after selling my "dream bike" , an aprilia sxv450 which was amazingly fast even corked. fuel injection, twin cylinder 450 pushing something like 50 horses? i loved it but couldn't justify the cost of maintenance or the fact that i had to order oil online (10w60 ONLY), i went around craigslist looking all over for a new get around town bike.


Being disappointed at the sxv not being off road worthy i wanted a true dual sport. didn't care if it weighed a ton, or what it was. primarily i was looking for 6 speed trans, and a reliable bike.

After searching for a week or so i found a 02 klx300r about 3 hours away.. quite the drive to look at a bike but i made it in 2 hrs I wasn't going 110 very long but when it gets there it sure is fun - although i get nervous even on open interstate at that speed. the Seller was asking a very low price for a street legal dual sport and honestly i wanted more power but the 6 speed trans and possibility of getting over 16mpg city (my truck..) so i figured what the hell.



after riding it through some single track in north florida before i threw it in the truck to bring it home i was convinced this bike was going to be a blast.



Heres where the fun started and some money went out the door.. The sprocket i ordered the day after i got the bike , hoping the 47t would give me a better cruising speed then 40mph.. the acerbis rally pros i picked up on ebay cheap (they had some broken pieces ill get to that later). regardless they were a step above the plastic beaten ones on the bike.


Now the billet CR gas cap, Big gun header, renthal cr high bars, and barnett clutch springs arrived.


(one of my favorite things on the bike honestly..)

I noticed my shift lever hitting the stator case so i picked up an IMS one, after reading about gearing for the street i decided to get a renthal 15t sprocket for more speed. The shift lever STILL isn't on.. because some genius stripped the bolt.


And comes the trail tech vapor.. which i havent installed yet either... its a lot bigger then the endurance and i love the tach on it.


So now my parts table looks like this;


Kicking my butt into gear and putting my bars on..
before pic;




and after the new ones are installed and i took a little ride. i like the feel of the bars more then stock (which were bent back from a crash it looked so i guess i cant really compare).


I started taking my pipe off to put the new header on with my most favorite tool. I also realized the rightmost exhaust bolt was already very loose.. uh oh.


After fitting the new pipe up. I noticed that it wouldnt seal around the silencer... great .

 

cont;
Moving on.. Ill fix that later.
If you've ever installed handgaurds like these you know that the little metal piece the aluminum arms ride on that make them extend has 2 tabs that stop it from spinning and staying in the same place. Well one of the guards was missing that... i have no idea what these things are called or where to get them so i figured i was SOL for awhile.


Until a miracle happened, meant to make my day better about the pipe. When i replaced the stock bars i heard something fall out of them and honestly didn't even look twice or care. well while looking through my garage floor i found an old rusty bark buster piece.. i figured the threads would never match up.. but they did. luck was on my side for this..



Thats all ive really gotten done.. sorry its so long winded.... i'm just bored. Now earlier i decided to explore my stator case. Being so used to my RM250 i didnt think oil was supposed to be in the stator case.. oops


Oh well.. oil change time.. might wait until i get my clutch plates, shift detent arm (for shift star mod), and my new idler gear.. ill keep updating as parts get here and i work on it.

 

That's hot

 

The ape or the KLX? thanks forgot to add this in;
Any one else every had this problem? i was so confused until i just moved the kicker back onto the shaft LOL.

One of the first things i always do is check the air filter after i buy a bike. this one looked alright.. not bad enough to replace. I did take the backfire screen out and i'm not sure why as it seems like a really pointless mod and dangerous?


Went to hangout with a friend who rides a 02 KX125. Had some fun tearing through his yard and stuff. nothing huge, another pic next to the RM250. Then a cruise through the woods behind a local church.. kind of a get in have your fun and run like hell spot to ride.

 

The klx! Who needs the maintenance of an aprilla?

 

Agreed lol, unless its also being raced, it really isn't a good town bike. they get hot real quick when not ridden hard. it was a great bike though for everything else engineering on the thing was amazing.

i'm exciting to try out the detent arm i picked up for the klx. It has ball bearings in the circular part that is supposed to reduce friction and help miss shifts. I don't know if it will really help but along with the shift star mod something might get better.

 

Can you send a link about the detent arm? I've never had any shifting problems with my KLX250SM, on road or off, but better is better, right?

 

Nothing special, just matt black like my Hilux

 

Your bike looks SUPER!

I love blacked out bikes. Mine is sort of blacked out. I don't have any exotic location shots because it gets used to carry my tools as a daily driver "work truck".