Nice informative review. I emailed Happy Trail earlier today to see if the notice that they have on their website about an average lead time of 5 weeks for their shifter is still accurate. I recently acquired my '09 KLR and I guess I can wait that long for a decent, well built remedy for my 12EE boots being crammed under the stock lever. But the secondary reason for my comment here might just give you a good chuckle. As I was watching your video, my first thought was, "Where in the hell did he get those GIANT mirrors!?" It was only after changing the video setting to "full screen" on my PC that I realized that the "mirrors" I was looking at were in fact the windows in your garage door! The right one looks perfectly aligned with the stalk! I immediately wondered, "Could I possibly be the only person to have seen this?" Judging by the comments so far, I guess I am. LOL
😂 I never noticed that! Now I need to go back and watch again. Thanks for your comment! I think I will likely go with the Happy Trails shifter myself, eventually. The Emgo has been working fine but I’m skeptical about its long-term durability.
Thanks! You enjoy the weekend as well! So far the new lever is holding up well. After a couple hundred miles, it’s still tight on the shifter stub. The extra 10mm has made a big difference.
Thanks for the information in this video. I have been looking and waiting for a Tusk to become available and exactly like you said they aren’t. Might try the EMGO if you are liking the difference.
So far, so good. It definitely made a difference over stock. I made a 300 mile trip over the weekend, and I had to move the shifter up, one spline, to accommodate the toe of my Forma Adventure boot. That worked fine with no short-shifting. I’ll have to move it back down now for commuting in my work boots.
hello sir, just subscribed to your channel because your vids are very informative. I just placed a Happy Trails shifter on my '22 KLR Adventure. shifting is now perfect. a world of difference. I have a size 13 foot and wear tennis shoes when riding. the time I did use a boot, I had no problem getting underneath the shifter. I ride 100% street. it was pricey, but I highly recommend it. my only issue was this: Detroit puts out about 120 cars per day. the shifter took about 20 calendar days to get to me. nitpicking I know, but it was worth the wait. again, thank u for the great vids and keep up the fine werk!
Thanks for your feedback and the subscription! I feel like I’ll probably get the Happy Trails shifter eventually but the Emgo has been a reasonable stopgap. I did have to move it one spline, clockwise, last weekend on a 300 mile ride because I was having trouble getting the toe of my Forma Adventure boots under it. But, all in all, pretty happy with it. Have a great weekend!
Thanks for the review. It's 10 month later and Rocky Mountain has them in stock for $21.00 and change. I'm probably going to give one a try. Though they are aluminum, if properly tightened, it would probably take A LOT of force to strip out the splines. Most likely a fictitous problem made up by forum key board warriors.
Have got a 2011 that I just rode over to my girlfrind's to store for the rest of the winter and the ride reminded me to order one of these (after 8 years of putting up with this)... Liked your video but just ordered a Happy Trails because it is steel... I've gone down hard on the shifter and had to bend it back into place...just didn't want to take the chance with the aluminum...
That’s the one thing that still concerns me. Especially the aluminum splines, gripping the steel splines on the shifter stub. So far I’ve had no problems but, if I do, I’ll probably go Happy Trails as well. Now I’m sitting here with my third cup of coffee, trying to decide which crash bars to go with.
@@SuburbanPathfinder I'd tell you which ones are on mine but I can't remember and the bike is now stored a few miles away... I'll see if I can find the paperwork...
many thanks! I'll go with a Happy Trail version. Just got this bike from a dealership a couple days ago and felt something uncomfortable while shifting. Maybe the lever was designed for asian's foot size)
Yes, I believe the shifter configuration was set up for a smaller foot size than the average western-size boot. I like this aftermarket shift lever just fine, so far, but it seems that some of the more popular options are becoming more available now. I believe you can’t go very far wrong with the Happy Trail lever. I’ve been extremely pleased with everything I’ve bought from them. If this Emgo ever craps out on me, the Happy Trail lever is what I’ll replace it with. (Or I may just weld an extra inch of steel into the original lever.)
Very interesting I’m not sure but is the OEM shift lever longer on the 2023 model when I looked it my 2023 and compared it with your 2022 KLR… chalk making example
So looking at the options for me, and my oversized feet, wanting sturdy construction steel would be the happy trails lever is that correct? I’m going on a big trip to South America and want something durable and large enough to handle my big feet.
