Last minute changes/additions to KLR 650 – Beer Rain in the desert

May 12, 2002

Dr. Gregory W. Frazier

Email: gregfrazier@yahoo.com

Exclusive to Dual-Star

     Frantic telephone calls and correspondence, advising changing the rear wheel to an 18-inch (so I could find a rear tire if needed once outside of Europe), adding Slime Green to the tubes (to stop or slow a puncture), to making a major change to the balance chain adjuster. Like calls from a consumer collection agency, the inputs were bombing the last days before I landed on Europe.  All were appreciated. Some suggestions were incorporated (like taking a handful of Euro Travelers Cheques from AAA, where I got them free as a member).

     Since I was outfitted with fresh tires (Avon Distanzas) for the first 5,000 miles of this second leg of my world tour, and was going to re-shoe with Avon Road Runners for the next 5,000- 10,000 miles, I figured I could live with the 17-inch tire/wheel combination over the next two stretches until I hit the USA. After that, finding a 17-inch rear tire would be no problem.

    Also, since I had the super thick (4-mm) monster tubes from Dual-Star, front and back, and a spare set of tubes and good tire repair kit (with hand pump), I wasn’t too worried about the tires and punctures, far less than I would have been with tubeless tires.  If I happened to cut a tire, I could always use the spare tube, then cut a large patch out of the old tube to make a patch, maybe even two layers thick, and glue it (them) to the inside of the tire with the Shoe Goop I carry.

     I recently was told of an expert on global motorcycle travel that recommends carrying three tubes of glue: Super Glue, silicon RTV, and JB Weld.  I agree, but only in part.  We probably travel different roads, he a gravel one, me a footpath.  Every time I have carried Super Glue, when I go to use it, I find it has dried out or the tube has broken, so I quit bothering with the stuff.  It is also very messy, especially when skin is stuck to skin, or on some plastics if there is not a perfect match.  The RTV is OK, but to replace the two I carry a large tube of Goop, or Shoe Goop (they seem to be the same thing).  I’ve used the stuff to repair rips in clothes, shoes, tents, sleeping bags, eye glasses, windshields, and it is about the only stuff that will hold some plastics, like the stuff garbage cans (and some saddle bags) are made of.

     At the last minute I added two Dual-Star options.  The first was an oil fill-plug with a hex head (that came with a small wrench) to replace the stock plastic one.  The idea behind the change was to make it harder for someone to remove the stock fill-plug (usually done by hand) and add something to my oil, like sand or re-cycled beer.  While it has never happened to me on my previous three rides around the world, I am headed to some places where Americans are not high on the political list of welcome travelers.  Making it a little more difficult for someone to open my oil fill-hole and add something other than 20-50 weight oil made some sense, plus the plug, made out of an aluminum alloy, looks high-tech against the black finish on the rest of the engine.  I also discovered the small wrench is good for removing caps on beer bottles (in Europe, and many other parts of the world the beer caps are not “twist-off”).

     The second add-on/replacement was Dual-Stars shift lever.  The original Kawasaki shift lever was replaced with a much sturdier one.  The original was a soft, pressed metal, subject to bending if the motorcycle fell on the left side, and known to puncture the left side engine case.  The replacement, much thicker, was less prone to bending, but if hit right, could also fracture the left side case.  Dual-Star's Product Development wizard welded a flat piece of metal, about the size of a silver dollar, on the back of the toe-shift point (actually incorporated it into the shift lever toe unit). This spreads the area of a “hit” on the side of the engine case over a much wider area, thereby lessening the pressure on one point and reducing the possibility of puncturing or cracking that fragile case.

     Wolfman Luggage came out with a new Alfa System Rear Bag, designed specifically for the KLR 650.  Known as the “Alfa Pack,” it is four-bags-in-one: a large unit, two small side units and a tail pack. The system is designed for the “weekender” who does not want to drop $1,000.00 in a pannier system, top box or any other fixed system for carrying gear for a few days.  The main bag has two smaller “pockets,” or side pieces that hang lower than the main unit, but not so low as to come close to the muffler.  This unit and the two end pockets (each large enough to hold a six-pack) rest across the back part of the seat, and are tied down by a simple system of straps to the rear footpegs and lower protruding pieces of the luggage rack.  A “rear bag,” large enough to carry me 2-man tent and small sleeping bag, then attaches to main unit by some more straps, resting on top of the luggage rack.

     I usually strap two Ortlieb bags on the back of my motorcycle.  Sold by RIDEWEARHOUSE and Dual Star, these bags are the best in the world for motorcycle travel.  Waterproof, tough, and well built, I have used them to the point of not looking at anything else.  I have slid them down roads (the bungi cord holding them down let go), submerged them (the motorcycle was upside down in deep water), and used them as carry-on and checked-in airline luggage for 100’s of thousands of miles.  When Wolfman “Eric” showed up with his Alfa Pack, wanting me to make a change and use his gear, I was like a the Quaker I am to the Mormons who come knocking on my door, saying “No sale!”

     Wolfman’s prototype was a nylon system, so not water proof.  Second, to make it waterproof, I was promised a rain cover, which meant more weight and space.  “Nope,” I said. “Look, these Ortlieb bags are made of a waterproof material, have a way of making them fit to many contours, and have worked for me long enough to know they are good stuff.”   Undaunted, Wolfman said, “Gimme a couple of days.  I can make better.”

     And I think Wolfman has.  Maybe not better than my two Ortliebs, but far better than the prototype.  What I am using is their first Alfa Pack made out of some material a bull would have trouble running through.  It is waterproof and tough enough to use as check-in luggage (where sex-starved gorillas use your straps, clips, and zippers to demonstrate their form of foreplay after a twelve pack).

     There were a couple of other last minute minor changes made to the KLR, like the location of the helmet lock to the rear of the luggage rack, and the addition of a large wire/lock for security.  Why security?  Again, I suggest it is a wild and weird world for the solo motorcycle adventurer wandering the globe today, especially if carrying an American passport or with an American flag sticker on your motorcycle left standing while you are away.  Times change.

     With fond memories I remember meeting another motorcycle traveler in a campground in Australia. It was the end of a hard day of riding the outback, having flogged my Yamaha 600 through deep sand, flopping a couple of times in some muddy water, and boiled inside my protective riding gear.  The other guy, on a Suzuki or Kawasaki, wandered over while I was putting up my tent.  We swapped some stories, then he suggested we ride into town (about 2 kilometers) to have dinner and a beer.  The option was better than cooking my own food, and without the benefit of swill, I agreed.

    We rode our motorcycles to the first pub, locked helmets on them, and proceeded to eat, consume beer, swap travel stories and trade looks with the ladies.  At closing time, we agreed the long walk back to the campground was better than risking jail.  In Australia, while they are known as hard drinkers, the laws for drinking and driving are even harder.  We locked the motorcycle front wheels together, then started the wandering walk.  Ten steps into our crazed march, I turned back, and returned to our bikes to unlock my expensive German helmet, then ran to catch up with my hiking partner.  He laughed, said something like, “What’re yah worried about. No one out here would steal your helmet.  They wouldn’t want to put their head where your’s been.” 

   I had been chided.  In the outback of Australia, I found people to be honest.  The man, my drinking buddy for the night, had found a weakness in my pose as someone who knew something about travel by motorcycle.  During the rest of our stumble to our tents I focused on my weakness, not only in my ability to hold brew, but for not accepting Australian honesty by carrying my helmet.

    Australia enjoys some of the most direct hit from the sun on the globe.  When people think of Australia, their minds see hot red sand, kangaroos, sharks, and maybe fuzzy bears (not really bears), but mostly the mind conjures up visions of red and hot.

     The next morning we walked back to town, found our bikes, and were strapping on our helmets, when my drinking pal said, “Hey, it rained last night.” 

    “No way,” I said.  “Dust was dust last night, same shit dust this morning.”

      The other traveler said, “It had to have rained, my helmet is wet inside.”

     I enjoy the Australian sense of humor, and he had a good one, because I was laughing at the thought of rain in the bone dry land on which we were standing.

     The answer for the wet was a local bar patron’s idea of fun.  After closing time, not wanting to screw up the environment, a bar patron passed water into the gaping hole of an upturned motorcycle helmet.

   Zipping up, as he yelled to his mates, he probably said, “Mate’ll thank me in the morning. Cool on his head.”

     Is there a moral to this story?

     Maybe “Don’t leave your helmet; don’t trust an Australian weather-person, or “Mamma, don’t let your babies grow up to be in places where it don’t rain, and the inside of the helmet is wet………”

     I will not be locking my helmet on the KLR at night when I reach the Sahara Desert in a week.  I learned my lesson in Australia, a lesson quite applicable to the sands of Morocco.

Dr. Gregory W. Frazier, from the road, around the world on a Kawasaki KLR 650

www.horizonsunlimited.com/gregfrazier

Copyright 2002 By Dr. Gregory W. Frazier