USMC Kawasaki KL650A SOLD on GL!

[Sgt Hulka]

Harley vs Kawasaki

i rather have the kawasaki then a harley any day

I disagree. Harley quality control caught up and in many instances passed the Japanese years ago...

 

[nhdiesel]

Speaking for myself, I'll never own another KLR650. I bought my '06 new, maintained it perfectly, and this past spring went on a trip to Kentucky. It used a fair amount of oil on the trip, not excessive for a single cylinder running hard on the highway, and I kept up with it. I was only home less than a week and the engine lost all oil and seized up. 17k miles on the bike and its junk. I still owe well over $2k on it and now its pushed out behind the house.

I priced engines, used ones with several times the mileage of mine are running $1200+ just for the engine! I can buy a used bike for that. I bought the KLR because I did a ton of research and they were supposed to be the John Deere's of the motorcycle world- old tech, simple, but very durable.

I spent all summer trying to find an engine I could afford, with no luck. I'm not going to spend $1200 plus shipping for an engine for a bile valued at $2k. I'll sell what I can off the bike and keep making payments until its paid off. The sad thing is, I have a bunch of money invested in parts & accessories- gel seat, progressive fork springs, rear shock upgrade, every Wolfman bag I could buy for it, custom brackets and hard bags, and lots more.

Next bike is going to be a V-Strom 1000. Its what I should have bought instead of the Kawasaki. Lesson learned!

My bike on my way South in May:


Its final trip!

Jim

 

[WPNS421]

Jeep in a crate

Wheres all those "Jeep-in-a-crate" I keep hearing about?

You ever see the movie Raiders of the lost Ark with Indiana Jones. The jeeps are in that big government warehouse along with the million other boxes.

 

[pooka]

Mt500

I have an MT500 I use a a daily ride, Mine is a 2000 mod yr, Harley retailed them in US 1999 and 2000 only. HD made them in York PA for a Nato contact, UK and Netherlands, poss Jordan from '94 to about 2001, bought the design from British company Armstrong, who made them for UK service. Pretty well built, all top line componants, all heavy duty. Parts are a bitch to get, I have to buy American replacement parts from a dist in the UK. Harley claimed they would support this platform for 10 yrs but last yr, HD sold all remaining parts to a British dist.(many surplused MT500 in UK) If I was in the market for this type of bike again, I would buy the BMW 650, same style Rotax engine, but better avail. It is a unique ride, I get a lot more looks and coments then for my custom bike(guess 'cause no one really seen one before) I think HD sold less then 1000 units in US for the 2 yrs, most bikes are not ridden, but kept as collectors. They retailed for $9999.00 most sell now for between 6 and 10 grand. A pic of mine is in one of my earlier posts of my truck and bike.
I'm no expert on them, so no flames if my data isn't perfect, just offered as a little background info.

 

[kc5mzd]

I had a kawasaki 650 a few years ago. I bought it brand new for around $4800. I didn't like the way it rode, it felt very unstable over 45mph. It started to leak iol after just a few months. I traded it in for a BMW 650. The BMW is far better without question. They are very stable and have plenty of power. I drove mine for 5 years and never had any problems. I regret selling it.

 

[Snarky]

These reason these are surplussed out is because they have been replaced with diesel powered bikes so they wouldn't have to keep shipping gasoline to Afghanistan. I've been trying to get a diesel bike for a while for the gubment keeps buying everything the manufacturer can build.

Instead I just bought a XT225, because it's light weight, I wanted a street legal bike, and I drop things, 1400$.

 

[ctmustang]

Should have bought a Honda.

 

[nhdiesel]

I would have bought a Honda, they have always been my favorite brand, but they don't offer a street-oriented dual-purpose bike. Their 650 is nice, but is designed for more off road, with narrow seat, more basic instruments, and almost no aftermarket support for touring accessories. The KLR is the bike known for traveling around the world with.

I like the BMWs, and I'm sure I'd love the ride, but from a lot of reading about them and hanging out on a few of their forums I've found they do have their share of problems, and their dealer network leaves a lot to be desired. Stories of being stranded 100+ miles from a dealer are common, and even more common is being stranded at the dealer waiting days for a part to arrive. I want something with a LOT of dealers, and a bike common enough for them to have parts on hand. Not to mention when I bought my KLR I could have bought 2 of them AND all of my accessories for both for what 1 BMW cost.

I just looked it up, and the closest BMW dealer to me is over 100 miles.

I did like how the KLR rode. Handling issues are easily dealt with- the stability issue is just the front fender. You can trim them slightly, which makes a big difference, or do what I did and buy a kit to put a low fender on. Between that and the tall windshield I have, highway cruising was pretty decent. In fact, decent enough that if I hadn't lost a chain on the way down, I was easily going to complete an Iron Butt Saddlesore 1000. I was 850 miles into it with plenty of time left when the chain launched in southern Virginia. Even with the roadside repair and having to catch a ride to a dealer I missed it by 15 miles in the 24 hour limit. That was after leaving for the ride in the evening after working all day, and leaving at 43 degrees and pouring rain. I still had a blast!

Jim

 

[kc5mzd]

These reason these are surplussed out is because they have been replaced with diesel powered bikes so they wouldn't have to keep shipping gasoline to Afghanistan. I've been trying to get a diesel bike for a while for the gubment keeps buying everything the manufacturer can build.

Instead I just bought a XT225, because it's light weight, I wanted a street legal bike, and I drop things, 1400$.

I have been wanting a diesel bike since I found out they were making them. The MPG's are crazy and I bet they have alot of torque.

 

[sandcobra164]

Just to satisfy the Jeeps in a crate comments. There are 3 Jeeps in crates at MCLB Albany in the corner of a warehouse. Fine examples of Govt. efficiency, they were receipted for in the 50's, "sent to units" in the 60's, DRMO'd and crushed according to all of their paperwork yet still sit in the corner of the warehouse. Problem is, they never left the warehouse!!! The paperwork attached to the crates show them being pulled from the crates upon receipt, 20 miles of driving then all fluids drained, oil or grease as applicable all exposed metal on the drivetrain, oil all hinges, seal intake and exhaust, and preserve gauges and put back into crate. They have sat in boxes in dehumidified storage from that point on. They cracked the crates about 10 years ago and they were still in immaculate condition. Last word is they will be crushed as there is no museums asking for them. I'd start the bidding at $25,000 if I could get them out of there unknown to the gov and make a fortune in the process except for the whole going to jail if I got caught.

 

[M725]

Just to satisfy the Jeeps in a crate comments. There are 3 Jeeps in crates at MCLB Albany in the corner of a warehouse. Fine examples of Govt. efficiency, they were receipted for in the 50's, "sent to units" in the 60's, DRMO'd and crushed according to all of their paperwork yet still sit in the corner of the warehouse. Problem is, they never left the warehouse!!! The paperwork attached to the crates show them being pulled from the crates upon receipt, 20 miles of driving then all fluids drained, oil or grease as applicable all exposed metal on the drivetrain, oil all hinges, seal intake and exhaust, and preserve gauges and put back into crate. They have sat in boxes in dehumidified storage from that point on. They cracked the crates about 10 years ago and they were still in immaculate condition. Last word is they will be crushed as there is no museums asking for them. I'd start the bidding at $25,000 if I could get them out of there unknown to the gov and make a fortune in the process except for the whole going to jail if I got caught.

My brother inlaw heard the same thing from his friend who heard from from his uncle who heard from his father who heard from his buddy who heard from.....

 

[sandcobra164]

M725,
Nicely put. I thought I'd start a frenzy on here but had every intention of coming clean with it in a day. MCLB Albany does have 3 of them left but they are in outside storage and the plan is to take the best parts of the 3 and restore one to donate to a museum. They are all poly wrapped in 2000 with VCI pucks placed in them and changed out annually. They also received the above mentioned preservation maintenance and they ran when they were put in storage. I'll get some pictures Monday or Tuesday.

 

[M725]

M725,
Nicely put. I thought I'd start a frenzy on here but had every intention of coming clean with it in a day. MCLB Albany does have 3 of them left but they are in outside storage and the plan is to take the best parts of the 3 and restore one to donate to a museum. They are all poly wrapped in 2000 with VCI pucks placed in them and changed out annually. They also received the above mentioned preservation maintenance and they ran when they were put in storage. I'll get some pictures Monday or Tuesday.

Merry Christmas, I was disapointed there where no pictures under the tree yet?

 

[bcombs1952]

Hay Guys:
What is the link to GL? Is this a goverment surplus sight?

 

[glcaines]

Government Surplus Auctions at Government Liquidation

 

[mkcoen]

You can follow Gary's link or look in the upper left of the SS site screen where the ads scroll over things for sale there.

 

[csxrailfan]

M725,
Nicely put. I thought I'd start a frenzy on here but had every intention of coming clean with it in a day. MCLB Albany does have 3 of them left but they are in outside storage and the plan is to take the best parts of the 3 and restore one to donate to a museum. They are all poly wrapped in 2000 with VCI pucks placed in them and changed out annually. They also received the above mentioned preservation maintenance and they ran when they were put in storage. I'll get some pictures Monday or Tuesday.

What happened to the pictures? We would all love to see them.....PRETTY PLEASE.

 

[M725]

Still waiting on the pictures.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

I'm smelling a rat, and it's uncle sam. 110 MPG and why aren't they in full commercial production? Must be the same reason Ford can't sell their 60-70 MPG diesel cars here, but they can in Europe. Fuel TAX money.

 

[zb39]

I love my 2011 KLR....