1986 Kawasaki KLR 600 - a.k.a "Big Ugly"

When I was younger I rode off-road a lot. I was semi-serious about it and even rode in sanctioned Enduros for a few years. A lot has changed since then. I'm older of course and a lot more adverse to injury (it takes much longer to heal now) and there is not nearly so much land open now for off-roading as there used to be. Nowadays, I'm more interested in simply exploring the National Forest Service and many other unpaved roads that criss-cross the Appalachians like spider webs in my part of the country. I'd been thinking about a large displacement, street-legal, dual sport to do some "adventure touring" for quite a while and when my work declined to 3 days/week in March of 2003 I decided it was time to find a suitable ride to fill my now more plentiful "spare" time. I wanted a dual sport large enough to ride to nearby (within a half day's ride) unpaved roads and trails rather than loading up a trailer or pickup. That pretty much narrowed the field to the 600/650cc singles from Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki and BMW. I also didn't want to put a lot of money in the bike and that essentially eliminated all the late model bikes. I'm pretty handy and so what I thought I needed was and old, but not destroyed, "fixer-upper". And, although I'm really partial to Hondas, there aren't as many XR600/650s around as KLRs so I focused on the Kaw. That was when I found this old trooper on eBay.

This one was in pretty sad shape having a broken rear shock, non-working electric starter and various other lesser problems. Not to mention it looked like crap with a rusty dent in the gas tank, bent handlebars and a broken rear fender from some previous owner's misguided wheelie. Even so, I took a chance that, like Lazarus, it could be raised from the dead and I bought it for $540. The only problem was that it was in west Texas (about 1500 miles away).


BEFORE


The owner agreed to deliver the bike to Little Rock, AR which was about half way. It arrived there after a three day trip with a transfer in Dallas. (He brought it to Dallas and one of his buddies who lived in Little Rock and was in Dallas for the weekend brought it the rest of the way)


AFTER


It turns out that one of my friends had bought a "new" bike in Little Rock also. As opposed to this (at the time) P.O.S., his was real nice (a late model Suzuki SV650) and he agreed to share the cost of transporting the two machines back east from Little Rock. Since I was only working three days/week and had lots of free time (one of the primary reasons I wanted the thing to begin with), I drove my old F150 out there and picked up both bikes.


In time I was able to overcome all the myriad mechanical problems. It turns out none were serious except the broken shock which I was able to replace with a modified one from a KLX650. Also, some previous "mechanic" had installed the engine counter balance shafts 180 degrees out of time. Instead of damping vibration, they actually enhanced it. It was a little disturbing to watch the bike "walk" across the garage floor when idling on the side stand. After correcting this significant problem, the motor runs surprisingly smooth for a big single. As you can see the bike turned out OK. It starts and runs reliably and I've ridden it about 8K miles since I've had it.


Kawasaki introduced the KLR600 in 1984. 1985 was the first year for electric starting and 1986 was the last year for the 600cc motor. Frankly I don't see how one would start the big thumper without an electric starter. It's too tall to get a good stroke on the kick starter and has too much compression to push start solo. Current KLR650s don't even have a kick starter; I think I know why.

The KLR650 was introduced in 1987 with an engine that is essentially the same as this one except for a larger bore and stroke. However, the 650 chassis is completely different from this machine. It turns out the '84-'86 KLR600 chassis is more like the current KLR250 although heavier because of the larger engine and electric start. That's not all bad since this bike is a bit lighter than the KLR650 and you might say a bit more oriented towards the off-road side of dual sporting than the more "streetable" 650.

  2005 KLR250 1986 KLR600 2005 KRL650
Wheelbase 55.7 in 57.9 in 58.9 in
Seat height 33.7 in 34.3 in 35.0 in
Ground Clearance 10.6 in 11.0 in 9.4 in
Dry Weight 258 lbs 322 lbs. 338 lbs
Curb Weight 293 lbs 357 lbs 392 lbs
Fuel Capacity 2.9 gal 3.0 gal 6.1 gal
Front Brake disc disc disc
Rear Brake drum drum disc
Front Travel 9.1 in 9.1 in 9.1 in
Rear Travel 9.1 in 8.7 in 9.1 in

Given that I knew going in this was a fairly heavy bike the biggest criticism I have for it is that the stock brakes are woefully inadequate. This was greatly improved by substituting a steel braided brake line for the original loonnnngg rubber one. It's still no sport bike when it comes to stopping but the firm feel of the front brake with the steel line inspires a lot more confidence.


Now that I've gotten "Big Ugly" reliable, I really enjoy banging around back roads, National Forest Service roads, fire trails and such. The bike's too big and underpowered for serious off-road work but that's OK 'cause I'm too old and underpowered for serious off-road work anyhow. The old thumper has an appeal that's difficult to quantify. It's certainly no road burner having at best adequate power. My son says it's like riding a big spindly bicycle after his ZX6 Ninja. I guess that's true but there is something about the simplicity, narrow profile, agile handling and multi-surface capability that makes it fun. Maybe it's like a Jeep CJ - not pretty or fast but just simple fun.

Let's go exploring!

Post Script

The KLR600 suffered catastrophic engine failure in 2004 when the cam chain tensioner failed and allowed the cam chain to "skip time" on the crankshaft sprocket. This resulted in the exhaust valves colliding with the piston. I had the head repaired (two new valves and guides, all four seals and reseating of the intake valves). While I had it apart, I replaced the rings and, of course, the failed cam chain tensioner with the more robust design used on late model KLR650s. It was running strong when I sold it to an eager college student and replaced it with a 1999 KLR650.

Jim's Motorcycle Page