In this episode, join me as I go out to South Dakota and start section 1 of the Black Hills BDRx. Did I make the right choice by choosing the KLR650 to take me on this journey?
Lol that ride on the highway with the trailer !! Your eyes said it all. Glad you made it safe, As a KLR owner , really appreciate this content. Thank you
I like your style LOTW! The KLR is a tractor and super reliable. I ride a KLX300. You have inspired me to ride the Black Hills BDRX this summer. Maybe I’ll see you out there!
This is a nice video. Thank you for sharing your adventure and the unusual puncture predicament. If you wrench enough you eventually learn to locate whatever part or tool you drop or lose while working - right down to the tiniest screw. (Don't ask me how I know.) ;-)
Great video! I live in Mn as well. Im going on a bike trip next weekend. I still have no idea where I'm going. I'm thinking I'll do northern mn this time. I LOVE my klr!
I heard you say you put a new tube in the rear tire. FYI I have put dozens of patches on motorcycles and have never had a patch be the cause of a subsequent leak or failure. I think I had up to 5 or 6 on a tube once. I also carry a spare tube but it is the 2nd choice. I don't understand why some people are loathe to use patches.
I attempted to patch the tube that night (next episode) and it was so shredded from the allen key I wasn't able to make it work without a slow leak. It was a pretty decent tear in the tube where it initially went in that required 3 patches right next to each other and a couple other punctures. I bring patches with as well sometimes it's just easier to throw a new tube in and patch the tube when you get time, at least from my experience. But I agree with you, definitely not against using a patch.
Good to do a shake-out ride before a big trip - get your boots/shifter, allen key, new tube/tire situation type of things sorted out beforehand hopefully. I rode this last month on a ktm 500 with just a backpack strapped to the tail - it's a fun and scenic route!
Thank you. I never would have thought about packing latex gloves to keep cow poop off my hands. Grease I don't mind, but poop is where I draw the line.
Having done the DAKAL on a vstrom and a buddy on a KLR, the klr was fine. I feel an ideal bike for this since you have a nice camper and don't have to slab it home would be a KLX300
In a few weeks I am headed to Tuktoyaktuk on my KLR and I am dreading having to deal with a flat in the middle of nowhere. You have shown that it can be done with the right tools and a spare tube. If you can do it....... Oh, and sorry for the smoke, that wasn't very neighbourly.
May have to ride this when I go to the get on adv next year. I packed half what you did for my 900+ mile ghost town adventure this last labor day weekend. Granted we had patches not new tubes cause tunes take up way more space than the patch kit. We wanted to be light because we knew there was gonna be some nasty roads/trails we have to ride. Good job on the video and good luck with your channel seems like you're having a better start to yours and I have.
@LeroyJenkins-ul1kb depending on the puncture,small nail or thorn can be easily patched but if the tube gets torn by anything patches are very questionable.
Just seeing your channel for the first time & awesome job just getting out there and making it happen & having fun, what it's all about brother. I'm a retired Army veteran here in Arizona with an Aprilia Tuareg and have definitely felt the frustrations with new setups (boots, gear etc). I had to adjust my shifter up a little as my Alpinestars Tech 7 boots were much different then my daily Adv boots. Just recommend that if you're able to, always do a shake down run on everything a few days prior as it really helps eliminate any deficiencies and time to make any adjustments if necessary. I always do take aways/lessons learned from any time I ride, great experience and thanks for sharing your adventures. On a side note, what recording gear are you using? I have an Insta360 One RS & haven't figured out a good setup for recording audio, thanks
First off thanks for your service and sacrifices. My recording gear on this ride: Sony ZV-E1, Sony ZV1mkii, (2) Osmo Action 4, DJI Mini 3 Pro. For audio, I used the DJI Wireless Mics.
New sub from Sioux Falls here, but have ridden to the Black Hills and have a close friend in Custer. Thankfully you didn't piss off a bear or mountain lion. There are a lot of gnarly critters out there!
Damn skid plates!!! Sorry to say it was hilarious listening to the cows cheer you on while changing the tube. I'll be watching the rest in the series. But onto a real question. Listening to the sound of the exhaust, it sounded like you were stuck in the zone between 1st & 2nd, which was dictated by your speed. How do you feel about the gear height / spacing on the KLR. I've got street bikes and a Royal Enfield Himalayan as my ADV bike. With the exception of lack of power and lack of dealerships, I love the Himalayan but because of those two things am looking at the possibility of a KLR. I haven't even test ridden one but I'm constantly on the lookout for non-biased opinions.
Did you ever adjust your shift lever? I wear the tech 7 enduros and a buddy told me about rotating the shifter one spline and it was the perfect adjustment.
Your dash! I could stare at it for hours! Please tell me what setup you ot going. And your phone is mounted in the perfect location! Nice! What mount is it? Thank you brother.
Just discovered your channel. Enjoyed the Vid for sure. I have a 2016 KLR myself. Pretty impressed with that trailer you have. What make and model is that? Thanks.
My main GPS is a Trail Tech Voyager Pro and I just mounted it to the KLR Dash with the stock mount plate that comes with it. The other GPS is on my phone mounted using a quad lock.
Cool video man, I'm jealous! Curious though, why did you go out by yourself? Seems like a unnecessary safety risk to me. Always good to have a buddy with you when you're out imo.
The opportunity to take this trip came up with very little notice, so unfortunately, I had to go solo. But I agree, It's definitely nice to have someone with.
I have the same problem. I would do so many more rides, but I haven’t even gotten one of the BDR rides ticked off because it seems like I am the only person who can actually afford to not be at work for long enough to complete these. So for me it’s going to be solo rides on the BDR routes.
FUN FACT..more people are killed by cows then sharks per year. Something to keep in mind..but they are naturally curious and good natured most times. Great Vid..TY!
You're not wrong, I was lugging it quite a bit more than I usually do because the stock shifter was a nightmare with mx style boots on, I knew if I downshifted, I'd have to finagle my boot under the shifter to upshift again. This has since been remedied!
Bill the Allen key debacle blew my mind! It fell between the gas tank and radiator while installing the quad lock. I shook the bike a few times and couldn't get it to come out so I wrote it off! Well it's back in the tool roll! As far as the KLR there are some things that need changing for the upcoming trips but she made it through. The things that need changing would've been caught during a shorter shake down ride. Only got bucked off once which will be coming up in an upcoming video!
man, I was so confused when you had to pull over for your back tire. I rewound a few times, didn't see you go over any crazy rocks or anything, finally just let it play on...only to find out that it was an ALLEN WRENCH?! I've just been sitting here saying "a f**king allen wrench?!" for about 5 minutes.
good video and I love S.D. only problem I have with this Vlog was, you looked so scared to ride the bike. you purchased the underpowered mule for all it's rpm so, why not use it? it's not fair to KLR if you are yelling it to climb when your prm gauge reading 2k. smh but good.
Thanks for the comment Frank. Yeah I was caught in the wrong gear on many, many occasions on this ride due to the shifter being in a nearly impossible location with the boots I was wearing. Sometimes all you can do is twist the throttle. The shifter and peg issue has since been remedied. Good observation 👍
Slow down a bit. Ive ridden with people before that do the same. Not fun, for me anyway. Talking about beautiful country, but your not seeing much, as moving so fast takes more attention away from surroundings. Also leads to more serious predicaments. Slow the roll, enjoy the outdoors.
Klr is a peice of.......work isnt good offroad too heavey only good for commuting handles like my goldwing off road though get an xr or dr much better for the dirt
The KLR completed the route! Don't have a ton of complaints actually for how I treated it and loaded it down. The only complaint I had was the shifter. I would enter a Rally Race with it but for this type of riding it was actually pretty comfy!
leescheeler, I rode a KLR for about 4 years and took it to many places most people wouldn't dream of taking it. That bike got an A+ rating from me, I've been off road riding for 4 decades. Everyday when I got off work I would jump on that machine and test it's limits, it would never let me down. The engine was not a speed killer but I routinely got second gear wheelies and could go through third and hit fourth gear. It held the front end up good for me. It's all in the rider and as long as the machine holds up the rider can do great things. So the KLR is not a heavy weight offload racer for sure but that's not what's it's for. It's made for exactly what this guy is using it for in this video. You can ride on the road all day and you can hit some pretty nasty dirt road and trails it will take you to some cool places. They are very comfortable machines as well. I've taken mine up nasty hills, super nasty sand river beds and way way out into the desert where no one has ever been to camp out. I never ever had to worry about my KLR letting me down. Great bike is an understatement! And by the way, I have owned two Honda XR's and they are great bikes too and you can't compare these machines because they are completely different in what they are designed to do. Keep it on two wheels my friend.
