My first Dual Sport, 1987 Kawasaki KLR 250
More to me than just an old bike...
I bought my KLR250 in May of 2016. This was the first time ever that I had 2 bikes at once. My idea was that this would be a fun little dual sport to ride off road a bit and with friends. I learned a lot about motorcycles, and myself, when I got this bike. She was a tough bike that I had a lot of amazing fun with. Selling this bike was always my biggest motorcycle-related regret. This bike was just a weird special to me that I cannot quite explain.
Specs & Features
SPECS
Horsepower: 30 HP @8.5K
Torque: 19 lb-ft @7.5K
Wet Weight: 288lbs
Seat Height: 33.7 inches
0-60: ~8 seconds
Top Speed: ~85 MPH
Features
Kick start
Single cylinder
Tachometer
Fuel Gauge
A motorcycle can break your heart
It might sound stupid, but yes, a motorcycle can break your heart. I actually loved this motorcycle, but I’m getting ahead of myself… It all started in May of 2016 when I decided I really wanted to try a dual sport out. I already had my CBR600RR which I loved and had no intentions of getting rid of. But I wanted to add another bike, so that’s why I bought the KLR.
Originally I wanted an XT350, I searched high and low but couldn’t find one. I ended up “settling” on the KLR. A guy in Rhode Island was selling the KLR250 and was asking $1,500 I knew it was within my price range so I jumped on the opportunity to own my first dual sport at a bargain of a price.
I still remember taking the bike for a test ride. I tried kicking the bike over but couldn’t do it, the guy selling it was able to no problem. I chalked it up as something I would have to learn how to do. I went ahead and took it for a spin down the street. I loved it. It was LOUD, it had down low torque, and it was upright and so new and different.
I remember letting off the gas in 2nd gear and being so surprised with the amount of engine braking this bike had, I never felt that much before. It was very uneasy feeling.
We ended up making the deal for $1,300. I didn’t know it at the time, but I got a terrible deal on paper, but I had also just purchased the beginnings of an amazing motorcycle experience that would bring joy, laughter, tears, and ultimately heart break.
I remember my excitement when I unloaded the bike off the truck. I immediately wanted to make a video, and show my subscribers the new addition to the family. I made a reveal video which talked about the bike a little bit and showed it around, as you could see the KLR was in rough shape, paint was shipped, tape was holding the fork boots together, the bike just screamed that it needed some love and I was willing to give it.
And the build series begins!
It’s hard to believe this was all the way back in 2016. I feel like a completely different person now, I have much more confidence than I used to have. I now throw bikes around, kick them hard, and just in general have much more control around motorcycles. Also my video quality has drastically improved (thank god!).
But now begins the bonding experience with this bike, as you can see she is ugly and needs a lot of help, and luckily for her I was willing to give all my tender, love, and care (TLC!). Here’s a link to the 4 part playlist of me building up this bike, it was my first time seriously wrenching on a motorcycle so these videos are special to me and I believe the quality I brought to them was actually really good.
If you watched the playlist then thank you! I hope you can see the time and effort I put into the videos and the bike. I repainted everything and made her look a million times better! This was the final product and I was happy with the results. I finally made the bike what I wanted it to be and everything was right in the world.
This is when I learned my biggest lesson yet
Father time is undefeated. The KLR was hurt, she had only 30psi compression. A full top end rebuild was needed and although doing the rings did help her along, she needed more and it was more than I was able to give. I loved this bike for the experiences it brought me, but it no longer made sense anymore for me to try and keep her going. I was ready to move on.