in case she wouldn’t start on my return. Well start she did which was great, but then all the electrics died on the city link. Bugger!

I fitted the new battery with a little effort, being half the size means packing is required. It’s got a load of shove in electric terms! Got me home no worries. I was looking at a more permanent packing solution when a thought occurred. Why not just fit two batteries?? They way I’d have a spare with me all the time. One would act as packing for the other, and together they’re still lighter then the original.

I’m loving the concept as with no kick start, the battery is the one item that could leave me stranded. I doubt I could bump start her on a dirt track, especially with a full tank and luggage. My one concern has just been fixed!!

Power to the people!

I fitted a new balance shaft chain tensioner mechanism the other day, know as the DooHickey in KLR circles. It’s a known weak point in the engine design of what is otherwise a generally unburstable motor. Later models like mine aren’t so bad, but it’s still worth doing if you’re planning a long trip. For peace of mind, it’s essential!

You need to remove the primary outer cover, rotor and primary inner. Special tools are required for this. The primary inner needs a hole drilling for the replacement torsion spring, then it all goes back together with new gaskets. Saying all this makes it sound very complex, but it’s actually quite simple.

The Original parts were holding up OK, but the motor is a lot quieter now. Surprisingly so. I also fitted a different bash plate, I much prefer this item. Another little job done in preparation for the trip!

Fly up and looking good. I think I’ll go for a steeper angle next time, but for a first effort without adjustable guys I reckon it would have lasted the night!

So I opened the package and extracted the goods, all in sharp order thanks to Adam and the crew at MYUS. Thanks!

Today I had a first crack at pitching the hammock and fly. I had lots of “help” from a very excited 2 year old, but that was lovely! Here she is testing out the suspension prior to me getting in.

The fly looks good, and the while thing will be up in minutes once I’ve made the changes in planning. Once it’s up the cammo will blend into the woods and I’ll be as incognito as possible. Just how I like it.

Looks like my consignment from the States has arrived. How exiting! It’s late so I’ll leave the opening until tomorrow. Hope I can sleep tonight!!

By unfortunate circumstance I now have two aftermarket bash plates. I fitted one the other day, the other is in the post.

They’re slightly different designs so I can do a comparison. My mate Steve can have the one I don’t want. The design is simple enough, and much better than the plastic OEM part.

Here’s the Ballards item fitted. It looks quite neat but is a snug fit on the engine. If I keep this one I’ll refit it after minor adjustments. When the other arrives I’ll swap and see.

Not very exciting granted, but something that might just save the bike (and me!) one day.

Sophie
Latitude:-37.87732
Longitude:144.98601
GPS location Date/Time:02/15/2014 03:08:36 PST

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Click the link below to see where I am located.
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Sophie

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Ready for Adventure
FindMeSPOT.com

So I finally picked up a spot, the new Gen3 with all the new features. My spot Gen1, (pictured top) isn’t so good! I haven’t taken it out of the box yet, I mean, taking photos for the blog is much more important – right?

The new spot will automatically track at 10 minute intervals when it detects movement. I’ll will upload a link to a live tracking site once I have my subscription. It also has an emergency beacon in the event of disaster.

I knew I was going to get one all along, but there’s not much point when the trip is a year away. Who wants to track me to work and back every day? (My boss maybe??).

So now to ponder over subscriptions. Watch this space for more info when it comes out if the box….

The fender bag wasn’t so good, but I will check out the link my mate Jim sent. Thanks Jim. Maybe a fender brace would do the trick. The next item on my list was a set of bar guards.

Basically they form a loop around the levers, so if you drop the bike the levers may survive. They also stop stray branches from whipping your hands as you blat past.

Fitting then was quite easy, but I had to lose the bar end weights. I rode the bike to work and it makes quite a difference without them. The vibrations are quite intrusive. I may have to put the weights back on, I’ll have to go for a longer ride and see……

I picked up a few extras the other day, payday being the best time of the month to do so 🙂 They came really quickly, quicker than expected so fitting them is taking a while. I chucked the easy one on last night.

The fender bag holds whatever you want, but is designed for a spare tube. I managed to squeeze a front and rear tube in, plus a pair of short levers. It’s a great idea in theory, spare tubes to hand of you need them, without them ever getting in the way.

Unfortunately the KLR front guard isn’t up to the job. Too flexible. Mounting closer to the forks would help, but the headlight gets on the way. I could get a front fork brace, but that just adds extra weight. Hey ho, back to the drawing board for now….