Terra Firma - USA

August 24th, 2002

Dr. Gregory W. Frazier

Email: gregfrazier@yahoo.com

Exclusive to Dual-Star

It’s in the bag.  My fourth solo circumnavigation of the globe is complete.  Four continents, five months, 24 time zones, and 19,631 miles.  Not bad for a $4,999.00, 650-cc single motorcycle in a world where motorcycle engine displacement is approaching 2,000-ccs, eight cylinders, 150 bhp., and a common price of $25,000.00.

     Sure, I added a few things, bringing the total price to around $9,000.00, but that was close to the price of a stock German 650-cc single, and I would have had to add about the same amount of add-ons to it, bringing its price close to $13,000.  The savings, plus some change, I used to ride around the world.

     The KLR ticked around the world like a Timex (Rolex?) watch, never burping once.  Once, in Siberia, I dumped a load of 80-octane gas into it by mistake.  The KLR did not seem to notice the difference.  I did when I realized my mileage per gallon had dropped 25%.  I probably could have gotten it back up to the usual 40+ miles per gallon range if I had poured in a bottle of Russian vodka.  Maybe the low compression single would have run on vodka alone.

     People were surprisingly interested in the Kawasaki, especially in Africa and Russia.  The Kawasaki name is known, but seldom do they see a Kawasaki motorcycle.  Most often they see Europeans riding German motorcycles, or other Japanese brands.  When people discovered I was an American, they wanted to know why I was not riding a Harley-Davidson.  If they knew motorcycles, I would explain with examples like suspension, weight, etc.  If they did not know motorcycles, I would say I had more faith in the Kawasaki carrying me around the world without breaking down than I did the American icon.

     The last part of the trip, getting the motorcycle out of Russia and into the USA was the worst part.  I had worried about that last logistical step for months.  I tried to arrange for the motorcycle to be air freighted out of Russia before departing through several USA motorcycle shipping companies that advertised “worldwide motorcycle shipping.”  None were able to get the motorcycle from Vladivostok, Russia to Los Angeles.  In fact, none of them were able to get the motorcycle from Vladivostok to anywhere.

    For some background on my hosing by the Russian air cargo company I ended up using, you can go to my website at www.horizonsunlimited.com/gregfrazier and look under “What’s New” for July and August, 2002.  You will also see some photos of the trip. 

     Looking back on the 3-week wait in Los Angeles and the wasted money, I am still not sure I could have done it a better way.  Shipping by boat would have taken months and was a high risk.  Flying motorcycles over water is one of the most frustrating and expensive parts of global motorcycle travel, and there are no guarantees, especially when shipping from places like Russia.  For instance, even though I had fully paid the AirWay Bill, the shipper failed to deliver the motorcycle.  The only legal recourse I had was in a Russian court with a Russian lawyer, and I would have had to return to Russia, quite likely only to be home towned by a Russian judge.  I tried to call the number on the printed AirWay Bill form, but it turned out to be a pizza restaurant!  And when I did finally get a company representative on the phone, he/she spoke only Russian.  E-mails went unanswered.  I did eventually receive a faxed copy of one of their internal communications regarding the mess they had made of things.  It was a copy of a TELEX.  It was then I realized I was dealing in the dark ages.

     Once the motorcycle arrived in Los Angeles it took me about 3 hours to break down the crate and reassemble the bike.  The biggest problem I had was getting the wheels back on.  I was not strong enough to get the bike, sitting on its skid plate, levered up onto the center stand.  I was close several times, and amazed that the Dual-Star center stand did not bend or break.  If I had succeeded in getting it onto the center stand, the price I would have paid would have been a blown double hernia operation I had done 5 years ago.  I eventually got smart and lay the KLR on its side.  Once I got the wheels on I was able to lever the bike upright, and did so without having to call my doctor for follow-up surgery.  From standing on its wheels I was easily able to get it on the center stand to finish the assembly.  I was grateful the bike was a KLR and not some 600-lb. dual sport model.

       It started right away, and I rode it to Kawasaki USA in Irvine, where I had taken delivery of it months before.  I was amazed at how quickly the Kawasaki started after sitting for nearly four weeks, unattended, in Seoul, Korea.

     The Kawasaki USA people really do live up to their motto, “Let the good times roll.”  They good-timed me into a nice hotel suite, fed me, then saw to it I was on a flight home in time to beat my overdue bills.  They even gave me a new white shirt to wear on the airplane, with Kawasaki printed on the pocket.  And it was no cheap tee shirt.  Instead it was one with a collar and full button front.  It was nearly as nice as the monogrammed ones they shipped to me for some press interviews while I was passing through Germany.

     The KLR will be at the Kawasaki Dealer Show in San Antonio, Texas, September 16 & 17, 2002, on display with the Kawasaki Race Team bikes, as well as the full line of 2003 Kawasaki models.  I will be there, too.

    There will be a follow-up article published in MOTORCYCLE CONSUMER NEWS on what worked, and what did not, with the changes we made before starting out on this world ride.  It should be out in the fall/winter of 2002.

        After that, who knows?  The KLR is now just about broken in, so should be ready for another long ride.  Where next?  Maybe the moon?

Dr. Gregory W. Frazier, Kawasaki good timing, back in the USA

www.horizonsunlimited.com/gregfrazier

Copyright 2002 By Dr. Gregory W. Frazier