Hey,

I introduced myself a short while ago and got some great welcomes. Thanks for that! I just got my klx 250 and I have absolutely no equipment. There is a huge bike show coming up this Friday (near Toronto) and I'm having a hard time prioritizing my spending because I know it's going to be a lot.

I rode over 25 years ago, on the road and trail, and I will be doing the same in the spring...and not very aggresively either way because I'm on the other side of 40.

For those of you who have been around the block, what would would you do?
What's most important to you in your gear collection, and what was a waste of money when you didn't know any better.

Sorry for the noob question, but it's a bit overwhelming between all the dual sport gear, the off-road hard core stuff, then all the leather street stuff.

cheers, and have a great day...Trevi

 

Good jacket, dual sport one that has some armor and nice venting there alot to chose from.
Good helmet also if you ride on the street more get a full face street helmet. Let us know how it goes.

 

Grettings Trevi. There are a bunch of threads about different mods and many are free or very short $$ tweaks.

Without spending alot of cash I think the best mod if you are looking for more off road torque would be a sprocket change. Opinions vary on whether dropping to a 13 tooth front sprocket or going up a few teeth on the rear are best. Both give the KLX more low end snap.

Then breathing mods from the airbox and filter to rejetting the carb to a freer flowing exhaust.

Then suspension
then larger fuel tank
then better handlebars
then better hand guards
then a pumper carb
then a big bore jug
then high dollar exhaust
then.....................................

Is any guy ever REALLY happy with what they have???

 

First I had to go back and make sure I did indeed welcome you. I am exactly like you in that I went 20+ years without a bike and bought my KLX 3 years ago and have loved getting back into trail and gravel riding. And of course riding through town is awesome too! And the other side of 40 is not a bad place to be. Old enough to know better and still young enough to almost get into trouble.

As far as gear, I will give you some advice that I have yet to follow myself. A good helmet of course, gotta protect the pumpkin. Get some good leather boots, at least 8 inch water proof for casual riding, but pick up some full MX boots. I bought the Fox Tracker boots nearly 3 years ago, and here is the part I need to start doing.....wear them if you are going to be trail riding or riding a little faster.

Just looking at my boots even though I have only wore them like twice, I know that they will protect my feet and lower legs. I also picked up some knee guards and elbow guards, that I also have only wore once. so my best advice is to not buy gear and let it sit brand new on the shelf.

Also for the kind of riding we do, get a good Dual Sport Jacket with the built in armor, it works great no matter where you end up riding. A good matching pair of over the pant pants will complete the setup.

Oh yea and gloves and goggles of course.

 

Helmet is #1 of course, Jacket, Pants, Boots, Gloves. Get something that has vents, it gets hot off-road.

 

What I'd get first:

Get a SNELL/DOT (canadian equivelant) approved helmet and proper safety gear like a leatt brace. You say you haven't ridden in a while. It's a certainty that you WILL lay it down at some point. You can always buy a new bike. Try finding a spinal cord on eBay...

As for the bike:

I started with the Suspension. As bluntly as I can put it, if you can't get it to handle correctly to begin with, no amount of additional HP or torque will help.

The stock fork springs are sprung for a rider of 150 pounds, so if you're much more than that, you'll note the front end goes down like a hooker on payday everytime you roll off the throttle or brake or hit a bump larger than a bottle cap.

Get yourself the proper springs (front and back) and the bike handles and cuts like a laser (for a dual purpose bike)

After that, go for the easy stuff, like good tires (Dunlop D606, Michellin, Kenda TMIIs, Pirelli MT21s to name a few) a 13 tooth sprocket, UNI Air Filter, dynojet Jet Kit, header and slip-on exhaust.

That should do you for a while for performance upgrades...

 

It's all good advice above. If you don't have a helmet, then that's the first thing you should buy. Look at your local shop,and online at styles to see what you like and note their prices including shipping. When you got to the show you can try them on, and compare prices. I was told for helmet sizing, if you hold your head still the helmet shouldn't wiggle side to side at all when its on. If you have a list of things you want and the prices you can get them for outside the show, then buy whatever is a good deal and then try anything on you may want to buy later and note the size. Buying stuff for the bike online is pretty easy, buying stuff for you online is harder because everybody makes sizes a little different.

 

If your local shop is even close on price you should try to patronize them. It's nice to have someone around who (maybe) knows what their talking about. If everybody tries boots on at the local shop and then buys them online, the local shop won't be around long. What little I buy I do both, online, and local. In fact, today for something to do, I drove about 45 min south of here, to the place I bought my bike, to look around and spend some xmas cash. Those worthless jokers were closed!! Must have shut down for the whole week for xmas/newyears.

 

+1 on the elbow guards. I use them every time I ride. Especially on the street. Knee guards should also be worn. Don't be the dumb guy who buys a chest protector after he breaks his ribs (that would be me). Get the safety gear first. All the previous posts have listed good ideas.

Keep in mind that you'll need different gear for different rides. You probably won't wear motocross boots if your commuting to work on the bike. But they'll come in handy if you're riding across town to your favorite trails. Enjoy.

Mike

 

Kidney belt for all offroad riding. I'm on the other side too and don't ride without it.