| Author | Message | ||
     Ronmold |
The bike bug bite last Spring after many years and I got an old Suz DR350S for my son to ride (we rebuilt it from 6 feet under) and a new KLR650 for me with the desire to ride a few mild trails with him (nothing ridiculous, I did that in my younger years) and take a few relaxing rides after a long workday. I thought the KLR was fine for the job until I wanted to take my other half out with me and the KLR seat & power are not up to the task. Then the final straw - last weekend a Hog/Buell dealer opened within walking distance from my home! I know the Ully is heavier than the KLR but not by much, and has a tall 1st gear but maybe better balance and gobs of stump-pulling torque! Anyone push the trail-capable envelope of the Ully because I would love to own an American V-twin! Also is the '08 Ully any better on trails? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The Uly is fine for dirt roads, but I wouldn't run it on "trails". CAN it be done? Yep. Is it better than a KLR? Hardly. Why not ADD the Uly to the KLR instead of replace the KLR? One rule of thumb, you NEVER sell a KLR. (Message edited by ft_bstrd on February 06, 2008) | ||
| Cityxslicker |
If you sell that KLR , you will only regret it later. I traded my KLR25O to get the CityX. I miss the narrow single track, the air, and the lightness that bike had. I would not go back to the 250, looking now more for a 450cc, but knowing now, I never would have let it go out the garage. Bikes arent like girls, they dont get mad or jealous when you bring others home. Never Sell, just add to. | ||
| Court |
One rule of thumb, you NEVER sell a KLR. If you sell that KLR , you will only regret it later. That's dead accurate. I sold one just to make room, regretted it. Just got two more. | ||
| Crowdog |
I bought a 07 KLR after being away from bikes for about 8 years, before that had gone through a couple of dozen, also did quite a bit of racing in my youth, MX dirt track, hair scrambles etc.. I really enjoyed the KLR for about 6 months tweeked it up a bit power wise but the more I rode it the less time I spent off rode and the less I enjoyed it. I fell in love with the look of Uly's so started researching and liked them even more sat on one at a dealership and that was pretty much it. A week later I was going down the road with a sh*t eatin grin and havn't stopped smiling yet. The KLR is an O.K. bike but a Uly is a REAL motorcycle, if you can afford to keep the KLR and purchase a Uly that's great but if it's one or the other its ULYSESS ALL THE WAY!! | ||
| Reepicheep |
I'm going to offer a slightly different opinion here.... Sell the KLR-650. Buy the XB12XT. Or an STT. Or even a 9sx or 1125R. Buy the right street bike. And then buy a KLR-250 (for $700 or less) I think the KLR-650 falls into the trap of being too dirt worthy to be that useful on the street (which you discovered), but being to street worthy to be fun on the dirt. The Uly beats it by being a fantastic on the road bike, while being "usable" on some dirt by sufficiently motivated individuals. So you add a KLR-250 to it, for under $1000, which is a bike that is pretty good on the dirt and "usable" on the street by sufficiently motivated individuals. | ||
| Adrian_8 |
I have an 06 ULY and would like to have a KLR for the "in-between stuff". The ULY and the KLR are worlds apart in their use. If you are going to ride lots of gravel and fireroads with some mud involved take the KLR. Riding on some gravel and lots of pavement especially with a passenger take the ULY.. The ULY is NOT for offroad...in mud, even the smallest amount, it is like a hog on ice. One is a sledge hammer and the other is a claw hammer, both hammers diff. applications.. The KLR is the Jack of all Trades..Master of None..Keep the KLR and get the ULY if possible. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Uly is as capable off road as a KLR till the task or the weather requires knobby tyres. | ||
| Adrian_8 |
Yep...Knobby tires, 21 inch front wheel, and lower first gear and the ULY would be much better off road like the KLR...but...thats' not the purpose of the ULY. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
One of my favorite things to do is to ride in the MUD, and the thick chucky stuff at that. The Buell will get it done, I put the MT-60s on there and go mud hunting weekly. I wont catch air on the bike though, she is a bit too heavy for that, and too wide for the single track that I like. I traded the klr & and ninja 6oorr for the CityX, so i have to make it do both. It is my 9lb sledgehammer. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
Worst decision I ever made was selling my KLR and buying the Uly. If only I could do it over again. | ||
| Bertotti |
Keep the KLR buy the Uly! | ||
| Ronmold |
If I keep the KLR and get the Ulysses would the Kaw see much road time? From the posts on BadweB it sounds like Buells are just a fun ride while I've found the KLR is predictable, dependable, economical, and... boring! I think getting another pure dirt bike to ride with the DR350 would be a good solution. I would hate to drop the '08 KLR (which is really unavoidable if you trail ride much) because it has a lot more plastic to crunch than the old KLR style. When the dealer gets an '08 Uly in I must go drive it and that might be all it takes. Thanks for your responses. | ||
| Froggy |
The KLR will get downgraded to "My Uly is down for a few days while dealer X is waiting for my commonly replaced part to come in" or "Let me try that deep mud covered trail where the Ulys non-knobbie tires won't grip" status. Any other time the KLR will be a garage queen.  | ||
| Reepicheep |
I own a KLR-250 and an XB9SX, and I think you are exactly right Ronmold... get a good street bike for a street bike (the Uly) and get a good dirt bike for a dirt bike (KLR-250 for $800, or spend more and get something really nice like the DR350 you mentioned). The KLR-650 is a good do everything bike, but doing everything isn't as much fun as two different bikes, each of which does fewer things much better. (corrected typo, I had KLR-350 written, but it's a obviously a KLR-250. That being said, there is a cylinder / piston / gasket kit for the Mojave quad for under $325 that will make it 330cc. Gotta love those singles. So that day may be coming...) (Message edited by reepicheep on February 08, 2008) | ||
| Davo |
I had a Uly and now I have a 07 KLR. I do miss the Uly. The Uly is a mile eating motorcycle. It is geared much higher than the KLR and the ride is silky smooth. The Uly is about 100 lbs. more motorcycle and the smaller wheels, added weight, higher gearing, and very tight steering lock make it much more challenging off road motorcycle. The KLR will go off road and a Uly will go well on any road. I miss my Uly but I will never miss my KLR because I won't ever let it go. The KLR is old school, long ranging, go anywhere and bullet proof. | ||
| Tstone |
I'm just the opposite (but respectful) of Davo. I had a KLR 650 and I miss it. I have to admit, though, that I probably would never touch the KLR if I still owned it. Off road, the KLR is 20% better than the Uly, but on road it's 80% worse. Hinkle: We all wish you'd stayed with the inferior bike too. Maybe we could set up a paypal account to help you return to your glory days on the 400 lb, 40 hp pig. | ||
| Bosh |
"I'm just the opposite (but respectful) of Davo. I had a KLR 650 and I miss it. I have to admit, though, that I probably would never touch the KLR if I still owned it. Off road, the KLR is 20% better than the Uly, but on road it's 80% worse." I'm with you on this one Tstone. I miss my KLR also and sometimes think of getting another one. But honestly, don't think I'd ever ride it. I have a KLX300 for the dirt now and the Uly for everything else. The Uly isn't a replacement for a KLR but it'll do most everything you need to get where you're going [no mater what you have to go over or through]. | ||
| Crowdog |
No offense but a KLR is for folks who can't afford a real motorcycle, I know, I bought an 07 rode it for several months and told myself "if I am getting back into bikes what am I doing on this thing?" it does nothing well, fit and finish is poor, to heavy to slow and way to dangerous for freeway time. I know there is a cult following for those things but the Uly is a great handling powerful machine however mine will hardly ever touch the dirt, I will be picking up a "plated" XR 650 R for the off road stuff now thats a bike that will get it done off road like the Uly gets it done on road. That being said I'm not trying to offend anyone that can't afford a Uly because a KLR is better then nothing and it is on two wheels but when I hear someone say they got rid of a KLR for a Uly and regret it I hve to scratch my head. | ||
| Reepicheep |
The XR650 is a great (if heavy) dirt bike. My neighbor has two of them in his garage... The first went almost 13k miles before he had to rebuild from the case up, the second did a little better at 15k (it hadn't been raced). They both run ever better now after the rebuild, but get a lot worse fuel economy. Interestingly, my KLR-250 still has a higher top speed on the highway. The Honda has the power, but runs out of redline. Oh, and when it suddenly wont turn over, its a cold solder joint on the small PCB board under the starter button. I've fixed that for two of the three people with XR650s that are friends. No big deal, easy fix. But the XR's ain't no KLR... the KLR will be booring and monotonous for 50,000 uninterrupted miles aside from the occasional oil change | ||
| Windrider |
I sold a KLR and bought the Uly and have not regretted it but most of my riding is commuting, some long road trips, and sport riding so the Uly is a better fit. Every ride begins and ends for me with 3 miles of steep, rutted dirt road and the Uly swallows that up just fine. Both the Uly and KLR are too fat for serious trail work. +1 on Reepicheep's comments: if you want to do a lot of trail riding get a cheap, light bike that will do the job and won't upset you when it tips over and the pretty bits get knocked off. | ||
| Skyclad |
I have not tried any single track yet, but I did give my Uly a good workout a few days ago. I was map surfing and found a road that I thought had potential. The map implied that it is a gravel road. LOL, yeah right. Even calling that little section of earth a dirt road is being generous. It was a mile long, wide path with mud, rocks, deep puddles and a bit of ice (just to keep it interesting). Yes, I found myself wishing for better tires, and I bet the clutch would have appreciated a lower gear. Yes, I could certainly tell that I was working with a 450 pound bike. Would I do it again? YEP! I was slipping and sliding the whole way and grinning like an idiot. The expression of the guy at the other end of the "road" was classic as well. Eric may not have intended the Ulysses to go on stuff like this, but I have never been good at staying within intended purpose with my toys. | ||
| Davo |
"No offense but a KLR is for folks who can't afford a real motorcycle" Crowdog, What do you consider to be the minimum requirements for a motorcycle to be considered a real motorcycle or is it a matter of price? I am curious if my other bikes rate? | ||
| Crowdog |
Davo, That was kind of a crappy thing for me to say, and of course anything with to wheels is technically a motorcycle and being a M.C. enthusiast for 40 years I like em all, I just find it hard to believe someone would regret owning a Uly instead of a KLR. For the guy with a KLR 250 that will out run an uncorked XR650 R producing 80 rwh I seriously doubt it, or even a stock XRr and as far as dependability goes let me know when a KLR wins Baja or even finishes for that matter. Another thing if I ride 15K mostly offroad because the Uly is for the street and need a rebuild so what that's about 5 years worth of riding. | ||
| Firstbatch |
Davo, you know all those bikes you have in your garage are not "real".....they are all girly bikes that would be better suited to being connected to a merry-go-round where some "real" riders could enjoy them.....  | ||
| Davo |
Thanks Firstbatch, I know I need to look for a more manly scooter. We carpenters aren't as tough as you roofers. I have been waiting for you to stop by for a TPS reset. I haven't seen that loud black Uly in a while. How many miles do you have now? Crowdog, I was just stirring the pot to start a little friendly dialog. My reasons for getting rid of the Uly are basically hardheadedness and I needed a bike that was a little more humble and would get me home with a little duct tape and some baling wire. If the Uly broke down in front of a dealer I would be stranded for days just waiting on parts. I do miss it every time I need to pass someone on the tar road or find myself on a long ride. Thanks for the replies. | ||
| Firstbatch |
Not enough miles Davo, to much roofing, but planning out more time this year. Just love riding the Uly. You have the magic touch, she runs sweet and I've probably put 6k since you set it. Getting some new shoes on her soon so will be a good reason to ride your way. | ||
| Davo |
Looking forward to your visit. | ||
| Crowdog |
Hey Davo, Hopefully you can pick up another Uly in the not to distant future, also if I had to traverse dirt roads on a regular basis I would be saddled up on a real dual sport bike but after having an 07 klr I would and will be going with an XRr street legalized. I could never get enough power out of the "killer" for my liking and size 6-2" 230. I rode my buddies XR that he has tweeked up a bit and WOW! that thing was a blast, under 300 lbs. and cranking out 60 rwh without any serious engine mods. I made a type o on my last post saying 80 rwh, now that would be something! surprised I didn't get called on that one, I guess the people around here have to much class to kill people on every little thing. I like that, Uly folks rule!  | ||
| Court |
>>No offense but a KLR is for folks who can't afford a real motorcycle Hmmmmm |
